A World Without "Whom"
The Essential Guide to Language in the BuzzFeed Age
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ISBN10: 1632867583
ISBN13: 9781632867582
Paperback
400 Pages
$18.00
CA$24.00
A World Without "Whom" is Eats, Shoots & Leaves for the internet age, and Emmy Favilla is the witty go-to style guru of webspeak. As language evolves faster than ever, what is the future of "correct" writing? When Favilla was tasked with creating a style guide for BuzzFeed, she opted for guidelines that would reflect not only the site's lighthearted tone, but also how readers actually use language IRL.
With wry cleverness and an uncanny intuition for the possibilities of internet-age expression, Favilla makes a case for breaking the rules: A world without "whom," she argues, leaves more room for writing that's clear, timely, pleasurable, and politically aware. Featuring priceless emoji strings, sidebars, quizzes, and style debates among the most lovable word nerds in the digital media world—of which Favilla is queen-A World Without "Whom" is essential for readers and writers of news articles, blog posts, tweets, texts, emails, and whatever comes next . . . so basically everyone.
Reviews
Praise for A World Without "Whom"
"A provocative and jaunty romp through the dos and don'ts of writing for the internet. . . . A World Without 'Whom' provides a fascinating examination of how a modern grammar guru handles the quandaries that arise out of the dialect of social media, at a time when we are afraid—or perhaps excited—that the way we communicate online may be re-engineering our language itself."—The New York Times Book Review
"[A] word-nerdy extravaganza . . . In an age defined by highly fluid internet slang, memes and emojis, Favilla's lighthearted, conversational book intends to allay fears of the apocalypse: Our language isn't being decimated, she argues, it's just evolving, as it always has."—Newsweek
"A smart and amusing work that will appeal to those who enjoy the fun point of contact between language's inherent ambiguity and its cultural and technological biases."—Library Journal
"[A World Without "Whom"] lifts up what matters in language, namely clarity and respect for others, and grants permission to dismiss those hobgoblins disguised as 'rules.'"—Booklist
"Snappy and irreverent—but it's also thoughtful, well-informed and relentlessly commonsense . . . While it may induce cringing among red-pen wielders, Favilla's book will also provoke (literal) LOLs and may inspire a kinder, gentler, more free-flowing approach to language for grammar nerds both traditional and modern."—Shelf Awareness