I just finished a fun, yet strange, book while flying to and from our recent vacation. I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss.

One person saw the title and asked if it was a diet book. Another asked if it was a fitness book. I would respond, “No, it’s actually a book about, well, punctuation”.

How embarrassing.

But it’s funny in a dry sort of way. And really, it’s important. Besides learning about the history of the semi-colon and what an Oxford comma is, I was understanding a little better how important it is to punctuate properly (heaven’s knows I’m not the best at it!)

Though not a religious book by any means, Truss uses a scriptural example to help drive home her point. Compare the following:

“Verily, I say unto thee, This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”

with

“Verily I say unto thee this day, Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”

Catch the difference? The latter suggests that eventually the criminal on the cross will be in heaven with Jesus compared to the former saying that they will be together today, not the future (pg 74).

I bring this up here to serve as a reminder that when dealing with written text — be it email response or web content — everything is important and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Pick up the book. It’s good for a flight.