Patricia T. O'Conner, the bestselling language maven who demystified grammar ( Woe Is I ) and writing ( Words Fail Me ) for legions of delighted readers, now takes on the challenge of polishing our electronic language skills.
E-mail and the Internet need not be the death of good writing. In fact, the computer could be the best thing to happen to literacy since the printing press. Since we're all writing all the time, You Send Me helps us polish up our language and social skills in cyberspace.
Dealing with subjects like etiquette ("To E or Not to E"), beefier writing ("The E-Mail Eunuch"), and civilized English ("Go Configure"), the authors deliver everything you need to know to achieve virtual savvy. If you'd like to upgrade your e-mail and other online writing, this is the book for you.
The biggest deterrent of this book is the fact that the premise of online usage is now dated. Written in 2002, before the era of Facebook and Twitter, O'Conner and Kellerman focus primarily on e-mail and obsolete online chatrooms. Despite that, many of their "getting it right when you write online" tips made me laugh, and my copy is now dog-eared for future quotability.
As always, O'Conner's take on grammar and punctuation kept me in a perpetual state of laughter and/or cheering the grammar underdog. Their rules for writing online can easily be applied to newer sites, including Goodreads, so I would still recommend this as helpful and humorous reading material.
O'Connor offers excellent suggestions for how to compose email subject lines.
After reading this book once, you are golden. I would hardly recommend keeping it as a reference or anything of that sort. It provides useful advice and offers some compelling advice about email etiquette.