Things You Need to Be Told

Rating:
Summary: What a colossal waste of time
Review: This was a waste of my time and the authors'. It is not an etiquette book, but rather a "how-to" of preppery/snobbery. I think I actually read the same book, only much more witty and well-written, many years ago. This was The Preppie Handbook. Good manners has always been the ability to make those around you feel comfortable. In this book the opposite seems to be true. Also, as an aside, since when does what type of cocktail one drinks rate as an etiquette issue?

Rating:
Summary: The first words that come to mind are "duH"...
Review: I'm thanking myself that I decided to take this book of a library instead of shelling out 20 bucks for it. Definitely a disappointment in its entireity.
The first words that came to my mind after I'd finished this book were "Duh".. everything in it is mostly pointing out the obvious except for the statements like "Sometimes you need to wear doc martens with a cashmere sweater"... what? who does that?
Regardless, if you have half a brain, I wouldn't reccomend this. If you are serious about improving your manners try one of the classics such as those listed above.
cheers

Rating:
Summary: Very Amusing...
Review: Do not let the humourless prats sway you. This book is thorougly entertaining- its amusing snide comments about all sorts of "shocking and appalling" things makes for a delightful read. The book covers a lot of useful topics as well, and most of the reviewers who wrote negatively about it here have obviously mistaken the INTENTIONALLY pretentious and snobby style of language as sincere rather than in jest.

Rating:
Summary: More Amusing than I EVER thought Etiquette could be!
Review: I loved this book, my friends and I found it to be just darling! We found that it was best enjoyed when we read excerpts aloud. There is a lot of truly practical advise included, which I am trying to use so that I am not that next Unspeakably Rude person you meet. Some parts I cannot take seriously (like the talk about prep schools, since I had the misfortune to grow up in the Middle of Nowhere) but did help me to understand my friends from New England better. Thanks Etiquette Grrls!!!

Rating:
Summary: A little too snotty for my blood...
Review: ....Moreso it reads like a high school essay on how to be a snob and elitist. For an alternative read that touts the rewards of humility, compassion and social responsibility (And I don't mean which fork to use for escargot) try - The Art And Power Of Being A Lady By Noelle Cleary - A much better message.

Rating:
Summary: A Poorly Written attempt at the Etiquette Genre.
Review: As if their website wasn't obnoxious enough, the "Etiquette Grrls" have their own book. Others have already tackled the slightly-acidic etiquette genre and have done it much better (Judith Martin springs to mind). The point is, the genre didn't need an overly bombastic and egotistical attempt from two [people] with superiority complexes about their Princeton/prep school educations. Others have already commented on the irksome and apparently random capitalization found in their book. As far as their writing style goes, it just seems cramped and forced, as it reads like a badly-written joke that ran on too far. Worse, the book doesn't even focus on etiquette, it just reads like a 224-page whinefest about worst-case scenario rudeness, interspersed with unenlightening, frustratingly obvious "rules" for everyday behavior. If the EGs were hoping to enrich the etiquette literature selection that is available, they've utterly failed.

Rating:
Summary: I would have given it a negative rating if it were possible.
Review: I did take this book with a grain of salt, but that didn't help. It was stupid and condescending. These "grrls" tell you not to do one thing, then contradict themselves in the next chapter. They remind me of the many horse-faced sorostitutes I went to school with. They use phrases like "subversive nailpolish" to describe cosmetics like Urban Decay. Do these people even know what "subversive" means? They also think it's clever to type with random capitalization; like a teenager doing a geocities website. If you have an I.Q. of more than 50, you'll stay away from this one.

Rating:
Summary: Rawther Amusing
Review: Well done, ladies! Etiquette tidbits shot through with humor. I almost died laughing! One need NOT be from the northeast to appreciate this book, as it has something for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Lighten up...
Review: I find this book very refreshing. Yes, the Etiquette Grrls are "snobby" and "affected". What more can you expect from girls who went to boarding school in New England?! If you take this book seriously, you might be offended...so DON'T! They point out some very valid points...we do live in a tacky, rude world. And yes, someone probably is wearing a tube top in church or at a funeral, which is definitely THOR (the height of rudeness). They are a bit too old fashioned for 2002 and might need to make some concessions/revisions. All in all, this is a great book for anyone, especially for women in their 20's who are fed up with impolite people!

Rating:
Summary: How to be a Snob
Review: These "grrls" are so incredibly wrong that I sincerely hope that they were trying to be funny. The point of etiquette is not: to make fun of people who have different tastes than you, to purposely embarrass others, to congratulate yourself on how "wild" you are because you wear *gasp* Doc Martens and Urban Decay nail polish, to spend your life pointing out flaws in others, or to flaunt your drinking habits to those who don't give a damn. The point of etiquette is to treat others how you would like to be treated. If you want to know how to be a first class pain-in-the-ass and a label snob, then this is the book for you. If you want to be well mannered and well liked, simply be yourself and buy the latest edition of Emily Post's Etiquette.