26th
Read: Stylized, Mark Varvey
I’m a writer and a language geek, and while that doesn’t necessarily make me a devotee of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, the connection to my alma mater (which White attended and Strunk taught at) makes up the difference. The truth is I think Strunk and White is a fantastic book for those looking to hone the mechanics of their writing. And for any fan of that classic work, Mark Garvey’s Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style is an enjoyable romp through how Elements came to be. Including unpublished letters from White and insight from a number of well known writers like Dave Barry, Adam Gopnik, and Lost’s Damon Lindelof, Stylized revels in the history of “the little book” and its effect can be best summed up by saying it made me want to go and re-read The Elements of Style immediately.
