The Elements of Style by Strunk & White – 100pg

Running Total – 250pg

A review of The Elements of Style:
Clear and simple, this “little” book is truly the must-read guide experts make it out to be.  Presented in easy-to-understand text with the lovable dogmatism of Strunk, this book neatly dictates basic rules of grammar and style invaluable to any writer.  White adds a whimsical introduction and a down-to-earth chapter on the elusive mystery that is “style.”  A closing glossary of grammatical terms provides a nice refresher course.  Sprinkled with humor and irony, it is both an enjoyable and informative read.

While some of the “rules” may be interpreted as personal preferences, most of the suggestions are supported with logic and examples.  Commonly misused words and basic rules of punctuation are just a few of the things reviewed in this book.  What I found most helpful was a bundle of easy ways to simplify my writing – common unnecessary phrases and words that clog up sentences unknowingly.  I plan to apply these principles when I edit my works, thereby increasing their velocity and power.

Understood.  Yes, all of the peer’s works I would be reading (or, I actually have an audio book of one friend’s work!) would be type-written.  I will convert all of them to those type specifications before taking a page count.  Thank you!

Absolutely.  It’s not the prizes, anyway… it’s the challenge.  Thou  mayest as well start being a happy camper right now, as I’ve already read a book that’s been hiding in my basement for 2+ years!!  I’m very happy about that, and there’s more on my shelf begging for attention.  But I’m finishing a library book first.   

(Just the same, it never ceases to amaze me at the sheer volume of pages some people are capable of devouring in an afternoon!)

Audio books will be an interesting way of sneaking in some extra pages.  Like Melody, there’s a lot of times when I’m working that I could have an audio book, instead of music, going on in the background.

I have another question.  If I read something substantial a peer (or I!) wrote, can I count the pages in some way?  As a writer, I am often reading other people’s drafts, as well as re-reading my own.  Is there some way I can count this reading?  Thanks!

Thanks for “rescuing” my post and answering my question, Jordan!  I only have the one book I’ll be starting before June 1st, so I’ll keep careful tabs of where I stop tomorrow so I can count the rest of the pages. 

This is my first year, and I’m excited to give it a go!  Thanks to Jordan for posting a notice on Christian Filmmakers.  (You might want to do that again, now that it’s closer, and see if you can interest anybody else.  Tell them it’s the coolest summer reading program ever – all the cool kids are doing it.)

I do have one question, though.  If I started reading a book before June 1st but don’t finish it, can I count the pages I read AFTER June 1st in the RAT?  (For example, if the book is 200 pages and I read 50 before June 1st, can I count the other 150?)  Or do I need to read the whole book during RAT to count?  I was told Bible reading counted, which led me to believe you didn’t have to read the whole book to count the pages, but I’m a bit confused by the rules page.  Thank you.