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

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.

CAROLINE TIGER is a weekly columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her writing also appears in The New York Times Style Magazine, Town and Country, Salon,Self,Ms., and a host of other national publications. She lives in Philadelphia.Website: carolinetiger.com Twitter: twitter.com/designphan