It’s Here! It’s Here! The New AP Stylebook Is Here!
Posted: May 25, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Yesterday I returned from a meeting to find the 2011 AP Stylebook waiting for me on my chair. After emitting a short squeal of delight, I snatched it up and began to caress it lovingly. It’s so shiny. And pretty. And it smells a little bit like heaven. Well, no, it doesn’t. Heaven smells like chocolate-chip cookies baking in the oven. Everyone knows that. But the AP Stylebook smells like the library in heaven (of course there’s a library in heaven, silly!).
Isn’t she lovely?
The version I’d been using was the 2008 edition, so it was time for an upgrade (there certainly have been plenty of updates since then). And sure, I have access to the online version, but I prefer picking up the book, which is never more than a foot away from me, and flipping to the appropriate page rather than going to the website, logging in and doing a search.
Anyway, for those of you doubters out there, I thought I’d highlight a few entries from the AP Stylebook to show you why I find it so handy. You can find answers in this book to questions you never even knew you had. It’s amazing. Note: These aren’t necessarily entries new to the 2011 edition.
-
Heaven. I looked this word up when writing the first paragraph in this blog post because I wasn’t sure whether I should capitalize it (and whether the fact that I’m not exactly religious made a difference). The AP Stylebook has one-word entries when it’s simply a matter of spelling or capitalization, and this was one of those instances; on Page 129, it simply says, “heaven.” No further explanation needed.
-
Myriad. On Page 187, this entry reads, “myriad (adj.) Note word is not followed by of: The myriad books in the library.” Did you know you don’t use “of” with “myriad”? It seems like that’s the only way I ever see it (kind of like “comprised of”). Told you! Handy!
-
AARP. From p. 1: “AARP Use only the initials for the organization formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons.” This makes sense considering people are eligible for full membership benefits at age 50, and no one is retiring at 50 in this economy.
-
Health care. According to Page 129, “health care” (no further explanation given) is two words. Given how often I’ve seen it as “healthcare,” however, I wouldn’t be surprised if this changes in future editions.
-
Smokey. On Page 258 I learned that it’s “Smokey Or Smokey Bear. Not Smokey the Bear. But: A smoky room.” File this away under “Who knew?” – I totally thought it was “Smokey the Bear”! Thanks, AP Stylebook!
Yes, the AP Stylebook is both handy and informative. I’m not saying I’m going to go home and curl up with a nice glass of merlot (lowercase; however, uppercase “Chianti” because that is “a bold, dry red wine made in the Chianti region of Italy”) while devouring it for pleasure, but like I said, it’s never far from my reach. Or my heart.
