On Reading and Writing

I love to read. I also love to write.

I have been an avid reader since I was a child. In elementary school, I always loved to order books from Scholastic Books. My favorites were books about dogs and horses. Each book cost 25 cents, or for a really expensive paperback, 35 cents. I would much rather sit inside and read than "go outside and play," as my mother used to tell me. As a shy, introverted child (and adult), reading is much for comfortable for me than is interacting with others.

During one overnight international flight a couple of years ago, I happily spent several hours reading on my Kindle. Other passengers slept or watched movies, but I was engrossed in my book. I have close to 250 books on my Kindle, mostly history or historical fiction. I spent a good bit of yesterday reading a work of historical fiction, one of my favorite genres. I read every night before I go to bed. I usually take the Kindle with me to doctor appointments to help me pass time in the waiting room.

Because I spend so much time reading, I am appalled at the poor editing of many of the books I read. I consistently see incorrect or, more often, missing punctuation. I see run-on sentences. I see incomplete sentences. I see the same word used consecutively in a sentence. I see abbreviations and acronyms used with no explanation of what they mean.

Either this is very poor editing, or it's a complete lack of editing. I have no way of knowing which it is. But it's very annoying. I can somewhat forgive online posters for using sloppy grammar. But I cannot forgive it in a published book. I expect better.

I am what some refer to as a 'grammar Nazi.' I have a sharp eye for spelling, typographical and punctuation errors. I have always been this way. I don't point out grammar errors, however. I was schooled in the use of language as it appears in the Associated Press Style Book. This doesn't mean that other styles are incorrect, but AP style is what I am used to. When I write, I follow AP style.

I believe that those who read a lot, in addition to being better informed, also are better spellers. I have only anecdotal proof of this claim, but I believe it makes sense that good readers have a better vocabulary, and are more used to using and even playing with words. Good readers are also more likely to be good writers. I learned about my writing talent when in middle school. A teacher invited me to join the staff of the school newspaper. My professional career involved writing as well.

I met a kindred spirit last year during a trip to study the Holocaust. My group performed service projects at the main Auschwitz death camp. Among the things we were asked to do was to review the language (spelling, punctuation and word usage) on some of the exhibits. The captions had been translated from Polish by people whose native language isn't English. So we were asked, as native English speakers, to review the captions. 

Luckily, I teamed up with a man from Connecticut who shares both my view of what constitutes proper English, and my background as a writer who uses the AP style. Our group worked in pairs to review the language on numerous exhibits. One thing Mark, my grammar partner, pointed out was that Poland uses the British spelling of certain words. We did not recommend changes to these words, as they were correct European usage.

It isn't merely language in published books and articles, however, that needs work. I am tired of seeing online posts that include the words 'prolly' and 'suposably.' The correct words are 'probably' and 'supposedly.' Are Americans illiterate, sloppy or simply lazy? Or do most people simply not care? When I was in school, I excelled on spelling and other tests of proper English. What I hated, however, and never understand the rationale behind, was diagramming sentences.

I know. Everybody makes mistakes on occasion. I proofread everything I write, often more than once, but sometimes a typo gets by me. But my use of the English language is gramatically correct. I know how to spell. If I'm not sure about something, I look it up. I know the difference between 'their, they're and there.' I really enjoy constructing a well-written sentence or paragraph. I enjoy finding just the right words to convey my thoughts. And my comments are not directed at those for whom English isn't their native language. It's a difficult language to learn, with many rules and even more exceptions to those rules.

I guess I am a rarity these days, when texting, emoticons and myriad abbreviations are the norm. There is a beauty in the English language (and undoubtedly in other languages as well). It's a pity we are watching its decline.