Etiquette Books

I really enjoyed this book, but it was definitely more of a pleasure read than anything instructional. I was looking for some advice directed specifically toward second marriages, and eventhough I did pick up some good ideas, this book was geared more toward the older first time bride. The author stresses the premise that an older bride should do whatever makes her happy (wear a white dress, have a zillion attendants, register for gifts) without regard for what others may think. Don't each of us in the over 40 crowd do that anyway?

This book is a treasure in the midst of the piles of repetitive ... about getting married. If you don't fit into the average profile of Girl Getting Married, this book will have something for you. I think the way they're marketing this book is a bit off -- it's not only age that makes you different. I'm getting married for the first time now at 33, and I found SO much to identify with in this book. Besides, it's hilarious, and was such fun to read in between issues of Martha Stewart. I'm recommending it to all my friends.

This is an amazing book for any one who is not a young bride. She has done an excellent job explaining wedding requirements, others expectations and all with a great deal of humor. The author provides great ideas for the "mid-life" bride and also permission to do the wedding your way. I have never enjoyed a book more...forget Martha and the bridal magazines if you are over 35 you need this book.

As a first time mid-life bride marrying a man who's been there, done that, 3 times prior in fact, I've met with my share of shock, disbelief and advice. None of it worthwhile until a close friend, herself a mid-life first time wife, recommended this jewel of a book. Shelley Christainsen tells it like it is, as opposed to the typical starry eyed bride guides who tell it like Cinderella imagined it to be. This book is a must read for every mid-life bride (and wanna be) and will be the first gift I give newly engaged friends from now on.

As the prospective husband-to-be, it is wonderful to hear excerpts that my intended reads to me when she comes across something that really hits home (which happens constantly). We fit the profile presented in the book to a tee and I find myself identifying closely with many, many things in the book. Preperations for Long Island style wedding celebrations can be lenghtly and exhausting, and the day can wind up being quite expensive. They are generally geared to those that we have amost 20 years on, and some of the pagentry borders on the uncomfortable. Instead, the book is written from the perspective of us "40-somethings". I have actually had the feeling of relief descend upon me after hearing the common sense ideas and flexible approach that is typical of the book. So, I say "Way to Go" Shelly Christiansen, and "Thank you" too !

From the review I thought this would be a great book to have, but I find it lacking and thin. Many of the suggestion were repeated [...]. I thought this book is more about ideas of words to write, and indeed it has some, but not a lot to choose from.

I bought this book thinking it would help with my holiday letter writing and a letter I wished to write for a friend who recently married. I was very disappointed in the sparse selection of sample letters and the overabundance of poems and gift ideas. It's not something I'll reach for often.

thank you, robyn spizman for a book i can turn to for any occasion. it has been so helpful to me, that i even gave it to my dearest friend as a gift. giving this book has now snowballed, because she and i have given it to all of our other friends and family, too. do yourself a favor and add it to your book collection.

Spizman's book of useful tips, hints and resources for anyone who aspires to BE the kind of person who cares and does something about it is really wonderful. I already think I do a pretty good job saying kind and encouraging things to others. This book really gives me ideas and encouragement for doing it. I plan to give copies of this book to many friends. A great and useful resource. Also, her daughter's book, The Thank You Book for Kids is a terrific how to book for young people.
Highly recommended!
Patricia Ryan
Stanford University

I saw this author on The Today Show last year and knew I had to buy this book. The thoughtful words and deeds in this book just add to the perfect present ideas Robyn recommended on Today. After reading this book, I feel assured that my gifts and words will matter most to those who matter most to me.

It's hard to imagine that spending any length of time in the kitchen would be enjoyable. But then we purchased Ellen Wright's Around the Table: Easy Menus for Cozy Entertaing at Home. Not only do we have wonderful meals ready with not a lot of fuss, we've actually returned to having friends over for dinner because we can entertain and cook at the same time. Cooking used to be a thankless job and we could never leave the kitchen to enjoy the company of friends. And now people are calling us to see what we are planning for dinner! Bring back some fun into your home. Ellen Wright has done a marvelous job at making us look like we know what we are doing! We can't wait for her next book to broaden our menus!

Ellen Wright brings good cooking and entertaining together in this wonderful addition to my kitchen. I never knew it was be so easier to make such wonderful dishes. Each recipe is not only easy to understand, but if you follow all the steps, your end result will be perfect. Ellen Wright found the secret to publishing a great cook book -- everyone who doesn't like to cook will end up being a gourmet chef. And even the best the kitchen will learn from this wonderful volume.

Having just started a cookbook collection, I was thrilled to add "Around the Table" to my set. It is a wonderful compilation of family comfort food, with easy to follow recipes and simple instructions for the beginner cook/entertainer. Its recipes have been a tremendous hit with family and friends and unlike cookbooks that focus on the "cuisine of the moment", "Around the Table" highlights the wonderful family fare that never goes out of style. Highly recommended - I can't wait to pick up her next book!

This book on entertaining menus and recipes by the interior designer Ellen Wright provides almost exactly what you would expect, but nothing more. It gives us thirteen (13) menus for cold weather situations and eleven (11) menus for warm weather situations.

Most of the menus are tailored to fit a particular situation. Cold weather menus fit situations like TV viewing, a small Thanksgiving gathering, Christmas, `home with a cold', New Years Eve, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's day, and a hearty breakfast. Warm weather menus fit a Bridge party, and engagement dinner, the Fourth of July, a teenage date dinner, a dinner outside on the grill, and a menu suitable for preparation by an inexperienced cook (the daughter?!).

Reflection on this lineup leads me to think that the book may not be as useful to the frequent entertainer as it may appear on first blush. Most of the menus are more appropriate to very specific functions and not to general entertaining. This book is much more specialized in it's audience than, for example, Martha Stewart's famous first book `Entertaining'. The audience most interested in this book may not be the frequent entertainer of friends and business colleagues as the person with an active family life around the home.

There are two sure signs that the best audience is the large home centered family. First, there are few alcoholic beverage recommendations. If this book were oriented toward adult guests, this is a serious oversight, especially in the matter of wine. I have no knowledge or serious interest in wine and food pairings, but I do know that this is an important dimension to dining and entertaining. The author doesn't even mention the subject of wine. The few mentions of alcoholic beverages I found were recipes for Pimm's Cup, Bloody Marys, and Margaritas. Second, most of the recipes are relatively simple with a generous use of prepared ingredients from the supermarket's freezer case and cake mix aisle. A much more valuable use of space in this book would have been to remove the mixed drinks recipes and add recommendations for wines and simple references to mixed drink names.

Since the book presents recipes in menus, where most menus have a salad and a dessert course, you are getting more salad and dessert recipes than you would in the more conventionally organized book. For this imbalance, you are getting important information on putting together interesting menus.

I am not overly impressed by the distribution of ingredients by warm weather and cold weather menu. It is more accurate to say that the recipies are selected to fit the occasion than the season. Otherwise, the selection of recipes is fairly broad, covering classic American fare such as franks and beans and chili, to imported classics such as pasta Puttanesca and Gaspacho. None of the recipes violate any major culinary practices and the sidebar tips help you to make the best of your ingredients, but there is little there which an experienced cook does not already know.

The photographs in the book are all very good. The irony is that the photographs do as good or better job of highlighting the author's day job of decorator than they do of featuring the food. Serving plates, table decorations, and tablecloths get as much attention as the food. A perfect example of this is one photo which features not one wit of edible material. In the place of the food is a recent `New Yorker' cartoon flanked by elegant serving ware, napkins, and tablecloth.

I am always interested in influences on the author and I am pleased to find this writer refer more than once to the solo work of Simone Beck rather than Ms. Beck's more famous colaborator, Julia Child. Ms. Wright also refers with reverence to an association with James Beard. All this indicates that Ms. Wright is a very talented person for which home entertaining (and this book) is a sidelight, for which she has taken one or more short classes with old school culinary celebrities such as Beard, Child, and Madhur Jaffrey.

If you do a lot of entertaining and are an only modestly skilled cook, this is a worthwhile book. It gives good ideas and it will not take you into deep culinary waters.

I was expecting a sophisticated collection of easy recipes, more in the vein of the Barefoot Contessa books, but this is merely a rehash of 70's suburban-housewife buffet food. Do we really need a recipe for franks and beans? And scrambled eggs with Velveeta? Also surprised that the apparently talented photographer took on this book...some of the food looks truly unappetizing, for instance the creamed spinach on page 121. Very disappointing book.

In her book, Jay not only explains why the business lunch is vital, she lends you her expertise for you to achieve greater success, both personally and professionally. Also included are the do's and don'ts, what to avoid, etiquette and how to balance selling and talking while eating. Her easy, personable mannerism shines through on paper and I found myself smiling throughout the book.

This is an excellent tool for people in business and sales.

This is a fabulous book for learning to entertain with sales in mind. It explains how to have a positive effect on others and sell yourself successfully during a meal or networking event. In today's world with the decline of social graces, this book is like a breath of fresh air. It gives practical and applicable tips and techniques to take relationships to a higher level. It teaches the importance of building solid relationships that will increase business. Great information...for anyone who needs to sell him/herself. I also had the opportunity to hear Robin Jay speak recently and the information she shared was solid gold.

Dont know whether I had too high an expectation of it under the influence of its title "the ART of the ...." or the very favorable comment on the back cover and here on Amazon I had been a little bit disappointed. Perhaps I have been in the business for long so I truly believe that the ideas covered by the author should be readily practised by even the mildly successful sales or account executives. If you are a greenhand in the industry or you honestly consider yourself ignorant of business etiquette and networking, the book is still fine for you. However, if you want to read something of the advanced level, "Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time" by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz would be a much better but demanding choice.

If building more productive business relationships interests you, you'll want to read The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 and 2 by Robin Jay.

Ms. Jay, the "Queen of the Business Lunch," explains that successful business relationships are built and enhanced at lunch. Better than a stuffy board room or office cubicle, a restaurant setting brings elements of class, style and fun to just about any business meeting. This outside-the-office setting allows people to get to know each other on a more personal level and personal relationships make for better business dealings.

The book is filled with excellent advice and interesting anecdotes on how to make all your lunch meetings more productive and successful. You'll discover how to create lunch opportunities, how turn every business lunch into a relationship building experience, which fork to use when, and so much more.

Even if you don't think of yourself as a salesperson, you'll still benefit from The Art of the Business Lunch. We all need to network productively and conduct ourselves in professional settings with grace and style; this book details just how to do that and so much more.

From personal experience through years of owning a newspaper corporation, I learned that some of the biggest deals are closed during social situations, not always behind boardroom doors. I saw this first-hand with politicians in Silicon Valley, with Unions and other businesses. In fact, I had "Power Lunches" of my own where a hand-shake closed many lucrative deals. This outside-the-office setting allowed me to get to know clients and advertisers on a more personal level which led to better business dealings.

Even restaurants in Silicon Valley know the value of such social networking because they sell yearly two-for-one cards to their establishments. My newspaper bought these dining cards from Fairmont Hotel, Hyatt House, and LeBaron Hotel. This not only saved money but enabled us to entertain friends and potential clients in fine style in a relaxed atmosphere.

As Robin Jay, author of The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 And 2, explains, there is a fine protocol to building business relationships over a short time-span--lunch and on certain occasions a business dinner. She presents full details in this book, showing the readers how to conduct themselves in professional settings with grace and style, and she enlivens the excellent advice with humorous anecdotes that make for an easier reading/learning experience.

Since cell phones weren't in common use during my career, I was particularly interested in Robin Jay's advice on proper cell phone etiquette, which has an entire chapter dedicated to it.

The Art of the Business Lunch: Building Relationships Between 12 And 2 is well-written, with easy-to-follow formatting, and will be useful to those interested in building productive business relationships. The author's motto is: Share a Meal and Close the Deal, which is how she inscribed the copy I won in J. Kaye's Book Blog raffle. Incidentally, if you would like to try your luck on winning a book, go to: http://j-kay-book-blog.blogspot.com

Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
1106 Grand Boulevard
The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley
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Michael Chiarello is one of my favorites. His recipes are one's that you would actually cook! Not too fancy and very delicous.

I bought this book as a gift for a friend and he absolutley loves it!
If you like Michael Chiarello you will love these recipes!..Great Deal too at $13.95 in the warehouse deals!
Thanks Amazon!

I really enjoy watching Michael Chiarello on TV, and this book is a joy to read too. I have tried making a couple recipes in the book and they are wonderful. If you enjoy watching him, you will enjoy this book. Gives helpful hints on cooking and entertaining. I am very glad I bought the book.

I love him, his receipes, his TV shows. Easy to make recipes.

Whether standing around the kitchen with another couple or serving cocktails to a hundred, readers will appreciate celebrated television, cookbook and restaurant chef Michael Chiarello's ideas for casually elegant entertaining. Included are 130 simple yet stylish recipes, creative menus and time-saving tips, as well as thoughts about setting and table arrangements and even suggestions on stocking the pantry for impromptu guests.

A beautiful, practical cookbook from a creative, inspirational chef.

David Horvath is brilliant. His book Bossy Bear has great art and the story is as good. It's a simple story, but funny and teaches a lesson at the same time. Children will love it and adults can appreciate it as well.

Everyone should own a copy of Bossy Bear.

The Bosy Bear helped my ASD child understands that being bossy it's not a good choice.

Bossy Bear is indeed very bossy. So bossy he yells "Faster!" to a struggling snail and "What do you mean, don't walk?!" to a traffic light. He has perfected the art of shouting "GIMME" and is not shy about ordering Santa around. But when he pushes his friends too far he finds himself all alone with only his cape and his crown for company. Could it be he's bossed one boss too many?

The short, simple text and whimsical illustrations are reminiscent of Mo Willems' Pigeon books. The author-illustrator, David Horvath, is the creator of the popular Uglydolls, and there is a slight hint of Uglidollness in Bear. His many fans won't be disappointed by his latest creation, which is sure to elicit giggles from both toddlers and their grown-ups. The ending suggests that there might be a sequel---we can only hope!

Beautiful art ! And a very cute story ! David Horvath is a genius.

I had hoped the story would teach my toddler not to be bossy, but it has a pretty lame resolution. It has provided the opportunity to talk about bossiness and not having friends, though.

As a Westerner having already visited to India for some time (and who would like to go again), I found this book to be extremely accurate in its detailed descriptions of the many cultures and customs of this facinating country. I also learned some more things here that I didn't know the first time around, and found it very helpful and entertaining as well.

Although anyone would be very hard pressed to cover the immense complexities of this country, I think the author did a very good job, and should be a must read for anyone going for the first time, along with a "quicky" travel guide book of specific places to go and see.

The only problem I had with the book were in certain parts where she put down some of the religious beliefs and their followers, disregarding the validity and meaning they may hold for those that follow them, with little jabs at the end of each paragraph. It seemed obnoxious, judgmental and opinionated, as if she assumed her view was the only one worth considering. A real turn-off. A little more broadmindedness would have been more enriching.

Other than that, I thought the book was quite good, detailed and well written. Highly recommended.

Although this is the first book I've read on Indian culture, I think it would be difficult to find another book written with such detail about so many aspects of Indian culture as Kolanad's does. Her insight into how Westerners think is invaluable as she herself grew up in a Western society for part of her life. Being Indian, she gives authority to what she writes. I truly enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Indian customs and etiquette.

This book brought me interesting thoughts about India; both nostalgic and humorous. The book is written with a view to satisfy a female traveller, but it does not make much generalizations in this aspect. Even though a person living in India might feel this book paints a distorted view, anyone who has seen the world outside India will find this book more entertaining and useful.
This is not considered as a tour guide for a person who is just passing through the airports. If you ever thought India is just like what you see in Jackson heights (N.Y.) or Devon St (Chicago) or as in the movie "City of Joy", you are mistaken . Nowhere in the world you could see people living with contrasting environments and outlook of life, sharing a wall between 19th and 20th (21st?) century at the same moment.
Gitanjali Kolanad introduces some assumptions as to why the Indian life is so contradictory in many aspects. The author provides a brief, but well narrated history of this south Asian region and tries to analyze the origin of the social heirarchy,the division of labour and the attitudes of Indians to these.
This book is an honest oversimplification of the problems a foreigner will face and the author gives some valuable advice and certain quick fixes. I would say you need an open mind and this book before you start your passage to India.

I'll be brief, so as not to echo others' comments. Preparing for a six month stint in India for business, I was unsatisfied after reading other "guide" books. Looking for something more than a history lesson and hot spot list, I reached for Culture Shock!. This book details subtle nuances that exist between US and Indian cultures. Great read and highly recommended!

I read this book approximately a month before going to India on business. Although this added to my already growing excitement, I found that this book was really geared more toward one who was either going to be casually traveling or living there on a permanent basis.

I found that I was not at all prepared for what India had to offer - now, that wasn't because I hadn't done enough research, rather because of the random and chaotic nature of where I was located.

Pros: The first few chapters go into topics such as political history, represented religions, holidays, festivals, and other good things to know. The author then takes us through setting up a household, to having servants, how dinner parties are organized and executed, and other feasibly useful information.

Cons: Although this is written by an Indian person, the information within is simply given without explanation. I didn't learn why some of the comments made in the book were true until I had been there for a while, and I didn't realize how classist some of the situations presented were until I had experienced the situation myself.

If you are looking to learn of practical things to do, ways to get around, and what to probably really expect once you step off of the plane on your first visit, I would suggest a travel book such as Lonely Planet, or Fodors.

This book is worth reading, but don't expect this to be your only guide.

I will be going on a mission trip this fall and wanted something that would give me useful information - this did the job!

With the economies of asia sky rocketting and the world getting more and more globalized by the day, it makes it essential to know more about customs and beliefs around the world. This is a great book to start with.

the book is great but the service from this source was extremely slow almost two weeks to get a book.

India is a culture that is far outside the understanding of most westerners. This book was easy to read and understand and DEFINITELY helped us to respond, behave and act properly in a very foreign land.
The book is direct, concise and well written. We would recommend this to anyone visiting a culture that will appreciate the effort not to offend.
This book was really A+_.

This book is a fantastic reference to anyone who is doing business with India either as a buyer or a provider. It gives comprehensive information about the country and its culture and should be an always-in-hand guide.

My 3 yr old Daughter Loves DORA. We already have the first Big Book of Stories, and she Loves it. How can you pass up another Big Book for under $10....

This is great value for money. My 2.5 yr old loves Dora so this was a hit. However, since this is a compilation of many stories, it's hard to stop with just reading her one story--she always wants to go to the next one. If you prefer to read your child a variety of books (other than Dora) before bed time, this might be a tad challenging if your child is a huge Dora fan.

This book is so well written that it is a joy to read. My Grandkids love it and would let me read from it every night if I would let them. I am so glad I bought this book for them and plan to buy one for the other three sets of Grandkids for Christmas.

I just gave this book, along with a Dora board game, to my 4-year-old niece. She LOVED it. After opening it, she insisted that I read her 4 of the 7 stories while at her beach-side birthday party! She was much more interested in the stories and their large, colorful illustrations than in the Dora board game that I gave her along with this book. My only complaint is that most of the stories are pretty wordy, and I imagine not all children have the necessary attention span. I'm thrilled with the book, overall, though!

I got this book because I previously bought a box set of Dora stories and my little one was always looking at the books they showed on the back and asking for them, but I could never find another set and this book has most of the ones I was looking for. It even has a spanish guide in the back for the most commonly used words inthe books with a phonetic pronunciation for them. My little guy just loves it!

This book is irreverently funny, particularly the part about treating your mother and father with respect if you ever expect to inherit the family's F-150 pickup. Hey, I own an F-150. My son laughed like crazy about that one. If you are looking for some fun, reading this book is a good choice; however, if you have trouble with sexual innuendos (spelling?)or a little foul language here and there, you may want to skip it.

You don't have to DUMB DOWN to enjoy this hilarious read....A humouros book that can be read from back to front or front to back...HA! any page you turn to has GUFFA'S a plenty...Great Bathroom Read...Leave it in the bathroom for guests...Enjoyed thouroughly.Check out 10 tips for women who's ascared of getting stuck with a loser....ENJOY!

Bears do, and you will. The advice may not help you -- may not have helped Dr. Verne, for that matter -- but this is self-help with an attitude. The perfect antidote to Martha Stewart. The perfect read after a bad day at the office -- or the used car lot.

This book takes on two ripe targets: white trash and yuppies, and does so simultaneously in a clever and brazen way.

It's one of those rare books that makes fun of everything in its path, even the book itself. It's kind of an Archie Bunker meets Michael Moore sort of thing. And it's really, really funny.

I have to admit that I was a tab bit 'ascared' to pick up Dr. Verne's Northern White Trash Etiquette for fear someone would believe I had more to learn. But once I had it in hand, I couldn't put it down. Pages flew until I discovered the help I needed to straighten out my love life. '10 Tips for Women Who's Ascared of Getting Stuck With a Loser' has become my bible. I now know how to determine if the man I'm seeing is a regular pervert or a gentleman pervert. (He's a gentleman. I have the pastel plastic pearls to prove it!) But best of all, even with all of this learning going on, Verne has me in stitches. The good doctor knows his trash and puts all other self-help gurus to shame. It's a must read for the humor hungry, so be prepared to laugh.