50 Major Milestones in Literature?

Don’t we all just love lists? This one is from early in 2013 and might, as it’s author suggests, generate a bit of controversy. All the items are written in English so don’t look for Flaubert or Balzac on the list. For some reason the Russians have also gone underground and even the great Spanish writers have to keep their adventures to themselves. Who knew literature was an English thing?

What follows in a self-revealed highly partisan and impressionistic catalogue of the fifty major milestones in literature, or at least in literature from the English speaking world. Published in The Guardian in Robert McCrum’s Blog “On Books,” it makes no claim to be comprehensive. Rather, it aims to stimulate a discussion about the turning-points in the world of books and letters from the King James Bible to the present day.

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Vocabula Review

A recent post shows that severalreaders are still interested in the accuracy of language:  English grammar, spelling, usage, etc. The same concerns exist in most other languages but my recommendation of the Vocabula Review only addresses questions about English.

The Vocabula Review

A reasonably priced subscription to The Vocabula Review brings you an online monthly newsletter with a varying selection of excellent and fun articles on the proper use of the English language. There are also many great books written by the authors of the Review thatn can add even further to improving writing and avoiding those awful, embarrassing mistakes which a good editor will circle and have a good laugh over at cocktails after work. I have been reading Vocabula Review for several years now and since I have a lifetime subscription, I hope to receive it for many years to come.

One real advantage to a subscription to Vocabula Review is that you get access to all the back issues and since the Review started in 1999, that’s a lot of good advice waiting to help you improve your use of the language…over 160 issues!

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