Defender of Lost Causes
Two books that appeal to me greatly (for obvious reasons) are Tim Gunn's Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making it Work, and Clinton Kelly's Freakin Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else. Both are insanely funny, and I find funny people to be super-smart, and they are both made crazy by the complete lack of concern in today's American society for civility, decorum, deportment, respect, speaking well, managing perceptions, simple good manners, and . . . caring. Caring about things that used to matter, such as the aforementioned list. Caring for what's missing. I call it character, although the outward appearance of character is easy to fake. The thing is: if you don't have it, please, go ahead and fake it. It just makes social interaction more pleasant all the way around. If you don't even know how to fake it well, these books will help.
Posted by Etiquette Dog at 1/2/2012 10:38 PM 
Categories: manners, character, integrity, ethics, etiquette, courtesy, behavior, civility
Tags: Tim Gunn Clinton Kelly
Categories: manners, character, integrity, ethics, etiquette, courtesy, behavior, civility
Tags: Tim Gunn Clinton Kelly
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