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Hi this is Betsy from Otto’s and I’ve got a confession to make. When one of my kids tells his dog to “go lay down,” I whisper to the dog, “Don’t move until he says ‘Go lie down.’” In short, I’m a grammar freak. So you can imagine how much I enjoyed the new bestseller, Between You and Me; Confessions of a Comma Queen. The author, Mary Norris, spent 30 years checking other people’s writing for errors as a copy editor for “The New Yorker.” Now she shares her extensive knowledge of grammar and punctuation, liberally livening it up with personal memories. Growing up in Cleveland, she dreamt of a future raising cows—the closest she got to that was one of her jobs as a milk-person (a female milkman). Whenever she is the least bit doubtful about a word’s spelling or usage, she researches it through its European roots. The chapter on the use of profanity is hilarious and she has a chapter on pencils, entitled “Confessions of a Pencil Junkie.” Between You and Me—now 20% off while it’s on the New York Times Bestseller List—at Otto’s, a booklover’s paradise in the heart of downtown Williamsport.
