How to Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners for the Socially Challenged [Paperback]

Caroline Tiger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Is there any polite way to shush a chatty person at the movies? Should roller bladers be passed on the left side or the right side? When is it unacceptable to answer your cell phone? And why doesn t anyone in your grocery store seem to understand the basic rules of shopping cart navigation and right-of-way?
If you ve ever pondered these kinds of questions, How to Behave is the book you ve been waiting for: a hip, irreverent, but entirely practical guide to proper behavior in the twenty-first century. Here are dozens of fascinating skills that Emily Post wouldn t even think to mention like the best ways to:
Share elbow space on an airplane armrest
Contend with road rage
Position yourself when boarding a crowded elevator
Observe basic e-mail etiquette
Speak on a cell phone without enraging others
. . . plus dozens of other essential survival techniques. Much more than a simple etiquette book, How to Behave is a real-life guide to living in the real world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Move over, Emily Post!”—New York Magazine

“Hip, hilarious, and utterly indispensable, this is the perfect guide for those of us who have ever had a really bad date, navigated a busy airport, or been the victim of road rage.”—TucsonCitizen.com

“A 21st-century etiquette guide for [adults], this better behavior resource is both helpful and hysterical!”—Scholastic Parent & Child


From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Caroline Tiger has written for Ms. , Self , and Salon . She is a writer and editor at Philadelphia Magazine , and takes pride in her impeccable manners.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931686319
• ISBN-13: 978-1931686310
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Partly useful, but more satire than manners guide, July 5, 2004

By 

Seattleite (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: How to Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners for the Socially Challenged (Paperback)

If the "Worst-Case Scenario" authors ever wrote a guide to modern etiquette, it would probably turn out a lot like this. Each subject area, from "sharing armrest space on a plane" to "puking in a taxi" contains a two-part "how to" section: 1) Confronting the person to lecture them about their error and 2) Good methods for getting revenge.

Did someone steal your airplane armrest? No problem. Whack their headrest and perform deft elbow jabs to knock their elbow off the armrest. Ha HA!

If you're an etiquette junkie looking for a useful guide on modern manners, you will find this horrifying. Avoid. If you want to read something more along the lines of "etiquette satire as entertainment," and indulge all your fantasies about what you secretly wish you could do to people who have offended you, then this is a total riot.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Step Aside, Miss Manners -- not to mention Emily Post!, June 4, 2003

By 

Mary S. Hingston (Pottstown, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners for the Socially Challenged (Paperback)

Finally, etiquette for real people! I was sort of taken aback when a friend gave me this book as a gift -- manners? Me? But besides the fact that Tiger is totally practical, she's funny as hell. (Her advice on how to get a fellow airplane passenger to turn down his Walkman is laugh-out-loud.) This book also has a nice sense of nuance; the idea of "personal space" comes into it a lot, whether Tiger is dealing with elevator rules or cheaters in the express line at the grocery store. Her tips on gym behavior, a.k.a. "Sweatiquette," answered questions I've always wanted to ask somebody. The more I read, the more I realized -- this is really about maintaining civilization as we know it. I'm no longer irked that my friend thought I needed this book. She was right -- I did. You do, too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and useful!, January 10, 2006

By 

J. Dunsay (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Behave: A Guide to Modern Manners for the Socially Challenged (Paperback)

If you have a sense of humor, you'll have a good laugh with this book, and pick up many useful tips along the way. Dealing with everything from commuter protocol to e-mail etiquette, this guide covers situations that most manners books miss. The section on gym etiquette should be required reading for certain gym users I've come across. Lastly, using a little common sense will easily allow you to tell which suggestions have been made in jest.