Category Archives: Ideas and Opinions

Review of The Truth About English Grammar by Geoffrey K. Pullum

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Ed Battistella

The Truth About English Grammar by Geoffrey K. Pullum (Polity Press, 2024) Many years ago, I took a freshman course called English Grammar, taught by the Renaissance scholar Bridget Gellert Lyons. In that class, we read A Short Introduction to … Continue reading →

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What I’m Reading: Mosley, Kuang, Gladwell

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Ed Battistella

Farewell, Amethystine by Walter Mosely By my count, Walter Mosely has written 17 Easy Rawlins mysteries (and another 15 featuring Socrates Fortlow, Leonid McGill, King Oliver and Fearless Jones). I try to read them all though may have missed a … Continue reading →

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Time, time, time is on my side

Posted on December 11, 2024 by Ed Battistella

If I could turn back time … Purely by luck, I’ve read three books on time travel recently. A friend recommended The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown, my book group choose Stephen King’s 800-page 11/22/63 for its December read, … Continue reading →

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Dogwhistles and Figleaves

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Ed Battistella

A while ago, I reviewed Jennifer Mather Saul’s Dogwhistles and Figleaves (Oxford UP, 2024) for Choice. It occurred to me that the timeliness of the book warranted a longer discussion and this it. Saul is a philosopher at the University … Continue reading →

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