Social Q's

How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today

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Office attire and e-mail misfire. Twitter snafus and dating miscues. Philip Galanes hears an awful lot of WHAT SHOULD I DOs?!

“I’m pretty sure the woman who swims laps next to me at the Y is peeing in the pool. What should I do?”

It started in 2008, when Galanes began the “Social Q’s” advice column for the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times.

“My boyfriend has an identical twin that I’m strangely hotter for than I am for him. What should I do?”

Since then, the questions come faster than a drunken starlet behind the wheel of a speeding Maserati.

“My Dad seems to have mixed up my cell phone number with the number of the woman he’s seeing behind my mother’s back. He sends her sexy texts that are freaking me out. What should I do?”

A cornerstone of The New York Times’s Styles section, Philip Galanes confronts today’s most awkward and pressing questions. Branded with an inimitable voice— witty and wise, sharp and saucy—Philip tackles unanswered questions and brand-new subjects with laugh-out-loud dish and practical wisdom. Not only about the new ways to thank a friend for throwing you a bridal shower (at a strip club), or when it’s appropriate to tell Nana to stop dressing like the latest Pop Tart, but also how to navigate a new age crowded with Tweets, twits, OMGs, and WTFs.

Social Q’s is a knockout book that will guide you swiftly through the treacherous terrain of modern etiquette—and keep you laughing for days.

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Book details:

Simon & Schuster |
272 pages |
ISBN 9781451605785 |
November 2011

$27.00 List Price

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Praise

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“SOCIAL Q'S by Philip Galanes is the one book you need to help guide you through some of life's toughest social challenges! It's smart, funny, and incredibly practical.”

– Peter Walsh, New York Times bestselling author of Lighten Up and It’s All Too Much

“Philip knows his way around an awkward situation--but enough about us! ”

– Kathie Lee & Hoda

“I love Philip Galanes’ New York Times column! And the book is a must! Social Q’s is a beacon of light in the foggy haze of today's world. ”

– Jessica Seinfeld

“Consider SOCIAL Q's your funny, wise and indispensable guide for honing, improving and finessing YOU--your own special creation!”

– George Wayne, contributing editor, Vanity Fair

“Zesty, zingy, zippy, zany. Everything I want to say about the funny and very talented Philip Galanes starts with the letter z. He and SOCIAL Q’S are truly zonderful.”

– Henry Alford, humorist and author of How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still On This Earth)

“Life in the 21st century is one rude awakening after another. But now we have Philip Galanes’ SOCIAL Q’S to the rescue--very smart, very funny advice for sidestepping any etiquette A-bomb.”

– Kendall Farr, author of The Pocket Stylist and Style Evolution

“Philip Galanes has made a name for himself as a weekly columnist doling out important advice on social etiquette and now has collected all this wisdom in one terrific book called Social Q's. But all this leaves me to wonder what an... ”

– Amy Sedaris

“Social Q's is a hilarious set of solutions to all the problems we're lucky to have. A must-read survival guide.”

– Christian Landers, author of Stuff White People Like

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Introduction

Not Your Mummy’s Advice Column

What should I do?

I get it all day long.

I’m pretty sure the woman who swims laps next to me at the Y is peeing in the pool. What should I do?

It started a few years back, when I began the Social Q’s advice column for the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times.

My boyfriend has an identical twin that I’m strangely hotter for than I am for him. What should I do?

Since then, the questions come faster than a drunken starlet behind the wheel of a speeding Maserati.

My...

8

Taking the “Woe” out of Co-Workers

Just Because You Sit Together Doesn’t Make You Besties

My name is James. I introduce myself as James and sign my name as James. But my co-workers always refer to me as “Jimmy.” I think the nickname conveys an image of immaturity, and is inappropriate with clients and other professionals. How do I get my colleagues to change the way they refer to me?

—James, Long Island, NY

Have you thought about wearing long pants to the office, and maybe...