This was mostly just okay. It’s a collection of two books together, and I read them together, but the first one seems much stronger than the second.

The premise of the first one is that it is a funny collection of pictures showcasing grammar mistakes. Nichols included prominent, professional signage that made unfortunate errors with punctuation, phrasing, or spelling. These are mistakes should not have happened. Pro tip: If you ever erect a giant sign to advertise your freshly cut peonies, make sure that the sign actually says “Peonies.” The one included here advertises the sale of freshly cut body parts that also begin with “P.” Everyone makes mistakes, and this collection seems to be meant in good fun: a warm reminder that everyone is in the same leaky grammar boat from time to time.

The second book has a similar premise, but the warmth is noticeably lacking. There is a fine line between gentle humor and meanspiritedness, and some parts of the second book seem cruel. For one thing, there are many examples taken not from professionally printed items or public signage, but from online comments, hand-scrawled messages written hastily on torn-off notebook paper, and even graffiti. Many of these aren’t even grammar errors, but simple typos. (So a notice on a school bulletin board has a typo. So what?) The worst of it, I think, was the inclusion of a comment from an ESL student who was looking for books on English grammar and not finding any. She posted online a very eloquent paragraph explaining her struggles to learn English and her desire for a grammar book, only to have the screenshot of the comment printed here, so that people can make fun of her one grammar error. Did they miss the whole part where she’s trying to study grammar? She’s already stated that she wants to study English and doesn’t have access to enough resources. Why are they attacking her for something that she’s obviously already concerned about? That’s just cruel. In addition, many of the pictures are too small and blurry to read clearly, and that also inhibits enjoyment. Finally, my inner English major was starting to get irritated at the author’s grammar mistakes. That is, I was irritated at the mistakes she made in her decisions to criticize perfect grammar. Many of the “errors” belittled here are not errors at all, but correct formal grammar. I’m amazed that some of this was included here, since a perusal of any style guide (or even a dictionary) would have vindicated many of the people who are here mocked.

On the whole, the collection is decent. There are some nice reminders that even the best of us make mistakes, and we’re all human. I mean, if a Verizon advertisement can misspell the name of its own company, then what hope is there for the rest of us? Surely I should be grateful for the common foibles that connect us all. Better still, some of the commentary is pure snarky gold. But there are some definite flaws here as well. A mixed bag. ( )

There are some humorous signs in this collection, but others are not so funny. There are many examples of misused or missing apostrophes and quotation marks. Maybe too many. To, too, and two as well as there and their are also represented. My main complaint, repetition aside, is that several of the pictures have signs that are too small or too blurry to read. ( )