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Whether you're a student struggling through Composition 101 or a professional writer on a quest for perfection, The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law is always ready to fill the role of trusted advisor to your creative genius. Revised and updated in 2000, this version contains a 40-page section on media law, guides for punctuation and bibliographies, and specialized glossaries for business and sports writing, all in addition to its 280-page generalized stylebook.

Within each section, entries are alphabetized, and searching for an answer is a fairly simple process. Tricky words--those that can be hyphenated (know-how) or not (jukebox), homonyms, nonstandard spellings (mo-ped)--are given their own short entries. Larger categories, such as religions, military titles, the Internet, and datelines, have multiple pages devoted to their explanations, but detail and clarity are brought nicely together in each listing. Many entries concern brand names and trademarks--never again will you question whetherpingpong or Ping-Pong should be used in the flier for your table-tennis tournament.

While a few sections of this book--the ones concerning media law, photo captions, filing the wire, and proofreading marks--will most likely be used by professional and student journalists and editors, the majority of this book is an excellent tool for anyone who ever has to write for the public. Whether it's a newsletter for your badminton league, a training manual for your employees, or a press release detailing your company's quarterly earnings, this stylebook will help you turn out well-written copy that gains the approval of every English teacher you've ever had. --Jill Lightner.
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Who knew a stylebook could be so much fun? For lovers of language, Lapsing Into a Comma is a sensible and very funny guide to the technicalities of writing and copy editing Author Bill Walsh, chief copy editor in the business section of the Washington Post, humorously discusses the changing rules of proper print style in the information age. Is it "e-mail" or "email"? According to established grammatical rules, it should be e-mail, but in common practice, we often use email (which should be pronounced "uhmail," but we all know not to do that). Therefore, email is OK.

Walsh does not advocate tossing your AP Stylebook, but he does encourage using your head and not blindly adhering to formal rules. "A finely tuned ear is at least as important as formal grammar," he says, "and that's not something you can acquire by memorizing a stylebook." What about companies that use punctuation in their logos? Walsh cautions against confusing a logo with a name. You wouldn't use "Tech Stock Surge Boosts Yahoo!" as a headline unless you wrote for a very excitable newspaper. And then there's arbitrary capitalization. "The dot-com era has leveled a wall that Adidas and K.D. Lang and Thirtysomething had already cracked," says Walsh, "and suddenly writers and editors faced with a name are asking, "Is that capitalized?"--a question that's about as appropriate as asking a 5-year-old, 'Do you want that Coke with or without rum?'"

The first half of Lapsing Into a Comma zips along, making you think about the intricacies of grammar and editing--all while trying not to choke on laughter. The second half is Walsh's personally crafted style guide. Remember--Roommate: Two m's, unless you ate a room or mated with a roo. --Dana Van Nest.
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The world is divided into two types of people: those who wince when they see the words Canadian geese in print, and those who don't. If you are the former, or if you are the latter working for the former, the The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual provides invaluable assistance when you need to get your Canada geese all in a row. Countless newspapers and other publications base their style guides on this manual. The entries are arranged alphabetically and include issues of spelling, punctuation (there is no period in Dr Pepper), grammar, abbreviation, capitalization (Popsicle and Dumpster are, tollhouse cookies aren't), hyphenation (none, surprisingly, in ball point pen), and frequently misused words. There are also longer discussions of things such as Arabic names, chess notation, weather terms, and religious movements. Plus you'll find separate sections on sports writing, business writing, libel, and copyright. .
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The Crafty Diva's D.I.Y. Stylebook is filled with more than 50 all-new do-it-yourself craft projects that celebrate the many sides of tween girls. Snappy mini-chapters are organized by "style"-from animal lover and beautiful bohemian to party girl and flashy fashionista-each featuring three chic, affordable, step-by-step projects illustrated with whimsical illustrations and color photos. Coded as easy, moderate, or difficult, the projects utilize a variety of applications, giving girls a foundation of general craft experience and teaching them to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Packed with materials for the less experienced crafter, the book includes an introduction to craft tools and techniques, tips on creating a crafty corner in which to work, a crash course in doodling, and even a journal page and quiz to inspire each girl's unique creative spark. Helpful add-ons like a built-in ruler, color mixing chart, and inch/cm/ft conversion chart make it that much easier to get started. Whatever their skill level, tweens will love making, sharing, and showing off these fun, easy projects!

Crafts Include
Message-in-a-bottle necklace
Bubble gum soap bars
Glitter lip gloss
Mega mosaic mirror
CD and trinket shelf
Wacky wire rings
Lunch-box collage purse
Painted cellphone cover
Matchbox movie-star shrine
Rainbow hair wraps
Filled with tips, tricks, and techniques to help budding crafters
Targets the 30 million tweens (ages 8-13) who spend billions annually
Author's artwork has been featured in Gourmet, Sunset, Latina, and Phoenix magazines.
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The spiral-bound style manual is an essential handbook for all writers, editors, students and public relations specialists..
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