Don't read this book. It makes Lynne Truss, an insightful and hilarious writer, sound like an awful person.

It's not so much the complaining about rudeness (although that, too, feels like it was greatly exaggerated to give the book a reason to exist) as the fact that hardly a pages goes by without a mention of Eats, Shoots and Leaves' international success. The fact that it's mostly mentioned to complain about it ("it's so hard being a famous author") makes it worse.

From the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to PunctuationThis was her follow up. It was okay but there really wasn't enough material for a whole book. Should've just been a clever(if occasionally whiny) article. So rather than a review, I'm just going to share my own thoughts on rudeness, society, and other things.

In my neighborhood, there is a small business whose name is based on that lovely saying, "Talk to the hand." Think a bakery called 'Talk to the Flan' or a deli 'Talk to the Ham' Why? Why would a business owner want to give the impression that she was rude and didn't care about her customers? We'll see how long she lasts, although I t's been at least two years now.

In my mother's high school yearbook, there was a section under each grad's picture where they got to list their pet peeves. I'm hoping there was more than that but I don't remember anything else. My sibs and I loved reading the ridiculous things that bothered these old fogies. We were probably 8-9-10ish at the time. Now I'm embarrassed to admit, I often start conversations with, "Know what my pet peeve is?" It's probably a pet peeve of my friends that I do this. Who's the old fogie now!

I was at the grocery store and the ringer upper and the bagger were having a conversation as if I weren't standing right there. (pet peeve).They were talking about how hot some famous guy was. They then went on to describe what they would do with said hot guy if they got their hands on him. Nice. Since I was standing right there, I figured I was included in this conversation so I asked the if they knew whether the guy was nice. What? They looked at me with confused faces. Speaking more slowly as this was obviously a difficult concept for either to grasp, I asked again if he was a nice person how did he treat women? After an awkward pause, they went back to their fantasies. Oh well, I tried.

"Click it or ticket." I hate seeing these signs on the highway. Surely they could come up with a nicer way to remind people to wear their seatbelts.

That's it for now.

Lynne Truss provides an interesting look at the stat of manners or rather social interactions among the British in particular. She uses the same quirky humor that spiced up her grammar treatise to advocate being polite rather than being so bloody ride all the time. It might make the world a better place. Or more enjoyable.

Having read her book which I found a little bit to long in sections this book seemed more to my liking but anything that has an introduction which lasts for nearly 40 pages - effectively 205 0f the book - already seems a bad omen. Reality is the premise of the book is a great idea and the author puts across some good and humorous point but unfortunately the author doesn't know when to stop and goes and on and on and on. At 210 pages it feels as though hit could be reduced by at least a quarter and still make it point. A shame but somehow once again the book is only middle of the road.