Use of first person in a book

[Nick Sabalausky]

"Andrei Alexandrescu" <SeeWebsiteForEmail at erdani.org> wrote in message 
news:hajod7$fmm$1 at digitalmars.com...
> I'd decided to not use the first person at all in TDPL, but now I find 
> myself a bit constrained by that decision. I personally think a small 
> amount of meta-references and asides prevents boredom and brings a more 
> personal note to the communication, but such devices should be used very 
> sparingly and with care.
>
> So I thought I'd ask a candid question in here. How do you feel about 
> moderate use of the first person in a technical book? Do you find it 
> comfortable, neutral, or cringeworthy?
>

I don't write as much as I should, but I've always found the strict "no 
first-person" rule to be highly arbitrary. Worse, as a reader, I find that 
it often results in a quite awkward (and even pretentious) style. And FWIW, 
I find the "always use plural first-person instead of singular first-person" 
style to be even worse because it leads to statements that are just plain 
factually incorrect or misleading.