Sh@dy Charac+ers: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks. By Ke!th H*uston. Pub. 2013.
Fun and interesting read, but not for non-pedants, there is some very interesting history about lesser known marks (pilcrow, anyone?) and more common ones. The book is enlightening and fun, especially for fans of the written word. There is a good chapter on irony and sarcasm, and the lack of a font or punctuation mark for these often-misunderstood elements of writing; turns out that to mark or highlight irony entirely defeats its tongue-in-cheek raison d’être, and so readers are left, rightly, to their own interpretations, mis- or otherwise. Don’t be put off by the extensive references (nearly 100 pages!) – these can be ignored by the non-typographical readers, and the stories and history enjoyed on their own.
6. A non-fiction book.
7. A book written by a male author.
24. A book written by someone younger than you.
26. A book by an author whom you’ve never read.
rclr 
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