Social Q’s Giveaway…

On the top of my E-book heap these days is a petite publication, with a beautiful blue cover called Social Q’s, How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today.  The author, Philip Galanes, focuses on the complications of social interactions {as opposed to table settings, wedding protocol, etc.} in the etiquette arena. His writing style is very fresh and a little sassy, peppered with references to modern day celebs and news makers. But this amusing writing style is grounded with a foundation of a very deep level of compassion, wisdom and sensibility. 

This author first came on my radar when I discovered his column in the Sunday Style section of the New York Times. Now, every Sunday, I find myself debating if I should follow my impulses and just turn straight to Social Q’s as I am sipping my morning brew, or, delay my gratification and wait until I’ve tackled some of the more serious stuff. When I learned the first~man~of~modern~manners was publishing a book I was thrilled at the thought of having a tome, filled with his words of wisdom, right at my fingertips all week long. Now, I’m doubly thrilled to report that you too may have this volume of reassurance handy, because 
Philip has kindly offered to send a personalized copy of his book to one winning Splendid Market reader! 

Details for the giveaway are at the bottom of the post.

What I love most about his responses to readers questions is the fact that he looks at both sides of the story, he comprehends the position of the “offended”, but also provides insight into what the offender may be thinking. “The walking wounded must be comforted, of course, and grievous wrongdoers must be spanked. But these are complicated times – and we’ve all done a thing (or three) we shouldn’t have – so I’m not shy about pointing out the good qualities in bald-faced liars. (Maybe they’re lying to save our feelings?) And a Goody- Two-Shoes reeking of sanctimony has little to look forward to from me but a Krystale Carrington chop across the cheek.” He also is very conscience of the nature of the relationships involved. “Responding to life’s thorniest problems is not a one-size-fits-all-proposition. It requires a keen awareness of who we are in relation to the other people. Call it contextual IQ.”

The sections in Social Q’s cover the stages of a typical day and they are broken into chapters that cover the topics of personal hygiene, the business world, break-ups, surviving the holidays and everything in between. These subjects are broken down and analyzed using questions from readers about the “awkward nooks and crannies of our daily lives”.  Along the way, he provides tools for handling these situation and in his answers, he reinforces the effectiveness of using these “tools”. 

Let me share with you a couple of examples:

The chapter “When Strangers Get a Little Strange” features questions from readers about irksome behavior they’ve encountered in public settings and how to deal with those who are behaving this way. In these situations Philip advises readers follow the words of the the 60’s hit sung by Dionne Warwick and just “Walk on By… If you see me walking down the street, and I start to cry each time we meet, walk on by, walk on by. That’s right: Do not tangle with strangers on the street or at the bank, or in line at Starbucks. Just walk on by.”

He has a deep grasp on the potential tragedies of communicating in our modern times and again, addresses them with wit and a memorable reference to his rule. In the chapter “Step Away from That Keyboard!” He addresses “E-mails, Texts and the Three Commandments for E-living”. Here he applies a 3 part rule for things to consider before pressing the Send button, and calls it “O-M-G”:

O: Only for easy stuff {complex and serious topics should be handled personally}.

M: Make Sure {he includes of check list of things to review in your communication and, most importantly to “Wait two hours, at least, before sending a message that is angry, snippy or sarcastic. Let it simmer for a while first. And if you still feel committed to sending it after a reasonable waiting period and you are not currently enrolled in a court-ordered anger management class – then let it rip.”

G: Get on the phone (or Their Doorstep) at the FIRST Sign of Trouble. “..if you receive an unsolicited, electronic slap across the face, or find yourself in the midst of an escalating e-mail misunderstanding or text message brouhaha – beware. Continued e-mails and text messages are rarely your friends in such scenarios.”

This is just a small sampling of  the great information available in this book. The writing style makes the book entertaining for all age groups, my teenage daughter even gets a kick out of it, and I know she must be absorbing some of the guiding points as she reads along with glee.  Having seen this, I’m thinking this book is a great gift for kids heading off to school or out into the working world. 

Below are the requirements for entering the drawing for a copy of the book, personalized for the winner by Mr. Galanes himself. If you can’t wait for the announcement in a week, or if you need multiple copies, just click on Social Q’s to order copies from Amazon.com right away.

To enter the giveaway ccomplete any, and/or all of the following steps to get your name in the hat, the more steps you take, the more times your name will be entered, please leave me comments to ensure I know what you have done:

“I try to be the best friend you’ve never met.” Philip Galanes

What questions would you like to ask Philip?