Top products from r/APLang

Of course I'm biased because this is what I love to do for a living (teach about language), but I also find myself learning about language in my free time.

Here are my "Greatest Hits" of language people, programs, blogs, and readings, in no particular order (despite the fact that I've numbered them):

1. Geoff Nunberg's segment on NPR's Fresh Air. Link to the Geoff Nunberg archive on NPR
   
   
2. The "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine. I like the current columnist, Ben Zimmer, but I'm partial to William Safire. Here's a link to Safire's "How to Read a Column"
   
   
3. There are a number of good language blogs. It's probably "cheating" to put them all in one item, but here goes:
   
   

• Johnson, the language blog at The Economist
  
  
• Language Log
  
  
• Languagehat
  
  

4. Books:
   
   

• Bill Bryson: The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way and Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
  
  
• Expletive Deleted by Ruth Wajnryb
  
  

5. Random stuff: I like George Carlin's many humorous takes on language and Margaret Atwood's fiction and Dr. Seuss's many made-up and lovely sounding words.
   
   And I subscribe to /r/logophilia, which often has many amusing words, like pulchritudinous, an ugly word that means something beautiful.
   
   EDIT: And it's great to get a book on usage. I like Garner's Modern American Usage, but here's a list from Diana Hacker at Bedford of other good usage guides

In my opinion, the best way to review or study for AP Lang as a whole is to learn to love writing and to write daily on your own time. Try starting a book even if you don't have intention of finishing it, or maybe personal reflections. When you do this you develop style and ability applicable to AP Lang and writing as a whole. I got As both semesters for Lang and I never studied from any book.

However, if you insist that you want a book for security (I don't blame you, it won't hurt), the Crash Course series is my favorite for all things AP. Short, to the point, and in my experience all you need to score a 4 or 5 on an AP test. I bought this book for AP Lang and I used it scarcely for information and reference. It definitely helped even with the small amount of usage I had. My friends also agreed this was the best book out there. Here's the link for Lang: https://www.amazon.com/English-Language-Composition-Advanced-Placement/dp/0738607835