Mind the Stop: A Brief Guide to Punctuation

by G.V. Carey

,117 pages with index and example of a page of text showing proof correction symbols then after correction

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Reference

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Marta E C R · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4. This book started out strong for a grammar nerd like me. I really liked that I agreed with the author on pretty much everything, and definitely on the placement of commas. I was pleased that my sense of where commas belong is correct, according to this author. The book was first published in 1939, revised in 1958, and had multiple further printings until 1986, which is when the one I read was published. I did end up getting bogged down in some of the terminology later on and found navigating the author’s examples tiresome, as quite a few were given all in a row and then explained all together as well, so that you had to go back to check what was being said about any given example, sometimes requiring a backward page turn. I also thought that the Proof-Correction chapter might be obsolete in this day and age (I don’t know if that’s really true, but the method was not familiar to me). One sobering example (especially given the current political climate in the U.S.) is on page 73: “The annual rally of the Nazis — in the immense theatres, arenas, and parade grounds created by their party at Nuremberg — opens tomorrow.” I’m surprised the author didn’t remove this example with the 1958 revisions, and it was a bit chilling to read that matter-of-fact statement written as Hitler was coming to power, before the scope of his horrific acts was fully recognized. But overall I enjoyed the book, and I will now pass it on to another grammar nerd.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is cited in, I think, Gowers' Plain Words, or maybe it was Modern English Usage, and I was curious to see what a less well-known mid-20th-century punctuation guide might have to say.

It's sound: more modest in scope and achievement than the classics I just mentioned, but Carey is a sensitive and sensible reader, a tiny bit Pooterish at times with his mild humour, his occasional descents into stickling for the sake of stickling, and his marked penchant for cricket reviews as sources for example sentences.

It's pretty orthodox and unstartling, but worth a read if you're into this kind of thing.

[Alvaro Alcocer Sotil · Rating 4 out of 5]

It features examples of text with proof correction symbols, demonstrating the editing process and how to apply corrections effectively. This resource is valuable for anyone looking to enhance their proofreading skills and understand the nuances of text correction.

[Carmilla Voiez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic reference book that goes into the perfect amount of detail to brush up those punctuation skills.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'm reading the 1943 version. And thus far it is a fabulous and really quite a fun read (not what I'd expect to say about a punctuation guide)...

[Steve Clark]

Paperback