Minding Miss Manners

In an Era of Fake Etiquette

By: Judith Martin

Narrated by: Jacobina Martin

Minding Miss Manners: In an Era of Fake Etiquette is a modern guide to modern manners. Facing down the miscreants purveying false etiquette rules (no, you may not wait a year to send a thank-you note for a gift and yes, in an age of social-media-encouraged over-familiarity you can politely refuse to answer nosy questions), Miss Manners guides you through these turbulent times with her timeless wisdom and archly acid wit.

©2019 Judith Martin (P)2020 Andrews McMeel Publishing

Pay your civility tax, gentle reader

Last year I encountered two of the rudest and ungrateful, entitled people I have ever met, age 31 and 35, a couple who were recipients of generous charity from several individuals. They were profligate users and it was a complete waste to try to help them. The experience made me wonder if I were living under a rock. Apparently I have been. All I can say after hearing this title is I’m glad to be sixty and not sixteen. From the untrammeled avarice of the modern bride to the plague of private fundraising for vanity projects, American society is overrun with greed, narcissism, and entitlement. American parenting has been an abject failure for two generations and is getting worse. Having read Ms Martin since I was in college, I was stunned by the egregious vulgarity of the questions posed. Never has there been a better time to say no and to maintain the firmest boundaries. I’ve had to make some new rules and standards this year, and that’s where sanity lies in a world where others expect you to pay for their vacations, honeymoons, medical bills, and diversions, While listening made me despair for modern society, the admirable narration from the author’s daughter was so well suited to the scathing wit of her incomparable mother that I nearly forgot we are doomed.

This book is a collection of letters and answers.

This book is a collection of letters and answers. The letter and answer format can get a little repetitive, so I think a person should know that before buying the book.