A good book that focuses on the fundamentals. I think this could be a great tool for new and aspiring writers. Good emphasis on proper grammar and punctuation.
If you're just starting out with your writing or struggling with the basics, this is a worthwhile read.

This book is a very good hands-on how-to guide on basic rules of writing anything. So good one.. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

Nice common sense review of things we learned in school but often need to review. It's easy to write like we talk but that has body language, voice tone, good to review annually!

As an author I thought this book was an amazing, resourceful, and entertaining reference guide that gave pointers and information about the English language and when to use and how to use certain words and phrases. Thank you for allowing me to read this and write about it,

I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs to improve their English skills. This is a masterful well written book of the rules of grammar and how to improve your basic writing skills. As I have a legal background I found it most applicable to my own use. It is suitable for any student, teacher, employee in any sector of business and anyone who wants to write concise letters with correct English. I f you feel your English writing skills need to be improved this is the book for you. The letters you write and the emails you send represent you to employers and business. This book will help you make a better impression and improve your skills.
The examples here are excellent and I appreciate the attention to detail as the author breaks down the rules for anyone to understand and put into use. It is a great way to improve your writing while re learning the basic rules of writing. If you want to present yourself well to the world in your emails and business letters you need to know how to write well and correctly. This book will help anyone achieve their goal of correct letter writing and better grammar. A excellent read and a book to purchase in Hard Cover to keep on your desk !
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book! My undergraduate degree is in English - Writing, so I've had the pleasure to read many books on the subject of writing. And while I don't claim to have read all books on the vast subject of writing, I have read some good ones, and some, well, that maybe should've waited to read this one. 

Leith does a fantastic job of discussing the fundamentals of writing in an easy, and often amusing, way. And while I won't ruin it for you, his analysis of the opening line of Gerard Manley Hopkin's "The Windover", using "plain English" had me laughing so loudly my husband took his earbuds out to make sure I was okay. 

What I have found to be difficult with other books on style - some of which Leith even mentions - that I haven't had with this one, is the author's ability to make me feel like I'm reading something for fun, instead of for learning. I enjoyed this book. It was an actual pleasure to read. If you have any desire to write, no matter if you're a seasoned writer, or a beginner, this book will have something for you. 

So, go find this book and buy/rent it. It's worth your time, I promise. 

5/5

✍️ ✍️ ✍️ ✍️ ✍️

WRITE TO THE POINT by Sam Leith, literary editor of the Spectator, is a master class in book form on writing fundamentals ... a great refresher on grammar, punctuation and trends with that wry Brit humor to boot! A highly recommended resource for writers, editors, teachers, and students. 5/5

Pub Date 07 Aug 2018

Thanks to The Experiment and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#WriteToThePoint #NetGalley

#WriteToThePoint #NetGalley

A very good handbook about English writing. I liked the way the way that the topics are introduced. Also, the book can be applied to any domain like business, introduction to writing for college students, ESL advanced levels and more.

Whether you're looking to learn about writing or brush up on your writing skills, this slim book covers everything you need without filler. A great book of writing advice and grammar rules that should be kept on the desk for easy referral while writing.

I never thought I would say that learning English grammar was entertaining & fun. I really enjoyed this book & the great examples given. This book is not only fun to read, but also covers the difference between spoken & written English. I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn or brush up on their English skills.

This was a very well written, interesting, and informative book. I especially liked how Mr. Leith used other authors’ work to demonstrate his writing point topic. It was well done.
Write to the Point is a great resource to have on hand in the classroom.

Why I requested to read this book:

I work at a Community College, where we have quite a few students still learning the basics of the English language, either because they are ESL students or because they did not fully grasp concepts in their K-12 English class. The premise of this book looked promising as approachable and covering many types of writing that our students encounter (e-mails, applications, etc.). It sounded perfect!

Thoughts after reading:

The majority of the book is Sam Leith's take on English Grammer, which I did learn from as he explains things using the less conventional method of conversational writing. It was a great way to engage me as a reader, as it's not a topic that I am particularly interested in. What I was hoping for from this book, for the sake of our students, was a more explicit breakdown of different writing situations, writing for desired outcomes. These exist in the book, but with only a couple of chapters to a couple of pages for each situation, which turns into blurbs of advice, but not really the how-to that I was looking for.

Will I buy it for my students? I'm still on the fence. I'm not sure that it will be relatable to them, and I will explain why:

When consciously giving examples, Sam Leith is mostly successful at creating the approachable, down-to-earth, relatable content that he is attempting to demonstrate. I found these examples to be terrific, as they provided me with a grasp of concepts that I had not found otherwise easy to grasp in my undergraduate English courses, and they often achieved the attempted humor, even if in a crass manner.

However, when not consciously demonstrating anything specific, the text between examples sometimes defaults to a flowery high level of English that is hardly approachable by the average reader/writer, and feels like the author falls prey to unintentional code-switching. This is puzzling as the author specifically states that writing this book in a conversational manner was his intent. Apparently, his level of conversation is beyond me. Casual use of words such as splenetic, pedant, and avuncular, undermines the conversational goal and makes me feel like I should study vocabulary all over again, or keep a dictionary by my side, just to make it through. Additionally, the author is very British in many his examples but attempts to speak to an American audience, which is also confusing. If he's writing for an American audience, quoting from the British version of The Office, or comparing the Guardian to the Daily Mail, isn't going to connect.

I wanted to give this book 5 stars, because I was engaged and learning, which is a tall order given my lack of personal interest in the topic. I end up giving it only 3 stars, because I think it's confused about the target audience, and what kind of book it wants to be.

As a proposal writer, I try to keep up with the changes in writing (all the while forgetting everything else). All I can really remember is having the worst time in my 7th grade English grammar class. In Write to the Point Sam Leith has refreshed my memory of English grammar (complete with nightmares of 7th grade), punctuation, and trends while doing it in a humorous way that kept me reading. It's a great resource that I'll be revisiting and would encourage those who need a writing refresher to buy for their bookshelves.