I had the opportunity to meet Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty) tonight at the Boulder Bookstore. She's here promoting her second book, The Grammar Devotional, which she described as something like a religious devotional, just without the religion (and more grammar).

The Grammar Devotional is a small book full of daily Grammar tips. Fogarty said she had originally conceived of it as one of those tear-off desk calendars, but she didn't like the thought of the daily grammar tips being tossed into the trash can.

Download an excerpt from The Grammar Devotional and check out the Grammar Girl podcast.

The foreword and introduction of a book are usually things to be glanced at, gotten through as quickly as possible on the way to the "good stuff." Here, the "good stuff" begins in the foreword, continues into the introduction, and comes to fruition in the double-dozen stories that comprise the meat of the book, the best American sports writing of 2008.Read more.

_{Photo credit: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}

This news is late in coming, but the company that makes the Scrivener writing software (Mac only) is offering a free trial that runs through December 7. I've loaded it on my little iBook and it runs great. I've been too busy typing to explore all of its abilities, but my feeling is that if I can wrap my head around this software, its various features will help me be a more efficient writer.

What's more, the company is offering Scrivener at half price for all NaNoWriMo 2009 Winners - those of us who actually make the 50k wordcount in November.

Learn more about the Scrivener NaNoWriMo 2009 Trial.

They're back. Arthur Dent, Trillian Astra, and those froody Betelgeusian cousins Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox have returned along with the rest of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the sixth installment of the series, And Another Thing... The new book, sanctioned by Douglas Adams' widow, is written by Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl), and the question on everyone's mind is does it measure up. Read more.

_{Photo credit: Hyperion}