Customer Reviews:
 A Fascinating New Approach to an Old Subject October 6, 2008
Charles Jacobs (Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey United States)
October 5, 2008 By Charles Jacobs
I first discovered this book when Lawrence Weinstein and I shared a table at a book sellers conference, he was promoting Grammar for the Soul and I a very different approach to using words, my latest book The Writer Within You. To the credit of the many retailers who stopped to view our table's offerings, the majority voiced substantial interest in both.
Reading Weinstein's fine book makes me want to head back to college and audit his writing courses. He writes with outstanding clarity and sensitivity as he tackles some rather esoteric concepts.
I winced when I first read the subtitle, "Using Language for Personal Change." I found it hard to imagine the relationship of the two. But Weinstein puts me to shame as a fellow writer for not recognizing the way an author uses grammar and punctuation can be so revealing of his/her own personality.
In his chapter titled "Grammar to Restore the Ego," for example, Weinstein talks of conjunctions and places a value on the importance of each portion of a sentence in which this grammatical device is used. He explains that what comes before the word has less value and less impact than what follows the conjunction. If one is despondent upon losing a job, he/she might say, "I worked hard and the company really benefited, but I lost my job." But if those words are reversed, the emphasis shifts and the lasting impression is positive, "I lost my job, but I worked hard and the company really benefited." This, he explains, offer somewhat of a lift to the ego despite the loss and in doing so offers a degree of personal change.
It is hard to select a favorite chapter--they're all delightful--but, if pressed, I choose "Communication" where Weinstein's illustrations of poor and misleading grammar and punctuation are highly instructive, but wonderfully light-hearted.
To his credit this erudite instructor adds a powerful caveat to his teachings. He states, "Correctness (of grammatical usage) is a moving target," and adds later that it is mostly true that "Usage leads the way; rules come along to validate and stabilize usage temporarily...ultimately, rules follow people."
That may perhaps be a shock to his college students who have completed years of strict, demanding grammatical grilling in their middle and high school classrooms. To me it is the mark of a true scholar of the language who recognizes that usage changes as society's mores change.
This is a very worthwhile book for anyone who prizes language and the grammatical devices that make language work. I recommend it strongly.
A soulful approach to grammar September 23, 2008
Taylor Ellwood
While not a typical book that one might associate with spiritual techniques, this book proved rather intriguing because the author examines how punctuation, tenses, clauses, passivity, etc is used in language to communicate and also empower an individual. As someone who consistently is interested in exploring the connection between language and spiritual techniques, I also found this book useful for considering how I could not only improve my writing, but also improve the efficacy of my magical workings when it came to using language.
Each chapter is only a few pages long, but the author manages to include a lot of information as well as samples for how grammar can be used to empower and communicate, as well as create personal change. The author's narrative is friendly and approachable. I didn't feel lost in a sea of grammar rules. If anything, I felt that I could easily navigate grammar's laws and use them to my benefit, both for my writing and my sense of self.
If I have one quibble with this book, it's that the author didn't include exercises for the reader. While the examples he used were illustrative of how to improve one's writing skills as well as how to use writing to effect personal change, the lack of exercises can keep the reader from realizing the book's full potential, unless they are already active writers. That said, I'd give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
A grammar book you'll love reading May 26, 2008
Diane D. Tetreault
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not your grandmother's grammar book. Grammar for the Soul captures the love of language and the desire to make writing more effective, but it's also fun and delicious. This book will not only be on my college class reading list, but also will be the gift of choice for my friends and family. Move over, Strunk & White, make room for Grammar for the Soul.
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