The Book of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks: A Celebration of Creative Punctuation

by Bethany Keeley

From the sarcastic to the suggestive, here are quotation marks as we love them best, doing horrible damage to the English language. Who wouldn't have second thoughts about ordering the "hamburger" on the diner's menu? Would it be best to skip the "blowout" sale at the department store? What hidden price must be paid for something marked "free"? Assembled by the creator of the wildly popular "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, this book surveys the havoc wreaked by quotation marks on signs, menus, placards, and posters that leave reality upended by supposed "facts." This smarty-pants guide is "perfect" for desperate grammarians, habitual air quoters, and anyone who appreciates a good laugh.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Language, Writing, Adult, Art, Linguistics

176 pages, Hardcover

First published July 14, 2010

Reviews

[MischaS_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought it might be a decent funny book - unfortunately, it was... boring?

The Book of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, in fact, is more Unnecessary than anything else.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread, which has led to laughter all over this house. Maybe it won't affect you in the same way. But you NEED to laugh and you can't get this book, so go straight to the original blog, and here's just four highlights, any of which will take you to the original Blog of "Unnecessary" Quotations:

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/2006...

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/2011...

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/2010...

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/2007...

I got this book so I could have something to show everyone a representation of Keeley's amazing blog, and it is terrific, worth a lot of laughs. Keeley herself started to take photographs (am I right, Bethany?) of signs all over the country of this curious grammatical phenomenon of people putting quotes around words for no clear (to me or her) reason. As in "Fresh" Brown Eggs for Sale! Funny, right? So she invites people all over the world to send her pictures of signs with unnecessary quotations and it's amazing, and hilarious.

And listen: though I am an English teacher, I am not a stuffy grammarian. I don't look at this to feel superior about my grammatical abilities! Really not! I just find it interesting, and funny.

Laughing loud as I read the book, I am reminded of this NPR segment about an Indian physician who quit his job as a doctor to do clinics all over the country about the importance of laughter, but in spite of all his academic training, he (thank goodness) did not lecture on the virtues of laughter for good health; he would just tell jokes and make sure everyone laughed and laughed until they cried. His idea is that, as Art Linklater used to say, "laughter is the best medicine." That's what this blog has meant for me.

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I thought it would be funny to have in my classroom, and I figured I might find some examples that would make the kids not only laugh, but teach them. There were some times I was so hysterical reading the book and seeing the silly marks put that I had to put the book down or risk dropping it. I don't know if I was just in a silly mood from the heat of if it was genuinely that funny. I did enjoy it though, and I know some students will also think it funny. There are many examples that could be used just because they don't make any sense whatsoever. I do like the ways quotations could be used in the beginning as examples, too. They are funny and amusing.

This makes me want to give the students a year long assignment to find signs with punctuation used incorrectly. I think they would find it amusing, and it would show they are learning.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I "enjoyed reading" this "book."

[Kricket · Rating 4 out of 5]

full disclosure- i grew up with the author of this book and i've been reading her blog for several years, so i already knew i'd "like" this "book." (sorry. i know. everyone's doing that.) anyway, the material here really isn't different from that on the blog, but it's fun to read in print. bethany's commentary made me laugh so hard that the other people in the break room made me pass the book around, and then we were all "dying."

only slightly related tangent:
i think the concept of blogs published into print versions is an interesting one. i've heard some people mention that they don't think these are "real" books, along with coffee-table books or anything you would buy as a gift for someone who's not a big reader...i don't know, "cats with things on their heads," "quotes for mothers" and whatnot. or ebooks of dubious quality being published. i have particular standards* for my own reading, and i think it's great when people challenge themselves, but i still think it's better for people to read anything than nothing.

*and i'm not saying they're great. (see my current reads shelf "Pleasuring the Pirate")

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So "good". I'm not sure which I like better - the photos or the snarky comments that accompany the photos.

[SOS · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the sarcastic to the suggestive, here are quotation marks as we love them best, doing horrible damage to the English language.

This is an okay book. It's a super quick read, and it does fulfill the promise of the synopsis. The signs included in the book are, in general, humorous. At the beginning of the book,, the author lays out the rules involved in using quotation marks. The people who made the signs either did not understand the rules, or they decided to use the quotation marks to highlight words and phrases on their signs, perhaps in place of asterisks, in the hope of drawing the reader's attention to those highlighted words. While this can lead to laughter and, possibly, misconstruing the actual meant meaning, my biggest complaint about this book is that the comments made by the author are snarky. She knows the rules, therefore, everyone else should, too. In some cases, the comments are just mean spirited. This could have been a fun read if not for those unkind remarks.

I picked this book up in one of my neighborhood's little libraries. I'll return it to one or another of them, so someone else can read, and possibly enjoy, this book.

[Petr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a truly large collection of misused quotation marks with some comments from the author. It would certainly serve for an occasional giggle or as a good conversation starter about punctuation or grammar and language.

It seemed to me that the main message is that people do not understand quotation marks and use them for emphasis. Because that seems to be the case in all the examples. What is funny, in some cases, is to imagine that they used the quotation marks correctly. However, it is basically one joke about ignoring the pragmatics of a sentence and focusing on the punctuation rules repeated a hundred times (I haven't counted so that might be literally that many times).

[Marzena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you know what blog posts tend to do? They tend to do dull books. Especially if the book repeats the posts.

I came for fun and what I got was a twichy eye and quiet whimpering of my inner grammarian. Remarks aside, do these photos really make you laugh? Cause I'd rather cry at these poor souls who didn't bother to pay attention at school. And then possibly I'd toss a book at them.

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are you one of those people who are "annoyed" by "unnecessary" quotation marks? Then this book might just be "for you." It if full of photos of "signs" that have punctuation that serves no purpose other than to irritate those who punctuate properly or question what is really being "said." Have "fun" reading and try not to be too frustrated by the "obvious" errors of others.

[Terris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. I love books about grammar and punctuation, and this is one of the best! It includes lots of pictures of signs in restaurants, grocery stores, road signs, etc. that have unnecessary quotation marks! People just don't know when to use them!
"People" -- read this book! This means everyone ;)

[Oriana]

Aw, if only I still worked in a bookstore where I could "steal" books. Because I'd love to have this book in my bathroom, but it's not really very likely I would ever exchange money for that "privilege," you know?

[Brigid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oy, I've got tears from laughing so much! OK, that's from the first 1/3 of the book. From then on, it was only a few laughs and quite a few groans.
I'd only recommend the first third of the book.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was life changing....I'm sure I will never use quotation marks again without taking pause first to see that I'm using them "correctly" :) Fun book, quick to read since mostly pictures. Thanks bro' for the nifty Christmas present!

[Evan Ponstingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funniest book I have ever read. I have NEVER read through this without laughing!

[Tara Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was hilarious. My kids were perplexed because I was laughing so much. Of course, I was "drunk," so that might have made a difference.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m as “guilty” as the next “person” in unnecessarily using quotation marks. Sorry. I know. Everyone’s doing that. But I’m even more pathetic. I copied that “sentence” from “reviewer” Kricket.

[Bryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quit at the 66.8% mark. Not as funny as I was hoping.

[Amy BP · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed it more if it contained only the photos. I could have done without the author’s “witty” and “funny” commentary.

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book "iteration" of a humorous blog featuring "user" submitted material gathered from the wide weird "world." In this case, "unnecessary" quotation marks, which to me are a particularly funny brand of grammatical weirdness that pops up "frequently" in the wild in daily life. The placement of the "humble" quotation marks in an otherwise commonplace statement such as an ad for "handmade" candy (to give an example I saw personally just yesterday) can open up so much interpretation. Is it actually made by "machine"? Are the feet "used" as well? "Answers" can be limited only by the imagination. Of course, the book is "limited" in what it can present compared to the still "updating" blog, but does concentrate the "good" stuff.

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books like this can feel redundant when read from start to finish in one sitting, and this one is no exception; the quotation-mark-laden text becomes dizzying at a point and you forget what you're looking at, aside from a heap of wrongness. Still, in small doses, this book is enjoyable. The captions are entertaining and amusing, although they can distract from the images of text; they suggest a way of reading and interpreting the quoted text and it can be confusing.

I do love/hate inappropriate quotation marks, though, and my favorite is one I've seen personally at a flea market with a friend. There was a sign that read "'Quality' 'Furniture'" and my friend summed it up best: "I'm not sure what worries me more... The quotations around 'quality' or the ones around 'furniture.'"

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't wait to get this book and read it cover to cover in about an hour, and laughed aloud through the whole thing. Clever, snarky commentary at its best, without being preachy or condescending. I'd give it 5 stars, but can't, since it's really more of a slideshow than a "book," and I think I would have laughed equally hard without much of the commentary. Many of the signs, like one that reads "JESUS" IS COMING, speak for themselves. A must-read for people like me who walk through their days proofreading everything anyway.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always willing to read a book that makes fun of punctuation errors! This book was so funny, and is definitely worth reading if you are constantly wondering why people use quotation marks for emphasis. This is a coffee table type of book, great for a quick amusing glance. I found the humour hilarious and sardonic. This would be an excellent gift for an English teacher or someone with a particular pet peeve for misused quotation marks.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister picked up this book because... well, honestly, we had experience with people using unnecessary quotation marks and this book looked like it would be funny. We were not disappointed! It was so funny to see all the times other people used quotes when they didn't need to be there. In some cases, the implications - because of the punctuation - made an otherwise boring, ordinary sign into something totally hilarious.

[Aubrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The criteria for books like this is simple - provide a few laugh out loud moments with plenty of other smirks or snickers. This book failed in all accounts. It was enjoyable, but not something I would look at again unless there were no other options. The blog the book is based off of is a perfect example of what is in the book, with nothing expanded upon.

[Halli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always willing to read a book that makes fun of punctuation errors! This book was so funny, and is definitely worth reading if you are constantly wondering why people use quotation marks for emphasis. The signs alone would make for an entertaining read, but the author's comments are what make this book truly worthwhile. My cheeks still hurt from laughing!

[Mystry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book for a dollar at Half-Price Books. I noticed it was published by Chronicle Books, and as I love the quirky things they put out had to buy it. Definitely worth a dollar as it gave me quite a few good chuckles. Every page has a full-color picture along with a little blurb. Some of the places people have decided to use quotation marks... "yikes".

[Hester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sign
Signs
Everywhere are signs
Unnecessary quotation marks here
Unnecessary quotation marks there

This book making me think
All about signs
What do those quotation marks
Really mean?

I either don't pay attention to the signs around me they don't have unnecessary quotation marks on the signs where I live. From now on I''ll on the look out for signs like these.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

You call this "punctuation"? You say you graduated "high school", right? Have you "emphasized" the right "words", "question mark"? You probably haven't. The pictures and captions in this book are lessons in negative reinforcement, and an absolute riot for grammar fanatics. They'll have you slapping your forehead and giggling for hours.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so amazing. I love that someone else in this world has a problem watching quotation marks pop up in the most ridiculous places! Lovely idea for a book, but it did get a bit repetitive; maybe not every photo needed a caption... Half its length could have left only the very best ones and therefore left me laughing hysterically throughout.