Note to self: Don't reply to a thread entitle "Favourite books, (Year X) edition, until said year is done. Now I have to add another: One-quarter of the way through The Fight for English: How the Pundits, Ate, Shot and Left it is going to take a massive implosion of quality for it to avoid becoming my third first-read 5 star rating at Goodreads. The whole book is so well constructed, so well argued and so well reasoned that it is a joy to read.