Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck

The very witty advice columnist and radio talk-show host Amy Alkon, also known as the Advice Goddess, has recently published a book about modern manners for our post-Emily Post world. In Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck (St. Martin's Press), Alkon combines science with biting humour to answer questions about etiquette in the twenty-first century. Be warned: you won't find anything about correct table set-up or the proper use of various utensils in this book. Instead, Alkon doles out witty advice on how to deal with people who insist on having their cell phones on speaker in public places and how to stop dog walkers from leaving dog poop on your lawn.

Alkon was recently interviewed by Erin Anderssen in The Globe and Mail, in which she asserts that "we now live in societies too big for our brains," which is why we behave badly around strangers. Among other things, she addresses spontaneous phone calls, clipping toenails on public transit, and Web slapping. Read the full interview here.