EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Res 8: Wisdom from Nedra Tawwab & a Funner Grammar Guide
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! As much as I hate to admit it, I do feel like I have a bit more energy now that the sun is out more. I’m sure it won’t last long once it actually gets warm but my plants are happier so, I’ll take what I can get. In case you missed it, I made a little reel showing off the absolutely amazing gift that Nicole gave to me for my birthday. I need to carve out some time to really dive into it. I want to share a photo of the herb garden I mentioned during last week’s newsletter because I think it looks charming and it’s bringing me a lot of joy (so far).
This week on the EEDA Pod, we continue to nerd out about the library in the second episode of our “Library Love Letter” two-part series. You can find our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
It’s resource week! Let’s get to it.
Resource 1: “Letting Go is Hard to Do” by Nedra Glover Tawwab
This week, Tawwab sent out a newsletter that is related to something I wrote about a month ago. She writes about how sometimes we hold onto things (or jobs or people) because we feel some sort of obligation to for a number of reasons. This is a lesson I’m constantly having to relearn myself and I appreciate her take on it. It’s okay to change our minds and just because we started doing something doesn’t mean we need to do it forever.
Resource 2: Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words by Anne Curzan, Ph.D.
I had so much fun reading this book and I think it is a necessary read for those of us who tend to be grammandos: people who like to correct other people’s grammar and judge them by it. The author is explicit about not using the term “grammar-nazi” saying, “If we’re gonna talk about nazis, let’s talk about nazis.” So, she employs the word “grammando” which is now firmly in my vocabulary. This book has helped me unlearn a lot of things about grammar and punctuation that I had practically embodied as part of my identity. In this book, she encourages us to turn away from the grammando part of ourselves and instead embrace our inner wordie, who is curious about language and fascinated by the ways in which language evolves and changes over time.
One of the things I love about this book is the kindness the author exudes. Her curious tone makes this book so approachable, which is something that books about grammar and punctuation rarely are. So many of us grammandos can be too firm on grammar rules when in reality, spoken language is different from formal written language and also, many grammar and punctuation rules fall to pieces depending on the situation.
She digs into things that many people hold to be true, like the idea that “ain’t” isn’t a word and the idea that double-negatives are always incorrect. She writes specifically about the word irregardless which is an absolutely delicious chapter. Curzan also talks about how current usage of the word “literally” adopts the definition of “figuratively” and that’s okay. We know what people mean, even if they say it in a way that would make Strunk and White cry. One of my favorite chapters is on the pronunciation of “ask” as “aks” and that is something that has had me unpacking some internalized white supremacy for years. I’m amazed at how many of our current grammar and punctuation rules can be traced back to “One guy liked it this particular way and wrote it in a grammar book.”
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop.
Recently Read:
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir by Shayla Lawson
Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho (out 4/23)
Currently Reading:
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
Ninetails: Nine Tales by Sally Wen Mao (out 5/28)
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams (Yes, I am still working on this. I got through one particular story and it thoroughly creeped me out so I’ve set it aside)
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.