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Dreyer's English
- An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style
- Narrated by: Benjamin Dreyer, Alison Fraser
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
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Publisher's summary
New York Times best seller • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness
"Essential (and delightful!)" (People)
We all write, all the time: books, blogs, emails. Lots and lots of emails. And we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help.
As Random House’s copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike - not to mention his followers on social media - for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now, he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward.
As authoritative as it is amusing, Dreyer’s English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en dash; the rules and nonrules of grammar, including why it’s okay to begin a sentence with "And" or "But" and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it’s best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including "very," "rather," "of course," and the dreaded "actually." Dreyer will let you know whether "alright" is all right (sometimes) and even help you brush up on your spelling - though, as he notes, "The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them."
And yes: "Only godless savages eschew the series comma."
Chockful of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this audiobook will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and - perhaps best of all - an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language.
Praise for Dreyer’s English
"Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal... One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer’s English." (The Wall Street Journal)
"Destined to become a classic." (The Millions)
"Dreyer can help you...with tips on punctuation and spelling.... Even better: He’ll entertain you while he’s at it." (Newsday)
Critic reviews
"Interwoven with cultural history and lively self-revelation, this bracing manual will up your game even if all you’re writing is emails." (People Book of the Week)
"Call it the hedonic appeal. Dreyer beckons readers by showing that his rules make prose pleasurable.... His book is in love with the toothsomeness of language. Its sentences capture writing’s physicality." (Katy Waldman, The New Yorker)
"Brimming with wit and revelatory wisdom, this style manual-cum-linguistic jubilee from Random House’s copy chief...entertains as it enlightens." (O: The Oprah Magazine)
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Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar—but she's also determined to make the process as painless as possible. One year ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. More than seven million episodes have now been downloaded, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
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Worthwhile But Not in Audio Form
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 09-25-10
By: Mignon Fogarty
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Grammar for a Full Life: How the Ways We Shape a Sentence Can Limit or Enlarge Us
- By: Lawrence Weinstein
- Narrated by: Lawrence Weinstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Grammar is about much more than rules: It’s about choices, too - since a thought can always be expressed correctly in multiple ways. Why settle for a normal audiobook on grammar when you could learn new things about it and become your own best self at the same time? Grammar is about much more than rules: It’s about choices, too - since a thought can always be expressed correctly in multiple ways. Weinstein shows that certain tweaks to a person’s grammar can bring consequential changes in his or her fulfillment and well-being.
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Loved his take on life
- By Debrajoygwen on 12-01-21
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How to Write a Sentence
- And How to Read One
- By: Stanley Fish
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptness of finely crafted sentences and breaks them down into digestible morsels, giving listeners an instant play-by-play. Drawing on a wide range of great writers, from Philip Roth to Antonin Scalia to Jane Austen, How to Write a Sentence is much more than a writing manual—it is a spirited love letter to the written word, and a key to understanding how great writing works. It is a book that will stand the test of time.
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Excellent book for writers
- By missbizinla on 07-15-23
By: Stanley Fish
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Eats, Shoots & Leaves
- The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
- By: Lynne Truss
- Narrated by: Lynne Truss
- Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Through sloppy usage and low standards on the internet, in email, and now text messages, we have made proper punctuation an endangered species. In Eats, Shoots & Leaves, former editor Lynne Truss dares to say, in her delightfully urbane, witty, and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. If there are only pedants left who care, then so be it. This is a book for people who love punctuation and get upset when it is mishandled.
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Not Too Much There
- By Sam on 04-08-14
By: Lynne Truss
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The Sense of Style
- The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Sense of Style, the best-selling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the 21st century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose.
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A great book, done a great injustice by the audio
- By M. Kunze on 10-17-14
By: Steven Pinker
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Word by Word
- The Secret Life of Dictionaries
- By: Kory Stamper
- Narrated by: Kory Stamper
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing them is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography - from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language.
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Kory should narrate more Audible books!
- By Friendly on 04-24-17
By: Kory Stamper
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Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
- By: Mignon Fogarty
- Narrated by: Mignon Fogarty
- Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar—but she's also determined to make the process as painless as possible. One year ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. More than seven million episodes have now been downloaded, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
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Worthwhile But Not in Audio Form
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 09-25-10
By: Mignon Fogarty
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Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
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Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
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The Art of X-Ray Reading
- How the Secrets of 25 Great Works of Literature Will Improve Your Writing
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Where do writers learn their best moves? They use a technique that Roy Peter Clark calls X-ray reading, a form of reading that lets you penetrate beyond the surface of a text to see how meaning is actually being made. In The Art of X-Ray Reading, Clark invites you to don your X-ray reading glasses and join him on a guided tour through some of the most exquisite and masterful literary works of all time, from The Great Gatsby to Lolita to The Bluest Eye and many more.
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So Good I Bought the Print Version
- By Jan on 04-25-16
By: Roy Peter Clark
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English Grammar Rules & Mistakes Bundle
- Learn All of the Essentials: Writing, Speaking, Literature and Punctuation Rules Complete with 10 Key Skills and over 200 Common Error Examples
- By: Melony Jacobs
- Narrated by: Darren Schilling, Madeline Goshorn
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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So, you've been reading online about all the different methods and techniques to finally call yourself the English grammar expert. You’ve paid all types of people to help you improve your punctuation skills and sentence structure struggles and, maybe, even attended classes in hopes of achieving the topnotch English grammar, writing, spelling, and speaking skills you have been yearning for.
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Helpful
- By Anonymous User on 05-18-23
By: Melony Jacobs
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English Grammar Rules 101
- 10 Essential Rules to Improving Your Writing, Speaking and Literature Skills for Students and Beginners
- By: Melony Jacobs
- Narrated by: Darren Schilling
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever wondered how to improve your English grammar skills with little to no effort at all? How about the most effective ways to master punctuation and structure sentences like a professional book editor? If so, keep reading because you’re in for a treat...The information contained in this audiobook is designed to help fix your grammar skills once and for all. The application of what you learn in this audiobook can help you see results in as little as one week, and change your life forever.
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No content
- By viktoriya phillips on 04-29-21
By: Melony Jacobs
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The Elements of Style (Recorded Books Edition)
- By: William Strunk Jr., E. B. White
- Narrated by: Frank McCourt
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
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The Elements of Style has long been a valued and beloved resource for all writers. Hailed for its directness and clever insight, this unorthodox textbook was born from a professor's love for the written word and perfected years later by one of his students: famed author E. B. White. Ever since its first publication in 1959, writers have turned to this book for its wise and accessible advice.
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Required Reading
- By T. C. Pile on 12-07-08
By: William Strunk Jr., and others
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English Grammar Rules You Must Know
- Writing and Speaking 101 for Beginners, Daily English for Friendly Conversation & Business Applications, Understanding Grammar to Avoid Errors That Make You Look Dumb!
- By: Lissie Bradach
- Narrated by: Hedy Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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English Grammar Rules You Must Know is the only book you will ever need to learn about the English language. You will learn all about nouns and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, punctuation, synonyms and antonyms, and more, in addition to writing paragraphs and composing essays across various contexts - from casual settings to professional environments. So, take note of this book, as it is the only one you will ever need to answer all your questions about the English language and grammar. Buy this book now, and get started on your new path to mastering the English language.
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Helps tremendously with my writing
- By Louis Thorpe on 02-03-21
By: Lissie Bradach
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Word Workout
- Building a Muscular Vocabularly in 10 Easy Steps
- By: Charles Harrington Elster
- Narrated by: Charles Harrington Elster
- Length: 20 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Word Workout is a practical audiobook for building vocabulary - a graduated program featuring thousands of words that begins with those known by most college graduates and ascends to words known only by the most educated, intelligent, and well-read adults. This workout is a comprehensive program, chock-full of information about synonyms, antonyms, and word origins, and replete with advice on proper usage and pronunciation.
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EDUCATIONAL, ENTERTAINING, ENGROSSING, ETC.
- By Tom Dolan on 05-09-16
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Dreyer's English (Adapted for Young Readers)
- Good Advice for Good Writing
- By: Benjamin Dreyer
- Narrated by: Benjamin Dreyer
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Adapted from the New York Times best seller by Random House's longtime copy chief, this informative and witty guide to writing and grammar, written especially for a younger audience, entertains as well as instructs.
By: Benjamin Dreyer
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Writing Tools (10th Anniversary Edition)
- 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Neil Kaplan
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled down almost 30 years of experience in journalism, writing, and teaching into a series of 50 short essays on different aspects of writing. In the past decade, Writing Tools has become a classic guidebook for novices and experts alike and remains one of the best loved books on writing available. This new edition includes five brand-new, never-before-shared tools.
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Refreshing
- By Danielle on 06-15-21
By: Roy Peter Clark
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Between You and Me
- Confessions of Comma Queen
- By: Mary Norris
- Narrated by: Mary Norris
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Between You & Me features Norris' laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation, and usage - comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom", "that" vs. "which", compound words, gender-neutral language - and her clear explanations of how to handle them.
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Surprisingly hilarious
- By William on 04-24-15
By: Mary Norris
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First You Write a Sentence
- The Elements of Reading, Writing...and Life
- By: Joe Moran
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether dealing with finding the ideal word, building a sentence, or constructing a paragraph, First You Write a Sentence informs by light example: much richer than a style guide, it can be listened to not only for instruction but for pleasure and delight. And along the way, it shows how good writing can help us notice the world, make ourselves known to others, and live more meaningful lives. It's an elegant gem in praise of the English sentence.
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Dull
- By Rachel on 05-07-24
By: Joe Moran
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On Writing Well: Audio Collection
- By: William Zinsser
- Narrated by: William Zinsser
- Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
- Abridged
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This expanded audio collection presents William Zinsser's On Writing Well, the classic teaching book that has sold more than 1 million copies, together with a new 90-minute section that tells you how to write a memoir.
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This is not the described book.
- By Brianna on 11-06-13
By: William Zinsser
What listeners say about Dreyer's English
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gus Block
- 01-07-20
A Delightful Surprise
I was fairly confident I would like this book, if only from its topic and tongue-in-cheek subtitle. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy the narration. I'm especially wary of authors who read their own work - often a notoriously bad choice - but in this case Benjamin Dreyer nails it, along with his co-performer Alison Fraser. Excellent production and direction, too. Well done!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jeff Hopper
- 06-01-19
Wonderfully read
As a style manual, this would be better consumed in print. However, the audio book gives us the full benefit of Dreyer's voice, in both the literal and the literary sense, the latter of which is so much a part of the excellence (and enjoyment) of this writing. (Special note: I am certain the writer himself would groan over Audible's request that we rate the "story" of this book.)
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- Steven
- 08-18-19
Fabulous
Appreciated his learned take on writing style, and loved the style with which it was delivered.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kate
- 02-24-20
Fun
The author is not only obviously knowledgeable, he’s so entertaining to listen to. Thankfully he narrated his own book.
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- juddson
- 02-28-23
Informative + Entertaining
It is a difficult task to write a book about grammar without putting your readers to sleep. I appreciate the author’s dry humor. I also bought the paperback because I suspect I will be referencing this book regularly.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-30-19
Fun, Informative, and Well Performed
Well written, well researched, all together well done. Benjamin Dreyer has put together an excellent handbook, and his and Alison Fraser's performance is fantastic. Listen through the first time for the fun of it, then keep a copy at your desk for reference.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Mbaum
- 11-24-20
enjoyable but overhyped
I learned some useful information and laughed some along the way, but this was neither as amusing nor as informative as the glowing reviews led me to believe.
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1 person found this helpful
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- z1ulike
- 04-29-19
Almost Utterly Great
The author's political commentary should have been edited out. A great read otherwise. I've gained new respect for copy editors and hope I haven't broken too many rules writing this review.
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- Brooklyn
- 09-09-19
Grammar can be fun.
I read this for a graduate level course, and it was excellent. Who knew learning grammar could be so much fun.
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- J.B.
- 07-09-19
Proper English and Much Tongue in Cheek
Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, by Benjamin Dreyer, and narrated Benjamin Dreyer, along with delivery of the performance lines by Alison Frase. A pleasant journey into the peculiarities of the English language. Filled with little tidbits one should mind when writing and delivered in a tongue in cheek format. Mr. Benjamin Dreyer is a copy editor for Randon House.
The book is more entertaining than one would anticipate when considering the foibles of this idiom we took from the British, because Mr. Dreyer’s method of delivery is; a bit ironic. In fact, it is just packed with goodies to keep in mind when writing and equally packed with quips.
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