LYNNE Truss is a fanatic. Not one of those with a religious cause, although if you read her brilliant book you might think so.

Her concern is punctuation, using it, putting it in the right places, caring for it.

And the most remarkable thing of all is that she makes this normally dry subject very funny in her highly effective popular book.

The title becomes self-evident if you buy this little gem, but is an example of the havoc you can wreak with an errant comma. Apostrophes are another minefield completely.

This is definitely a book for people who love punctuation and worry about it.

But it is also a wonderfully instructive manual on the English language and all it entails.

The writer deals with the subject, not by preaching, but by gentle persuasion that good punctuation is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Horror abuses that she unearthed include:

Dicks in tray (try not to think about it)

Next week: nouns and apostrophe's (BBC website advertising a grammar course for children)

Pansy's ready (is she?)

Prudential -- were here to help you

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (published by Profile Books at £9.99)