Revisiting Strunk and White (parts 1 and 2)

I recently reread the first two parts of William Strunk and E.B. White's Elements of Style. (You can tell by the way I left off the "The.") I remember hating it last time. This time I found the advice practical. The first part is a concise review of some bits of grammar that are easy to forget and valuable to remember. The second part is a concise review of some bits of style that are easy to forget. Every rule has a brief explanation and a few examples showing the reasoning behind the rule. It amazes me it all fits in in about thirty or forty pages.

The third part is an exploration of boring formatting issues, like "Should I include the 'The' in the phrase 'William Strunk and E.B. White's [The] Elements of Style?'" It's practical. It makes sense. It feels more like a necessary adjoint or checklist standard than the first two parts which are more about clarity. It's more black than a style.

The fourth part is a list of words and phrases commonly misused with explanations. I barely started on it.

The fifth is on style which I haven't read at all.

The first two parts seem worthwhile on their own. Maybe I'll revisit the rest later.