Really enjoyed "The Martian" by Andy Weir

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't entirely agree. Saying that a sentence such as "It is I" is more correct than "It's me" stems from a Victorian desire to try to shoehorn English grammar into the mould of Latin grammar, where it really doesn't fit at all well. "It is I" is an entirely artificial construction that was invented by over-zealous grammarians, and doesn't stem from any actual language usage.

Language does change with time. I still choose to use "who" as a subject and "whom" as an object, but I've long since stopped getting annoyed about the fact that the overwhelming majority of English speakers no longer do so.

My reaction is to the less ambiguous sentences. I do wonder some times about implied verbs or other constructions that sound right (or wrong) both ways.
But when someone says "Me and her went to the store," I find it indefensible. That's at least two errors of grammar and one of manners.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Language does change with time. I still choose to use "who" as a subject and "whom" as an object, but I've long since stopped getting annoyed about the fact that the overwhelming majority of English speakers no longer do so.

The one that makes me snicker (meanly, since they're trying) is when people use "whom" when "who" is correct, as in, "I wondered whom it was." Or similarly, when "myself" is used when "me" is correct. A combination of pretentiousness and lack of understanding of grammar is at fault.

Don't get me started on apostrophes....

[Luffy]

Is it true that putting an apostrophe with a one syllable name in the context such as : James' is correct, while dealing with all the multiple syllable names (e.g Amy's), the names are spelled correctly with the apostrophe before the S?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Luffy

Is it true that putting an apostrophe with a one syllable name in the context such as : James' is correct, while dealing with all the multiple syllable names (e.g Amy's), the names are spelled correctly with the apostrophe before the S?

The number of syllables has nothing to do with it. It's whether the word ends with an S anyway.

James -> James'
Paul -> Paul's

Although some people will use 's, e.g. James -> James's.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

But when someone says "Me and her went to the store," I find it indefensible. That's at least two errors of grammar and one of manners.

Oh, sure, that's just plain wrong. If someone says "John and me went to the store", I'd always ask them to consider whether they'd say "Me went to the store" if John were not there. The fact that John went as well doesn't change the fact that it should be "I" and not "Me".

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The number of syllables has nothing to do with it. It's whether the word ends with an S anyway.

James -> James'
Paul -> Paul's

Although some people will use 's, e.g. James -> James's.

The convention of just using an apostrophe if the name ends in "s" seems much less common today than it was 30-odd years ago when I started writing. It seems to be much more common today to see "Dickens's work is considered to be..." rather than "Dickens' work...".

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Not in my opinion.

[EDIT: But it's an ebook - why give you my opinion when I can give you facts?

Four times in Chapter 1.
Three times in Chapter 4.
Five times in Chapter 6
Three times in Chapter 7
Twice in Chapter 8
Once in Chapter 9
Twice in Chapter 10
Three times in Chapter 11
Twice in Chapter 12
Three times in Chapter 13
Nine times in Chapter 14
Once in Chapter 15
Twice in Chapter 16
Twice in Chapter 17
Once in Chapter 18
Twice in Chapter 20
Twice in Chapter 21
Twice in Chapter 22
Twice in Chapter 23
Once in Chapter 24
Four times in Chapter 25
Four times in Chapter 26


60 times in all, I think, out of approximately 106,000 words. So 0.057% of the words are a variant of 'the F word']

It didn't seem like that many, and I'm the type who'd usually notice gratuitous use of 4 letter words. But in his situation, it seemed appropriate.

I'm glad to see this book has its' own thread.

I read it through in one day, and really enjoyed it.
Although I started just skimming the chemistry explanations after the first one.

I got the book from the library through axis360. Not the best app for reading, bit the book kept me engaged enough not to care.

[JSWolf]

I don't think it's gratuitous use. If you were stuck on mars, you'd be swearing too.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I don't think it's gratuitous use. If you were stuck on mars, you'd be swearing too.

Hell yeah.
Apache

[JSWolf]

"Oh darn! I'm stuck on Mars." is a lot silly. Swearing is what I'd expect.

[curtw]

Originally Posted by Pax

Is there anything similar to "The Martian"?

I just came across one that is similar in overall structure: due to circumstances beyond his control, a man finds himself in an impossible situation, with only his wits, limited resources, and a dry sense of humor to help him survive. Will he manage it? I found it to be entertaining in a lot of the same ways as The Martian, without duplicating it. I give it two thumbs up!

It's We are Legion (We Are Bob), by Dennis Taylor.

Warning: this one is going to be a series, with the second volume coming out in a couple of months. You can get the first volume here.

I would also recommend going in "blind," and not reading the description first. It gives away too much...