Enough Is Enuf

Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell by Gabe Henry

This book offers a funny and fast-paced look at 500 years of people trying—and mostly failing—to fix English spelling. Why does the “g” in George sound different from the “g” in gorge? Why does “c” work in both case and cease? And why is it okay to laugh when a language expert faints, but not “polight” to “laf” about it? Anyone who has written in English has been confused by its spelling.

So why do we still use such a messy system? Over the centuries, many brave linguists and writers decided they’d had enough—enuf, actually. They tried to make English spelling simpler and more logical. Famous names like Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, George Bernard Shaw, C.S. Lewis, and even Charles Darwin joined the fight, spelling words like thru for through, tho for though, laf for laugh, and dawter for daughter.

This book tells their often hilarious stories and follows the Simplified Spelling Movement all the way to modern times. With texting, social media, and emojis changing how we communicate, the spelling reformers may finally be getting the last laugh.