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Book Details:
Book Title: Good Grammar Is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life by Curtis Honeycutt
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 18 yrs +, 244 pages
Genre: How-To, Humor, Grammar and Writing Reference
Publisher: The County Publishing
Release date: May, 2020
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQJxDlURJ48]
Book Description:
Grammar rules! Good Grammar is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life will convert grammar goofballs into bonafide word nerds. As the writer of the award-winning humor column “Grammar Guy,” Curtis Honeycutt’s grammar advice appears in dozens of newspapers every week. His debut book—filled with witty word wisdom—is designed to make
your life more awesome by improving your grammar. Do you love language, but sometimes get tripped up by confusing grammar rules? Good Grammar is the Life of the Party is like a cheat code for your social life. Level up your grammar game to become a linguistic legend—from romantic relationships to job promotions to getting invited to fancy roof
parties. Climb the corporate ladder, convince people you’re smart, and win at life with dozens of helpful tips on how to master the English language.
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Curtis Honeycutt, Author of Good Grammar is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life
Live long and grammar.
When I started working at a new company, I was disappointed to learn that an “enterprise” account had absolutely nothing to do with voyaging spaceships. Instead, enterprise accounts are the “big fish” your team reels in so that your proverbial corporate boat stays afloat.
I hate to critique Captain Kirk, but when he utters “to boldly go where no man has gone before,” he’s technically breaking a grammar rule. Or is he? I know William Shatner (who famously played Captain James T. Kirk) is Canadian; does that hamper his grasp on correct English grammar?
“To boldly go” is an example of a split infinitive. Up until now, the only thing I was worried about splitting was my pants.
So, what’s an infinitive, anyway?
An infinitive is almost always a two-word verb phrase with the word to in front of the verb. Examples of infinitives include to sneeze, to cry, to dance and to fail. A split infinitive occurs when you put an adverb between to and the verb. It’s as if the adverb is rudely cutting in on you and your date at the prom, which makes you want to take the adverb out to the parking lot and punch it in the throat. Examples of split infinitives include to loudly sneeze, to softly cry, to confidently dance and to utterly fail.
So, what’s the big deal? Are split infinitives a definitive no-no in English? Not necessarily.
The anti-split infinitive movement grew from a handful of prominent English grammarians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who had nothing better to do than to try to bend popular opinions on English grammar rules to those of Latin. By now, these grammarians are all dead, so they don’t get a say anymore.
With that said, it’s probably a good idea to avoid split infinitives in your formal writing; many still view split infinitives as at least quasi-incorrect grammar usage. But, could you imagine the introduction of a classic show like Star Trek where Kirk says “...to go boldly where no man has gone before”? Pop (and nerd) culture just wouldn’t be the same. I’ll split with the grammar
snobs and cling on to the Trekkers on this one.
The big question you may be asking yourself is: who has better grammar—Star Wars or Star Trek fans? Believe it or not, I can answer this one for you. Star Trek fans are better grammarians.
Grammarly studied nearly 2,000 fan comments on both the Star Trek and Star Wars Reddit fan communities. According to the data, Trekkers have a 98.2% grammatical accuracy, while Star Wars fans have an accuracy score of 94.6%. Jedi devotees’ largest gaffes involve punctuation while Klingon supporters suffer most from grammar errors. Does that make one franchise better than the other? I’ll let the respective devotees continue to duke it out with their lightsabers and pointy ears. I’ve never really gotten into any of the “Star” movies. One sun is plenty for this pasty coppertop to deal with, so please don’t beat me up because I don’t care about “beam me up.”
—Curtis Honeycutt is a syndicated humor columnist. He is the author of Good Grammar is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life. Find more at curtishoneycutt.com.
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Curtis Honeycutt, Author of Good Grammar is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life
How did you become a grammar expert?
During college, I was an English major for an entire semester. After that, I switched to religious studies. Clearly, I’m never going to be afflicted with wealth, but I love writing and mastering the rules of the English language.
How did you organize your book?
I used my syndicated newspaper columns as jumping-off points for the content of my book, but then I sorted them into different ways the subjects of each essay could improve your life: your social life, your love life, your work life, your life in general, and how nerds rule the world with good grammar. There is an index at the back of the book for people who want to find specific grammar things.
Why do you write for newspapers?
I love newspapers and believe they have an enormous value to our local communities. Local newspapers are the only place you’ll hear about city council meetings, local construction, and high school sports teams. My “Grammar Guy” columns show up every week in all kinds of papers, from one-stoplight small towns to large metro areas. Without having newspapers as a jumping-off point, there would be no book.
In your book, you write about your fear of horses. Why are you terrified of horses?
They can sense our fear, and our fear makes them wild with equine rage. Seriously, though, I share a terrifying horse story about a time my wife and I went to Arizona. My horse was evil incarnate and my head was too big for the riding place’s helmets. I thought I was going to end up being impaled by a cactus.
How do you use social media to promote your writing?
I like to share nerdy grammar cartoons I find on the web. I regularly ask Facebook and Instagram followers if they have new grammar topics they’d like me to cover. Between social media and my monthly newsletter, I like to think people get free “bonus” content that they don’t get in my weekly grammar column.
What advice would you give to budding writers?
Write something that only you can write. Even if you’re writing in a genre or about a subject that is familiar to others, you have a unique voice and perspective from which you can do your version of it. Don’t simply copy the latest trendy teen vampire love triangle trend; instead, write about something that gets you excited, and do it in a way that only you can. If that’s teen vampire love triangles, then write about teen vampire love triangles in a way that no one else has ever done it!
What is your next project?
I’m going to start a mustard review blog. I really like different types of mustards and would like to officially rate and review them. Always use a condiment.
—Curtis Honeycutt is a syndicated humor columnist. He is the author of Good Grammar is the Life of the Party: Tips for a Wildly Successful Life. Find more at curtishoneycutt.com.
Curtis Honeycutt started writing about grammar in his local newspaper. His column, Grammar Guy, has since won multiple awards and now appears in newspapers across the U.S. Originally from Oklahoma, Honeycutt now lives in Indiana with his wife, Carrie, and their two children, Miles and Maeve.
connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
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