Honorary president: Judith Butcher Honorary vice-president: David Crystal OBE

The SfEP review of books

Literary criticism and books on language

1001 Words You Need to Know and Use: An A–Z of effective vocabulary Caroline Petherick

American English: History, structure and usage Barbara Horn

A Better Pencil: Readers, writers, and the digital revolution Sonia Cutler

By Hook or by Crook: A journey in search of English Christina Thomas

The Cambridge Encyclopedia Michèle Clarke

A Century of New Words Michèle Clarke

Damp Squid: The English language laid bare Michèle Clarke

English Literature: A very short introduction Christine Lindop

The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left Caroline Petherick

Good Word Guide: The fast way to correct English – spelling, punctuation, grammar and usage Caroline Petherick

Group review by Michèle Clarke of:
Gallimaufry: A hodgepodge of our vanishing vocabulary
The, like, Language Report for real
Movers and Shakers: A chronology of words that shaped our age
Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation
Totally Weird and Wonderful Words

How to Read a Word Caroline Petherick

An Introduction to Book History Ros Morley

Just My Type: A book about fonts Katherine Thomasset

The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The evolution of 'proper' English, from Shakespeare to South Park Katie Lewis

The Origins of Meaning: Language in the light of evolution Sue Browning

Oxford A-Z of English Usage Michèle Clarke

The Oxford History of English Caroline Petherick

Oxford Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage Michèle Clarke

The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary Laura Hicks

Righting the Mother Tongue: From olde English to email – the tangled story of English spelling Michèle Clarke

Short Cuts: A guide to oaths, ring tones, ransom notes, famous last words, and other forms of minimalist communication Caroline Petherick

Strictly English: The correct way to write … and why it matters Imogen Olsen

The Structure of Language: An introduction to grammatical analysis Caroline Petherick

The Talking Ape: How language evolved Caroline Petherick

The Teacher's Guide to Grammar Melanie Thompson

Treasure-House of the Language: The living OED Sue Browning

Virtual Words: Language on the edge of science and technology Nancy Boston

Vocabula Bound 1: Outbursts, Insights, Explanations, and Oddities and Vocabula Bound 2: Our wrestling, writhing tongue David Penfold

Why We Talk: The evolutionary origins of language Caroline Petherick