Books I own which prove my credentials (kind-of):

* The Oxford Manual of Style – bought for work purposes when I wanted to freelance, and sat on my shelf at work.

* The Elements of Style, Strunk & White – the style bible; my copy dates from the late 50s and was snatched from a pile of books my parents had been given to get rid of (and were planning to take to Hay-on-Wye). I think they were a bit surprised by the speedy way I claimed it – I probably ‘muahahahaha’ed. It, too, lives on my shelf at work.

* Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss – the surprise Christmas bestseller of a couple of years ago. I won mine in a Guardian competition, and read it in about an hour straight.

* The Pedant’s Revolt: Why Most Things You Think Are Right Are Wrong, by Andrea Barham – bought for me this Christmas by a fellow technical writer who knows me (and my pendantry) very well. I haven’t got round to reading more than the first few pages yet, though, something which I’ll have to remedy soon.

I’m not counting the other books on my shelf at work, such as The Art of Technical Documentation. They don’t belong to me. Although…