Looking for a good grammar book.

Possibly Reference Manual For Office Personnel by Clifford House & Kathie Sigler. It's more of a reference for secretaries and such than a text book. That is, it's a useful source to look up specific tasks and problems.

One of the best I've found and was used in our curriculum by my English Professor was this Style Guide (currently 105 pages): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style

I've got that. Don't agree with everything in it by now, but it's a classic.

The book my ex treated himself to is Fowler's Modern English Usage, 2nd edition. Haven't even opened it, but, it's there, just in case I want to check something. Ex was a lit major with mfa in theater, later a playwright; he considered that book as a prize.

A few weeks ago I was reading the 90th anniversary issue of the New Yorker - great issue - and in there, an editor who rose from a beginning editing job to being one of the top editors there mentioned that her favorite is Fowler. Now I may actually read some of it. I like the New Yorker editing in general.



I edited because I just remembered that it wasn't me who bought that..

A book I did pick up in a used book store is the revised edition of the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, 1987. Not quite the same thing as a grammar book.
I haven't read that one either.