{"title":"Val Dumond","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"elements-of-nonsexist-usage-book-val-dumond-9780133689112","title":"The Elements of Nonsexist Usage","description":"This is the definitive handbook for students, journalists, business executives, court and government workers, and teachers who want to eliminate sexism from their English but aren't always sure how to do it correctly. The Elements of Nonsexist Usage is not a polemic, but sound advice on gender-inclusive or gender-neutral language.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49909734408465,"sku":"CIN0133689115G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0133689115.jpg?v=1750843898"},{"product_id":"one-sentence-stories-book-val-dumond-9780998548913","title":"One-Sentence Stories","description":"Have you ever been tempted to write out your thoughts, a story, or a business report in one sentence - one very l-o-n-g sentence - to either tease the boss, empty your brain, rid yourself of the jitters caused by writer's block, the way of the world, your family feud, or an upcoming interview, and forgetting to complete a sentence, just letting your pen or computer run on and on (OMG, yells Teacher, a run-on sentence ) and forget Teacher and that irritating voice of condemnation, and writing your story, report, or thoughts the way they run through your head, placing word after word on paper or computer screen as you begin to notice how your body is relaxing, your brain has been stimulated, and you are having F-U-N, realizing the writer's block has been broken up, the world is continuing on its merry\/sad way without your help, your family is going to be your family all your life so get used to their weird ways, and that interview will be a challenge for you to shine and let your words and easy-going manner (brought about by producing a one-sentence piece of writing and knowing all is well and you feel good? That's what this book is about, 77 stories written by 43 writers from around the world about all kinds of subjects, of varying lengths and writing styles. You'll laugh, cry, wiggle, want to throw something, or want to embrace someone. but you'll have read some amazing stories.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49930467606801,"sku":"CIN099854891XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50371349709073,"sku":"CIN099854891XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51011974267153,"sku":"NIN9780998548913","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/099854891X.jpg?v=1750949383"},{"product_id":"grammar-for-grownups-book-val-dumond-9780062700544","title":"Grammar for Grownups","description":"As adults, it's particularly important to express ourselves clearly, both in speaking and in writing. Grammar For Grownups is the book that enables you to do just that  Here, at last, is a manual for people who have to use language in the real world. Not a list of hard-and-fast rules you learned (and forgot) in grade school, Grammar For Grownups is written clearly and wittily as a guidebook -- complete with practice exercises. Learn how to use language effectively by refreshing your knowledge of how grammar works and how words fit together to create meaning. With the book's simple, easy-to-understand language, you will recall the parts of speech, punctuation, and spelling in a way that helps get your meaning across quickly, effectively, and completely. No more guessing  Learn how to produce effective writing through your knowledge of grammar and usage.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49938510283025,"sku":"CIN0062700545A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062700545.jpg?v=1750811050"},{"product_id":"anarchist-s-guide-to-grammar-book-val-dumond-9780979746604","title":"The Anarchist's Guide to Grammar","description":"The Anarchist's Guide to Grammar: Banish the rules of grammar in the U.S.  is the revolution called for by author Val Dumond. Scary? Of course, but drastic measures must be taken. Just look at the state of language today  The time is now  Stand up and reclaim it  We've been taking U.S. language for granted, claims this long-time writer. We make several assumptions: 1) that we have a language called Proper English; 2) that a set of rules lies in some mysterious place, written by some mysterious authority; 3) that one must follow those rules to speak and write correctly. Not so  The time has arrived to banish what we call rules and expose the assumptions. Dumond asks: What would happen if we all spoke the language of our heritage? We would quickly learn the sound of the Tower of Babel - since US-language has come about by combining languages from (at least) 150 countries around the world. As immigrants enter the country, they bring with them new ideas, cultures, foods, music, and language. As they become settled, they combine their culture with US-ers, thus enriching all of us in the United States, including our language. In an amusing Introduction, Val explains how we have assumed there exists an incontrovertible set of grammar rules to be followed in order to speak proper, correct, good English. We're not in England anymore  she points out. Oh yes, we started out with British rules, but as we declared our independence, language changed, and continues to change. Do you really understand ordinary British English? Numerous pundits over time have drawn up what they consider the rules of grammar and forced them on their students. Yet, when those students run up against someone who studied a different set of rules, confusion and doubt rear their heads. Must we in the U.S. speak proper English or do we have a language all our own? After clarifying the conundrum of US-language, Dumond offers guidelines to aid writers in determining what constitutes understandable language. Those guidelines don't depend on memorizing all the crazy names for the parts of language, but rather the guidelines focus on how those parts function. Nouns and pronouns become Things; adjectives and adverbs become Modifiers; punctuation becomes Rules of the Road - all presented in easily understood language, with examples to boot. Included in the guidelines are ways to decide which nouns to capitalize how to discern the difference between plural and possessive nouns how pronouns perform ways to vary word modifiers how to add modifying phrases and clauses use of the little words that serve as the glue to connect words into sentences how to use the dots, dashes, and curly cues we call punctuation. But she doesn't stop there. Writers will especially enjoy the freedom offered to create new words and put together sentences and paragraphs. She offers suggestions to use numbers and inclusive language, as well as offering four ways to improve spelling. The solution to the confusion of US-language seems so simple. Look at the rules that come close to your interpretation, then modify them to make them work for you. Set up Your Style Manual, rather than depend on style manuals put together according to some other group's interpretations. And she shows you how. All this is included in The Anarchist's Guide to Grammar: toss out the assumptions, clarify them, pick up some basic, helpful guidelines, and write with power and assurance. No longer will you need to ask, What are the rules for writing Proper English? At last, you'll understand why there aren't any. At last you can write your own guidelines.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51010133590289,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51010136342801,"sku":"NIN9780979746604","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0979746604.jpg?v=1750981613"},{"product_id":"grammar-for-grownups-book-val-dumond-9780979746673","title":"Grammar For Grownups","description":"As adults, it's particularly important to express ourselves clearly, both in speaking and in writing. Grammar For Grownups is the book that enables you to do just that  Here, at last, is a manual for people who have to use language in the real world. Not a list of hard-and-fast rules you learned (and forgot) in grade school, Grammar For Grownups is written clearly and wittily as a guidebook -- complete with practice exercises. Learn how to use language effectively by refreshing your knowledge of how grammar works and how words fit together to create meaning. With the book's simple, easy-to-understand language, you will recall the parts of speech, punctuation, and spelling in a way that helps get your meaning across quickly, effectively, and completely. No more guessing  Learn how to produce effective writing through your knowledge of grammar and usage.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51010309423377,"sku":"NIN9780979746673","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0979746671.jpg?v=1750706120"},{"product_id":"book-2-one-sentence-stories-book-val-dumond-9780998548920","title":"BOOK#2 One-Sentence Stories","description":"What the heck, you may ask, is a one-sentence story? A good definition: a story told in a single sentence. It could be a short, very short sentence or it could be a long, very long sentence. For the purpose of this anthology, the specified number of words is between 200 and 2000. Any sentence can be made longer... according to Professor Steven Pinker, Ph.D. And that's what started this idea of constructing a long sentence that tells a story. Never mind what Teacher warned about run-on sentences  Never mind what writing professors tell you. Just put your pen to paper or fingers to computer and W-R-I-T-E  As for merits? That's up to the writer, anyone who writes - whether writing for business or for telling fictitious stories for fun. We write to inform, question, describe, document (relate what happened), and to express our souls. How do you write? You hear it all the time. They do it with movies; they do it with television shows; they do it with jazz music; and they even do it on Broadway  They believe that when the first - the original - presentation is well received, it's time to produce another one. This book is the second presentation of One-Sentence Stories, starring many of the original cast of writers who wrote noticeably longer new stories this time, and also starring many new writers who have added new and exciting stories. The fun doesn't stop  One-sentence story writing originated with a challenge from the noted Dr. Steven Pinker, MIT professor, linguist, and author of such books as The Language Instinct and The Sense of Style. In both books, he cited long sentences in literature with as many as 340 words, adding every sentence can be made longer. Well, what writer can ignore such a challenge  That's when the fun began. Writers soon began to come up with their own extraordinary ways of writing a sentence. In this book you'll discover how Benjamin Lukoff uses the International Phonetic Alphabet-derived Lushootseed alphabet to represent native place names. And how holly woodie eschews capital letters and punctuation altogether - and both express intriguing stories. Writers report that this word-doodling has been going on for some time, and whether you call it word-doodling, playing with words, sentence-stretching, or silly sentences, it has its advantages. One of them is reducing stress; who can't use that? Another is re-focusing, as in what to do when a writer hits that well-known writer's block. Still another advantage is emptying the mind of words that have congregated in the head and need expelling. But the fun comes with the realization that you're writing those much-maligned run-on sentences that Teacher warned about back in grammar class. Some English teachers are using one-sentence writing to teach ways to use the English language. Now therapists working with patients under mental stress are using the project in a different way. When they encouraged patients to write down their dreams, they discovered the lack of punctuation, which often made clear the brain's confusion. But wait  There's more  Writers can use one-sentence writing to develop an idea into a story, or take apart a story by separating the scenes. Yes, the one-sentence story offers potential to all people who write. Have you ever sat in a dull meeting and wished you were on a beach somewhere? Use your pen (to look as if you're taking notes) and write how you would feel on that beach. You'll walk out of that meeting with your head held high and a good story in your briefcase. It's also good medicine to ease your mind while waiting for a dentist's appointment, or in the midst of a day wrangling children, or anxious over an upcoming exam, or just plain weary of daily problems.... For sheer fun - the run-away-and-forget-daily-woes kind of fun - you won't find an easier activity than word-doodling a one-sentence story. 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Took a look at the language rules with all their exceptions? Tried to discover your own writing style? Probably never  We all sopped up grammar rules in school as if they were manna handed down from on high. And now, as grownups, you see more clearly that those were just ideas of rules that you were made to learn, nothing cast in stone or made official. At last, comes an official guide to American-English - as unique as the country that uses it. No hard-and-fast rules to learn, since you are dealing with a language comprised of a variety of other languages. American-English is like no other for the simple reason it lacks a set of rules we can all agree on. So why try  What makes this book official is the use of guidelines - not rules - on which you the writer can learn your own options, make your own decisions, and choose the ones that best fit your style of writing. And that doesn't include the styles set by creators of corporate style manuals that reflect only how employees of that corporation are to write. American-English reviews the parts of speech by emphasizing the way those words function and how to choose words that readers will understand. You'll also review the strange curly cues, dots, and lines that form punctuation - to provide readers with the sound of your written voice. And finally, you'll find guidelines to put it all together, including help in learning ways to improve word usage, sentence structure, paragraph patterns, spelling, the use of numbers, and avoiding biased language (PC means polite and courteous here). 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