Review by Choice Review
Scheible (film, Purchase College, SUNY) challenges readers to think less functionally and more semantically about the role of punctuation in an increasingly digital culture--that is, to consider the cultural logics that seemingly trite marks such as periods, parentheses, and pound symbols have on the ways in which one communicates through digital technology. Though not described as such, the book is a semiotic analysis of three punctuation marks--period, parentheses, pound symbol--presented as case studies that serve as points of departure for a larger discussion of the ever-changing connotations that typographical denotations carry. Omitted from the discussion are other commonly used punctuation marks (such as @) and symbol conglomerates (the emoticon), and technical considerations (such as computer programming languages) are not examined in any great detail. Some analyses rely heavily on examples from cinema that seem less applicable to digital media (this is most notable in the chapter on parentheses, "With, Aside, and Too Much"). These shortcomings aside, the book is successful in complicating understanding of punctuation's role in textual information exchange. An accessible and inviting read, the volume invites continued critique and scholarship, and has practical implications for those in the media industry seeking a deeper understanding of the evolving digital lexicon. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, professionals. --Nicholas D. Bowman, West Virginia University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
