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Wednesday 1 September 2021

Hyphens & Hashtags - Claire Cock-Starkey

 
The punctuation marks, mathematical symbols and glyphs which haunt the edges of our keyboards have evolved over many hundreds of years. They shape our understanding of texts, calculations and online interactions. Without these symbols all texts would run in endless unbroken lines of letters and numbers. 

Many hands and minds have created, refined and promulgated the symbols which give form to our written communication. Through individual entries discussing the story behind each example, 'Hyphens & Hashtags' reveals the long road many of these special characters have taken on their way into general use. 

In the digital age of communication, some symbols have gained an additional meaning or a new lease of life – the colon now doubles up as the eyes of a smiling face emoticon and the hashtag has travelled from obscurity to an essential component of social media. Alongside historical roots, this book also considers ever-evolving modern usage and uncovers those symbols which have now fallen out of fashion. 

'Hyphens & Hashtags' casts a well-deserved spot-light on these stalwarts of typography whose handy knack for summing up a command or concept in simple shorthand marshals our sentences, clarifies a calculation or adds some much-needed emotion to our online interactions.


What did I think?

I love everything about Claire Cock-Starkey's books from their handy size to the wealth of fascinating information contained within, so I was really looking forward to reading her new book Hyphens & Hashtags and I was not disappointed.  

Written in four sections: punctuation, glyphs, mathematical symbols and endangered & extinct symbols, readers can learn about the origin and evolution of both familiar and lesser known symbols.  There's even a chapter on emoticons and emoji to bring us right up to date.  I was equally fascinated by the chapters on symbols I use frequently as I was by those that I hadn't heard of.

I love the short yet informative chapters that are written in such a concise manner that keeps the reader entertained and ensures that you don't feel like you're reading a textbook.  Although I read it cover to cover and was completely captivated, it's a book of which you can dip in and out or flick to a preferred chapter as desired.  I can see my copy being well-thumbed over the coming years as I refer back to it to entertain and enlighten my friends and family.

It's surprising to read that some symbols were on the verge of extinction until the rise of the internet but they have now become an absolute necessity when writing an email or a tweet.  A keyboard would be useless in the digital age without the '@' and '#' symbols.  Of all of the extinct symbols I read about, I really wish the interrobang had taken off - a streamlining symbol that combines the question mark and the exclamation mark and saves both keystrokes and space in the text.  Really?!?!

Another little gem from Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags is as entertaining as it is informative and it's a fantastic addition to my ever-growing Bodleian Library collection.

Many thanks to Claire Cock-Starkey and The Bodleian Library for sending me an ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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