Book Review: Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?

Columnist and New York resident Henry Alford takes on modern manners in Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? This funny, irreverent, and sometimes outright rude collection of anecdotes and philosophy looks at how we should - and shouldn't - behave in a world that seems to have forgotten etiquette. He talks about his visit to Japan and that country's rigid system of proper behavior (don't break apart a bunch of bananas at the market), his not exactly mannerly game of Touch the Waiter (and what happened when he tried explaining its rules to a waiter), and his attempts to give etiquette advice to friends ("two successes, one semi-success, one uncertainty, and one miss"). Some of the stories will leave you giggling, some squirming with recognition of an uncomfortable situation, and some glad that you don't have to navigate the manners minefield of New York society. It's not a Miss Manners guide, but it will leave you amused, and maybe grateful that you haven't made the same mistakes. - Michelle (Sunset)