The best climate for a writer is in Seattle. It is a known fact. I am sitting on my couch, steaming mug of tea by my side, pastoral landscape (aka small suburban backyard with grazing beagles) outside my window, and there is nowhere else I would rather be. Unless it is Cancun. But I wouldn’t be writing in Cancun. I proved my point. Seattle and its idyllic surroundings are also conducive to extensive reading. It’s a common side effect to the greenery and the lack of vitamin D. On the bright side if you have access to a public library it won’t bankrupt you. The general appearance of your abode could suffer for it, but closing your eyes normally does the trick. It also helps to have a husband sympathetic to the cause. Bribing the said husband with liberal amounts of free time to finish Halo: Reach further helps the said cause. But enough of digressing about cloudy skies and lovely companions. Since it’s Monday, here is my suggestion for this week: Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande. I have never had so much fun reading about grammar before. Like the author says, the book is a guide to language for fun and spite. And lots of fun it is reading about punctuation and conjunctions, when the chapters start with titles like Semicolonoscopy, or Copulative Conjunction: Hot Stuff For The Truly Desperate. On the shared possessive, Casagrande explains the rule asking questions about asses and crawling bugs. Although it sounds unorthodox, Casagrande’s approach to the intricacy of good grammar has its merit. After you have laughed for half an hour, I assure you that you will never forget the rule again.

P.S.

I am listening on my red Zune, Rosas by La Oreja de Van Gogh.