Talk To The Hand: Lynne Truss

Or: Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. There's plenty of books on manners and etiquette, and this book is not about either. It's about the rudeness of modern life and the sense of outrage we all experience when we discover that other people are crass, selfish and inconsiderate. You ask a shop assistant, "Can you tell me the price of this? There doesn't appear to be a label," and she says, "What d'you think I am, psychic?" Whatever happened to please and thank you? Why do people behave in public as if they're in private? It's about that sort of bad manners. A bitingly humorous look at the utter bloody rudeness of everyday life, from maddening mobile phones to stupid slang.