Dubi reviewed Shady characters by Keith Houston
Review of 'Shady characters' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A fascinating read on the history of punctuation, writing, and reading, from ancient Greece to the internet age.
One word of warning: I wouldn't recommend reading the ebook version, as it ironically demonstrates just what a destructive force technological developments have on the way we read and write. A lot of the more whimsical ways Houston demonstrates the use of various punctuation marks are lost or just confusing when auto-pagination takes over from deliberate composition. The chapter on the manicule was probably most adversely influenced. Also, the images are not rendered very clearly on the kindle, and I often had to jump between the Kindle and the app to view images.
Finally, the odd decision not to break down the notes section by chapter means it's incredibly frustrating to hunt down references. Buyer beware.
A fascinating read on the history of punctuation, writing, and reading, from ancient Greece to the internet age.
One word of warning: I wouldn't recommend reading the ebook version, as it ironically demonstrates just what a destructive force technological developments have on the way we read and write. A lot of the more whimsical ways Houston demonstrates the use of various punctuation marks are lost or just confusing when auto-pagination takes over from deliberate composition. The chapter on the manicule was probably most adversely influenced. Also, the images are not rendered very clearly on the kindle, and I often had to jump between the Kindle and the app to view images.
Finally, the odd decision not to break down the notes section by chapter means it's incredibly frustrating to hunt down references. Buyer beware.
