The etiquette expert and “authentic comic genius” guides us through the Age of Incivility (Chris Buckley, New York Times-bestselling author of Has Anyone Seen My Toes?). We seem to be entering a new era, liberated from oppressive, old-fashioned rules of etiquette. We’re finally free! Free to shout insults at strangers on the street! Free to pressure people to give us money! Free to use all sorts of offensive language! In this book, New York Times-bestselling author Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, reminds us that living in an etiquette-free paradise is not all it’s cracked up to be. In wise, witty commentary and responses to letters, she addresses vexing problems in the workplace, at the wedding, on the web, and beyond, in hopes of saving civilization. But fear not, Gentle Reader—she also allows us some important exceptions. For example, despite the rampant oversharing that social media has encouraged, you can politely refuse to answer nosy questions. And you are decidedly not obliged to respond to every inane post; stay on the phone with a telemarketer; or hug your colleagues. “An extremely useful philosopher . . . I consult her frequently, in order to behave better.” —Daniel Handler in TheNew York Times

An indispensable manual to navigating life from birth to death without making a false move. Your neighbor denounces cellular telephones as instruments of the devil. Your niece swears that no one expects thank-you letters anymore. Your father-in-law insists that married women have to take their husbands' names. Your guests plead that asking them to commit themselves to attending your party ruins the spontaneity. Who is right? Miss Manners, of course. With all those amateurs issuing unauthorized etiquette pronouncements, aren't you glad that there is a gold standard to consult about what has really changed and what has not? The freshly updated version of the classic bestseller includes the latest letters, essays, and illustrations, along with the laugh-out-loud wisdom of Miss Manners as she meets the new millennium of American misbehavior head-on. This wickedly witty guide rules on the challenges brought about by our ever-evolving society, once again proving that etiquette, far from being an optional extra, is the essential currency of a civilized world.

A witty guide to managing a real life wisely in a work-centered world. What do your colleagues, overlords, underlings, clients, and customers have in common? Not knowing how much they annoy you. Not to mention how much you may be annoying them. The route from cubicle to corner office is strewn with etiquette landmines. And now that the boundaries that once cleanly separated work from personal life are blurred, even polite people don’t recognize the difference between professional and social manners. What do you say to a colleague who has just been fired? How do you maintain a family-friendly office without discriminating against singles? What’s the difference between showing romantic interest and sexual harassment? Which colleagues should be invited to family weddings? When should you be unavailable, at or away from work? Don’t convene a focus group or appeal to Human Resources—consult Miss Manners! With wit and wisdom, Miss Manners restores civility, guiding you around your coworker’s messy cubicle, past your overly prying boss, around the bridal shower for the new temp, and through tedious staff meetings. In Miss Manners Minds Your Business, Judith Martin and her son, executive Nicholas Ivor Martin, equip readers with the practical, pertinent, and utterly correct advice necessary to win the job, keep the job, and leave the job with sanity and dignity intact.

Bride and mother-of-the-bride rebel against today’s monster weddings and explain how weddings can be charming, affordable—and excruciatingly correct. Today’s brides are bombarded with wedding advice that promises perfection but urges achieving it through selfishness (“It’s your wedding, and you can do whatever you like”), greed (choosing the presents that guests are directed to buy), and showing off (“This is your chance to show everyone what you’re about”). Couples wishing to resist such pressure see elopement or a slapdash wedding as the only alternatives to a gaudy blowout. But none of these choices appealed to a bride who happened to have been brought up by Miss Manners. Judith Martin and her newlywed daughter, Jacobina, explain how to have a dignified ceremony and delightful celebration without succumbing to the now-prevalent pattern of the vulgar, money-draining wedding that exhausts families and exploits friends.

She shows the crucial role of etiquette in such contemporary issues as political correctness, multiculturalism, sexual harassment, educational failure and freedom of speech.

Karen Stohr draws primarily on Aristotle and Kant while referring to a wide range of cultural examples—from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm—to argue that good manners are an essential component of moral character.

Facing their families is turning out to be the trio’s toughest test. Life should be grand for Henry, Alice, and Jay. They’ve defeated the doubts that kept them apart and embraced a relationship that suits all three of them. But the arrival of Alice’s sister threatens to upend their cozy routine. Skepticism and accusations erupt in a visit bristling with tension as the sisters tear open old wounds. Even worse, Jay’s springing a new idea on his partners: it’s time to come out to his family. His decision might destroy them all—but Henry’s hunger for Jay’s public embrace makes it almost worth the risk. Henry, Alice, and Jay must redefine who they are to each other and what they want for their future—together or apart. Can they trust in their love enough to survive the consequences? New to USA Today bestselling author M.Q. Barber’s Neighborly Affection series? This friends-to-lovers bisexual menage romance saga is best read in order. Dominance and submission is the name of the game for this committed MMF poly triad. Start with Playing the Game or the prequel book Becoming His Master. For a different perspective on the events of Playing the Game, read it alongside Tuesdays with Jay and Other Stories. Praise for the Neighborly Affection series: “The writing is quick, smart and witty. The character development, especially of the heroine, and plot progression work well with this trio.” – Shelly, reviewer for Red Hot Books “Ms. Barber delves into the culture of Dominance and submission with compelling grace, introducing us to Alice, Henry, and Jay and all of their delightful emotional and sexual complexities.” – Sophia Jones, author of The Pharaoh and the Curator “It’s steamy and sexy enough, and doesn’t hold back on the BDSM angle, but this erotic romance has so much more to offer than titillation or fantasy.” – D.B. Sieders, author of Red Shoes for Lab Blues “I will read this one again. The sex scenes were off the charts hot. The characters were amazing. Henry melted me.” – Jessi Gage, author of Wishing for a Highlander “Chapter after chapter, I was captivated by the very real process of a woman that discovers her submissive self and how a man tamed her, day after day, week after week, month after month. … It is the kind of book that make you think: yeah, that makes sense. If I was in her shoes, I would act like this.” – Mary, reviewer for Mary’s Menage Whispers  “The writer had a way to bring you in and make you feel soulful about what they were sharing. I felt like I was made to consider each decision they made about what they needed and why they needed it. This wasn’t just a wham-bam book, it was a story of Alice’s emotions surrounding this couple she had grown to care for.” — Mistress L, reviewer for S&M’s Book Obsessions

Dear Reader, For the past forty years I've had the great pleasure of teaching schoolchildren, college students, businesspeople, brides- and grooms-to-be, and other Americans the simple joy of behaving with courtesy and style. With my sixteenth book I'm thrilled to be sharing with you a complete handbook for old-fashioned and effortless etiquette for the twenty-first century. Never have thoughtfulness and care been more important in our lives-- from shared conversations at the family dinner table to two-line E-mails written in haste. I hope this book helps bring the joys of graciousness, kindness, and civility to your home and your life. Yours fondly, Marjabelle Young Stewart

From how to connect when we’re physically distant to the most effective way to advocate for better public health practices in your community (hint: it is not by yelling at jogging neighbors), Miss Manners guides readers through the unprecedented circumstances of the current global pandemic with humanity and wit.

Miss Manners proclaims a text message to be an electronic equivalent of a Post-it note and about as “serious in nature as the hastily written note passed in class.” Gone are the days when conversing with people meant being in the same room as them, and with those days went established etiquette of communication. Can one apologize with a text message? Offer condolences? Propose marriage? Use text messages as invitations? Helpful, humorous, and at times biting, Miss Manners, winner of the National Humanities Medal for her social discourse in the importance of and effects of etiquette in American society, gives straightforward advice on all these quandaries and more. “Being seen or heard to be texting is equally rude when in the presence of live people,” declares Miss Manners, who is not stating her opinion, but making a pronouncement. It’s not too late for technology and civility to coexist, and in this e-book exclusive, Miss Manners leads the way with a call to texting etiquette.