Rating: 
Summary: Things a lot of people don't know they need to be told
Review: _Things You Need to Be Told_, the Etiquette Grrls' witty, urbane and, yes children, often satiric handbook on modern manners, combines a good read with sound etiquette advice that never goes out of style. Leticia Baldridge, no slouch herself when it comes to courtesy and the right way to do things, enjoyed the book enough to endorse it. And, I am reliably informed that it is favourite backstage reading for Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard. Closer to home, several of my friends regard it as a valuable
reference, and wouldn't dream of planning a party or accepting an invitation without consulting it. For myself, I find the book at least as informative as Miss Manners, and a good deal more enjoyable. Is it perfect? No. As a non-smoker and non-drinker I find their references to liquor and cigarettes annoying. But I can live with that. The practical advice on dressing, comportment, etc. and the well-laid-out and simple guides to such essentials as the properly set table more than make up for any discomfort I may have with the authors' sometimes freewheeling style. And, just a word about that style. I am dismayed to find, as I found with most of the reviews of Glass Hammer's _Chronometree_, that a good many of the reviewers just don't get it. Wake up, guys! These are characters here. TYNTBT belongs to that relatively new genre, Creative Non-fiction. The facts are straight in this case; it's the speakers, the narrators, the Etiquette Grrls themselves who are the put-on. Nobody's really like that! They're over the top for a reason - a reason that I'm sorry to say many of the previous reviewers don't seem to grasp - to make the dry subject of courtesy and manners enjoyable. This simple fact seems to have gone over a great many heads. This is unfortunate, since those heads belong to precisely the people who need the Etiquette Grrls' help the most.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny, but take this advice with a grain of salt...
Review: The Etiquette Grrls are very funny; however, this book serves the purpose of humor more than etiquette (it is cross-listed under humor/etiquette). Though the EGs are very funny, they need to be careful not to get too many (cheap) laughs at other people's expense...kindness is the underlying premise of etiquette, not "East Coast Old Money" or one-upmanship. Just making ends meet is enough of a struggle for most of us; few of us have the time, energy or money to worry about matching Coach accessories.
On a positive note: as a very pale-skinned person, I appreciate their "At the Beach" Etiquette Guide on their website.
Rating:
Summary: Some Practical Advice and Some Humor
Review: It's true that if you can't understand the joke, this book will likely annoy you. But it really does offer some practical advice about manners and etiquette. It's very funny and a quick read. You'll also find yourself wanting to read tidbits aloud to whomever is in the room.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: This is less of a handbook or a reference guide on etiquette and more of a humorous editorial on how the grrls wish life would be. Good for a couple of chuckles but very few good etiquette tips. The book is much more snobbish and not nearly as charming as the grrls website. I read the book straight through and found that a little Random Capitalization goes a long way. All of the 'Dear Reader!' interjections are tiresome - and are they kidding about pairing a cashmere twinset with Doc Martens?! Yuck. Must be an East Coast thing! The Etiquette grrls are from New England after all.
Rating:
Summary: Lighten up!
Review: I have 2 words for all those EGs bashers - Lighten Up! This book is supposed to be light and humorous, while at the same time provide its readers with simple solutions for everyday etiquette quandaries. Yes, the EGs are sometimes harsh in conveying their frustrations about the rude people in our society, but this is all meant to be tongue-in-cheek. As someone in their mid-20's, I find that my generation has grown too lazy and "comfortable" to follow any type of rules, let alone rules of etiquette and I believe that this book should be incorporated into every high school's reading requirements. It is funny enough for teens to enjoy, but more importantly, it is very informative. It is a light-hearted description of silly things we've all done and are ashamed to admit. I mean, common, you'd have to be a rock not to laugh at the EGs' descriptions of some of the vehicles one encounters on the road - collections of beanie babies on the window, or all those annoying bumper stickers. I think the book is hilarious and I encourage everyone to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Lighten up!....and read this book!
Review: This book was a breath of fresh air. I think these grrls are just trying to bring a very boring subject across in a new direction. If you can't understand tongue and cheek, you will no doubt dislike the book and miss their point entirely. It is a shame that those who rated this book poorly was not able to grasp the authors true intent. I am looking forward to reading their second book.
Rating: 
Summary: Do Not Waste Your Money
Review: I was very excited to get this book in the mail. I got ready for a good long read. Within 5 minutes I was disappointed. What are these girls talking about. This is not etiquette but rather two snobbish girls trying to make everyone else just like them. I am so disappointed in this book. The only debut it is making in my house is in the trash. Do NOT waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Things one can Easily Live Without
Review: Someone should have edited this book before publishing it, because a little twee writing goes a long way. The random capitalization is distracting and gets old fast, and the book, while funny, lacked the essential concern for others' feelings that etiquette is all about. The authors come off as snobby and superficial, people I would avoid in a bar, even if they came slumming to my local hangout. They make much of the fact that they come from moneyed New England families and make the mistake of assuming that all their readers aspire to same. In short, I can't believe I spent money on this book. Reading it was a complete waste of my time.
Rating:
Summary: Grrls?
Review: I think the thing that is most ridiculous about these women is their misappropriation of the term "grrl". I picked up their book thinking it was by two clever young feminists but quickly discovered that their work is in no way related to the subversive movement to which the label refers. Even if incongruity was the point in their initial selection of the name it's witty for about 15 seconds, the time it takes to realize that if they are familiar with the loud, intelligent, and often very funny and impolite women who coined the word, they make no mention of it - so it comes off as a random, uniformed choice and fails miserably as a satire... so then, why choose it??? Their observations and advice are probably funny if you are part of or aspire to be part of the world that they come from, but overall I find their work banal and anti-intellectual, everything the Riot Grrls were/are not. It was important for me to acknowledge the roots of the term and to point out the fallacy of associating it with Honore's and Lesley's clique.
Rating:
Summary: Etiquette vs. Misguided Snobbery (with a dash of insecurity)
Review: The duo known on the web and in their book as The Etiquette Grrls style themselves as arbiters of decorum, taste, and good manners. They also fancy themselves to be quite witty and well-educated, with just enough edginess to ward off accusations of stuffy anachronism. They do a reasonable job, but they fall short on all fronts. The Etiquette Grrls' (or EG's as they refer to themselves) sense of what constitutes good manners is indistinguishable from their self-satisfied sense of class membership, and their own place in that pecking order. Their world view is sadly provincial, despite their fondess for peppering their sentences with French or faux French words. These are smug daughters of well-heeled Connecticut suburbanites, who have never had to question their place in the world besides smarting from the fact that neither attended Harvard or Yale. One did manage to get into Princeton, and is keen to let the world know of Princeton graduates' imagined superiority to "Les Autres Ivies." An interesting misconception to confess to, but it's hard to see how even the smug Etiquette Grrl in question managed to convince herself that she is a well-mannered young woman whilst sneering. Sour grapes, anyone? This book would more appropriately be viewed as a companion to the amusing Preppie Handbook that was published in the 1980's. Though their general advice about table settings and when to offer up one's seat on a bus is universally applicable, and they do deign to offer clothing suggestions for interested readers who cannot afford to buy Lily Pulitzer summer ensembles, they are likely to alienate anyone who didn't attend exclusive Catholic schools in the Northeast. They do make some amusingly witty and caustic observations,especially regarding some unfortunate recent fashion trends, but the authors'snobbery and insecurity (two traits which commonly co-occur) come through more than their good sense does.
Manners are, above all else, supposed to put others at their ease. The Etiquette Grrls are more concerned with conveying their superiority. They might revere the likes of Judith Martin (Miss Manners) but they are not in the same vein. Nor, I'm afraid, are they even in the same class.
| 
