Stylized

I pointed out the Strunk & White rap video in late December. I remember reading E.B. White's essay about his teacher when I was in high school. And I still remember how excited I was when I found a paperback copy of Strunk & White in my college bookstore.

A couple of days ago I added a new Strunk & White book to my collection. I don't have the illustrated edition, and I don't have the most recent addition, although I do have a hardcover copy of the 3rd edition as well as my old paperback from college. My new Strunk & White isn't an edition of Strunk & White, it's a Kindle book about Strunk & White.

The book is Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's Elements of Style. I haven't started reading it yet, but given my peculiar obsession with commas and style, I am looking forward to it.

"I hate the guts of English grammar," E. B White once famously proclaimed. Yet Strunk & White's The Elements of Style is among the most important and timeless books on writing. With its enduring legacy and cultish following, it has inspired countless derivatives and homages, from a magnificent edition illustrated by Maira Kalman to a rap. The book has become a legend in its own right, its story part of our modern creative mythology -- but, like a good fairy tale, it brims with more curious, unlikely, even whimsical details than a mere plot summary might suggest. Those are exactly what Mark Garvey, a 20-year publishing veteran and self-professed extreme Elements of Style enthusiast, explores in Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. (Maria Popova)