I got this as a Christmas gift and thought the title was witty. Unfortunately, the title was the best part of the book. Originally published in 2005 and reprinted in 2007, I have to wonder whether the author didn't realise that at some point the members of Generation Y, about whom he was not particularly kind, would potentially pick up the book in hope of some new insights.

I was at a loss to find any new insights in this book. It seemed that the book rehashed advice I've read time and again in other style guides and how-to manuals, sometimes to the point where Plotnik directly quoted them (for example, his quotes from Lynne Truss and Stephen King). I may be personally biased here as I find [b:Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation|8600|Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation|Lynne Truss|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309285488s/8600.jpg|854886] and [b:On Writing|10569|On Writing|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254200s/10569.jpg|150292] to be two of the most invaluable books in my reference library. In fact, I would suggest that instead of Plotnik's book, which quotes from these and then picks them apart, to just go straight to the source.

The final jarring note was that there were so many spelling errors in the book. 'Black Horse' instead of 'Black House', by Stephen King, or 'Annie E. Proulx' instead of 'E. Annie Proulx' (in fact, this appeared as 'Annie E. Proulx', 'Annie Proulx', and 'E. Annie Proulx' at different points in the text). I realise proofreaders can miss things at times, but Plotnik lists amongst his other works 'The Elements of Editing'. I don't think I'll read it if this finished product is anything to judge its advice by. ( )

This book makes a nice companion the Strunk & White (AKA The Elements of Style). Where Strunk and White gives you the rules of grammar and usage, Spunk & Bite teaches you how to creatively break the rules. I'd recommend this book to any writer looking to add interest to their locution. As the book says, it is all about "locution, locution, locution". I found the chapter on writing for Gen-Y a little less than useful, but otherwise, the book was pretty useful. ( )

I got this book from the library and I think the kindle book is too expensive at 13.99, but the type on the hardback is too small. I looked it over and it has some good ideas. I would have bought it for Kindle if it had a reasonable price, but I won't really read it over and over, so not worth buying unless you are a professional writer who collects books on How to Write. ( )

Hey you, yeah, you with the face. Are you interested in making your writing snappier? Well, this book might be able to help you out. Taking an obvious reference to the perennial classic Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, Spunk and Bite by Arthur Plotnik attempts to impart the wisdom of a well-turned phrase without making your writing appear stuffy or strained. As with most language, a great deal of how we talk and by extension, how we write depends on current cultural norms.

Since it takes an obvious reference to Strunk and White, we may say that this is an updated version of Elements of Style without actually having the Strunk and White name. It covers all of the parts of grammar and rhetoric you might need; from how to describe colors all the way to the use of a semicolon. This handy guide is only slightly dated but that is only due to some of the references it makes. ( )

The writing in this book is so good, it's inspirational. I got some good ideas from it, but not enough to get it to four stars. ( )