Comma Sense: A Fun-damental Guide to Punctuation

by Richard Lederer, John Shore

Are you confounded by commas, addled by apostrophes, or queasy about quotation marks? Do you believe a bracket is just a support for a wall shelf, a dash is something you make for the bathroom, and a colon and semicolon are large and small intestines? If so, language humorists Richard Lederer and John Shore (with the sprightly aid of illustrator Jim McLean), have written the perfect book to help make your written words perfectly precise and punctuationally profound.
Don't expect Comma Sense to be a dry, academic tome. On the contrary, the authors show how each mark of punctuation--no matter how seemingly arcane--can be effortlessly associated with a great American the underrated yet powerful period with Seabiscuit; the jazzy semicolon with Duke Ellington; even the rebel apostrophe with famed outlaw Jesse James. But this book is way more than a flight of whimsy. When you've finished Comma Sense, you'll not only have mastered everything you need to know about punctuation through Lederer and Shore's simple, clear, and right-on-the-mark rules, you'll have had fun doing so. When you're done laughing and learning, you'll be a veritable punctuation whiz, ready to make your marks accurately, sensitively, and effectively.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Language, Reference, Teaching, Humor

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2000

About the author

Richard Lederer is the author of more than 35 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series and his current book, The Gift of Age. He has been profiled in magazines as diverse as The New Yorker, People, and the National Enquirer and frequently appears on radio as a commentator on language. He has been named International Punster of the Year and Toastmasters International's Golden Gavel winner.

He is the father of author and poet Katy Lederer and poker players Howard Lederer and Annie Duke.

Reviews

[Tanu Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a really fun book. Easy-peasy rules. Amusing examples. A fun read.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, no I did NOT read this for pleasure. It was assigned for a class. I may be an English major, but grammar and punctuation isn't exactly my idea of an evening of reading well spent, you know?

It's meant to be cute and accessable, mostly it's just cloying and vaguely annoying. The book could be half the length and still get the job done...and it's only 140 pages long (including table of contents, cheat sheets, and acknowledgements).

They pun. A LOT.
They compare each mark of punctuation to a famous figure - the dash is Fred Astaire, the ellipsis is the Andrews Sisters, etc. Then they go on and on and on about, essentially, how witty it is to compare the one to the other.

However, for a book on punctuation, it's a mighty easy read. It also jogged my memory about some things I had definitely forgotten. Plus, ANY reminder about "its it's its'" is always welcome.

So, I can't recommend this as just a "sit down and enjoy" sort of book, but I can say that if you're just really needing to brush up your punctuation, this is an inexpensive and easy reading option.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot, but could have done without the over-the-top, trying-anything-for-a-laugh humor. It made me skim portions of the book so I didn't have to read/deal with it! I would have given it a one star, but I took away some very useful information from it.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a hilarious book! Who would have thought that punctuation could be funny? The authors, Richard Lederer and John Shore, did not want this book to be tedious and boring so they presented the material in an original and humorous way. Some of my favorites are:

What's the difference between a cat and a comma?
A cat has claws at the end of its paws - but a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.

To learn the seven coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so) sing along to the tune of the Julie Andrew's hit "Do, Re, Mi".
And, a word, a real small word;
But, it's spelled with just one t;
Or, a stick we use to row;
Nor, half of a cold countreeee;
Yet, you bet it rhymes with wet;
For, one number more than three;
So a button on your fly -
And that brings us back to do, re, mi!

The following example demonstrates the use of a colon between chapters and verses in the Bible.
In Exodus 15:22-35, we are reassured that Moses was a male, because he spent forty years wandering around the wilderness, and never asked for directions.

The following shows the use of a dash to signify a sudden change in thought.
Just think! We're only an hour away from being the first people in history to fly around the world in a hot air balloon! We're going to be famous! We're going to - what's that burning smell?

I think I'm getting carried away here. Anyway, it was a fun read and I ended up finishing it in one sitting.

[Navneet Kaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really entertaining (if a bit sexist at times). It felt to me as if I was reading a comedy book that was just being generous at random times to give me some rules for punctuation, contrary to what I had thought it would be like when I started it. The examples were out-of-the-world hilarious! The rules were easy to understand and remember. I recommend this book to those who can't read those stuffy and boring grammar books that remind you of your school textbooks.

I would like to add this one thing, though: The title makes you think that this book only tackles commas, but it isn't so. It covers all punctuation marks (with amusing illustrations for them--a special touch that I really loved.) The little things all counted to make this book a memorable one for me. Even though I now know the rules really well, I might read it again just for fun's sake. ;-)

[Leah Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The preface states: "Never forget: Punctuation can mean the difference between a second date and a restraining order."

I'm intrigued.

Hilarious. Really, I know it seems paradoxical; a book on punctuational that is not a sleeping pill, but Comma Sense really hit the nail on the head. If you're already a punctuation pro, read it simply for the absurd example sentences. "...and that's when I realized Irene was probably a cannibal."

"Like it or not, writing well-not artistically, not ornately, not floridly, but just competently-really is the difference between being largely able to define your own life and having much of your life defined for you."

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate Lederer's sense of humor as he writes about language - in this case, about punctuation. He covers all the major punctuation marks in a way that makes them approachable and memorable. There's not much to say about this book - if you want to learn more about punctuation and get some silly analogies to help you remember them, this is a great book to read. If you don't care much about such things, then you won't care about this book.

Of course, it might be a good book to keep in any special rooms in the house that you visit for five minutes or so a couple times a day, just to pick up and read while you're waiting for events to unfold.

Me, I loved it.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comma Sense takes a humorous and fun approach to learning punctuation.

I want to learn better punctuation so I decided to search my library for a book to help me. I found many, most of them over 300 pages or more. I knew if I borrowed one of those it would feel rather tedious. I just wanted a simple and to the point book on punctuation.


Comma Sense is just that. It was a simple, easy read while teaching punctuation. I feel that it did help me and I hope to own a copy soon so I can keep rereading and get a better grasp of punctuation.

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both interesting and informative (and might just make you wonder what your teachers were thinking when you discover the info they failed to give you or the ease with which rules could have been provided). This is a book that should be read a couple of times throughout life from the early teenage years (to get a good start) and every 5-10 years thereafter (to refresh and rebuild) if you'd like to stay focused on avoiding the most common mistakes and understand why they are mistakes.

[Jane Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I also learned that this book conflicts with what one of my english teachers taught me about commas which conflicted with what I always thought about commas but what I thought about commas does not conflict with this book. Hmmm. I knew she didnt know what the hell she was talking about.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Mr. Lederer's books - they are always fun and educational. This one will help those that are looking for some quick and easy reference in how to punctuate. Definitely not the Elements of Style that one would need for their college papers or theses but definitely good enough to keep you in tune for your regular work stuff.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a word junkie. I can't help but pick up and read every grammar book I find. This was, by far, the most helpful and easy to read. In fact, I keep it in the office next to the AP Stylebook for all my reporters to use as a reference.

[Gary Geiger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can get more info on punctuation from a dictionary without Richard Lederer's lame attempts at humor. The Rich Lederer who trumpeted Bert Blyleven's as a Hall of Fame pitcher could have done a better job!

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it's supposed to be humorous, but I didn't think it was that hilarious. Or even a good reference for punctuation usage. Pass

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome if you're like me, and forget all the punctuation fundamentals. It's entertaining and educational. I want to buy it to keep on hand for referrence.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and useful guide. And funny. Wish it had an index.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ended up using sections for comp classes. They talk about commas really clearly.

[Lawrence Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite entertaining, yet informative as well. Loved how the author related punctuation to a different character, like Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, or Lucy.

[Cassie Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a great, light-hearted review of punctuation rules. As a teacher, I appreciate all of the examples I will be able to work into lessons for my students.

[Heather Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, simple refresher on punctuation. The jokes/humor became more annoying as the book progressed, but I guess that was an attempt by the authors to increase the page count. This book could easily be read in a few hours. But the simplicity is nice as some books on grammar and punctuation can come off as pretentious.

[Dana Robinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written in a smarmy, overly-familiar style that seems far more forced than fun (like Henny Youngman, but somehow even less entertaining) and about 50-75% too long. You can save a lot of time by just skimming the 14-page cheat sheets at the back of the book.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful, if somewhat annoying, simple guide to punctuation that connects a famous human to each punctuation mark in a clever, memorable way. I had to be in a good mood when I read it because it is over the top silly, but enjoyable.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was helpful, but tried a little too hard to be clever.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Makes it very clear it's about US punctuation, which is helpful. Some of the explanations are very short, so a reader might need to consult a more in-depth guide as well.

[Jason Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book with useful tips on punctuation presented with humor.