In case you get stuck in an airport screening line this summer, bring along one of these fascinating new books on language and you'll literally be able to read it online.

Headed to a foreign country? Bring along "Are Some Languages Better than Others?" by linguist R. M. W. Dixon (Oxford University Press, $40). Dixon addresses the provocative question in the title by identifying the diverse functions of language and exploring how different languages fulfill them. Writing in a decidedly non-scholarly, breezy style, Dixon explodes some common myths, including the notion that unwritten languages lack structure, grammar and complexity.

Texas lawyer and grammarian Bryan Garner moseys up to the Windy City to edit "The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage and Punctuation" (University of Chicago Press, $45), a desktop reference guide imbued with his sensible and clear advice on just about every linguistic dilemma. Should you use "they" as a singular to avoid the gender specific "he" or "she"? No Ma'am, says Garner. And forget alternating "he" and "she" or using "s/he"; he labels such fixes "ridiculous." He recommends using "he or she," "him or her," "his or her," etc. "Stylistically this device can be awkward or even stilted," he writes, "but if used sparingly it can be functional."

Former minor-league ballplayer and journalist Jack Chetwynd touches all the bases in "The Field Guide to Sports Metaphors" (Ten Speed Press, $10.98). Exploring the athletic origins of some of our most common phrases, he reveals that "bowled over" derives not from bowling but from cricket, where the "bowler" (pitcher) "bowls over" the batter; that "head start" originated in horse racing, where a weaker steed would line up a horse head's length ahead of the favorite; and that an early 1900s baseball league in rural Iowa and South Dakota actually called itself the "Bush League."

I've never included fiction in my summer reading recommendations, but I just couldn't resist the title of a charming new novel by Mary Simses: "The Rules of Love and Grammar" (Little, Brown and Company, $26). Simses tells the story of a writer and grammar expert who relocates to her hometown in Connecticut after losing her Manhattan apartment, her job and her relationship. As you might expect, she discovers that the rules of love and life are even more complex than those of language. It's a great beach read. Enjoy!

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simões