Author: Cathy Speight

Reviewer Cathy Speight is British and lives in England. The Kindle revived her passion for reading and after stumbling on a Facebook group of independent authors, she now does her best to encourage and assist indies as much as possible. Books by indie author form the majority of her collection. Cathy shares her views on the books she has read on her blog.

Grammar Tip: There Is vs. There Are

grammar there is there are“There’s two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the other is to read Pope,” said Oscar Wilde.

No, of course he didn’t say that.  What he said was:

 “There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the other is to read Pope.”

When I’m in grammar-nazi mode, I’ll often find myself jumping up and down in front of the TV, yelling and growling at the misuse of basic grammar. One of the errors that’s guaranteed to get me into a right lather is the incorrect use of ‘there is’ and ‘there are’. For instance: Continue reading “Grammar Tip: There Is vs. There Are”

Which indefinite article to use before Acronyms and Initialisms

LOL AcronymsA little doubt often creeps in when using an indefinite article (a/an) before an acronym or an initialism. Firstly, let’s just quickly distinguish between these two.

An acronym is an abbreviation from the initial letters of other words and then pronounced as a word. For example: NASA, SCUBA, RADAR, UNICEF, NATO.

An initialism, while also an abbreviation from the initial letters of other words, cannot be pronounced as a word. Each letter has to be pronounced separately, eg BBC, FBI, RSVP, VIP.

So, which indefinite article precedes these ‘words’?  Continue reading “Which indefinite article to use before Acronyms and Initialisms”

How can you tell if a book is going to disappoint BEFORE you buy it?

NO crappy booksI’ve been asked two questions recently. One was easy to answer, the second — rather surprisingly — wasn’t.

Let’s just quickly talk about the easy question.  How does a book grab you? What promises it’s going to be a good’un?  Many people probably share the same views: eye-catching cover, a well-written book description that draws you in, a ‘Look Inside’ that makes you want to read more, you’ve already read a good book by that author, and, if applicable, an engaging exchange with the author if s/he’s asked you to review the book. It doesn’t have to be all these things, but basically, it’s all about an immaculate package, isn’t it?

Now, the second question. Why do you turn your back on a book? What makes you think it’s going to disappoint?  My instant reaction was, well, if none of the above applies, then surely the book’s going to go into ‘oh dear’ pile. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised it isn’t quite so cut and dried. Continue reading “How can you tell if a book is going to disappoint BEFORE you buy it?”

Grammar Tip: An Aitch or A Haitch

HNot long ago, a publishing friend of mine asked me a question, as she was having a teensy little contretemps with an author, whose book she was about to publish.  He was so insistent that the part of his book’s title, which contained the word ‘historical’, should be ‘an historical’.  In fact, he was so insistent, it made her doubt her own knowledge.

So, let’s try and clarify this.  ‘H’, when aspirated, i.e. pronounced with a ‘huh’ sound, is a consonant. Words that begin with a consonant, when preceded by an indefinite pronoun, are therefore introduced with ‘a’. Continue reading “Grammar Tip: An Aitch or A Haitch”