Christina Steinorth

I have yet to read this book cover to cover but rather continually skip around, finding little gems of common sense and wisdom to apply in interactions with others ……. repeating some enough that they become habitual and an authentic aspect of my presence ……. and finding that pretty easily this behavior begins evoking the same from others.

If you have spent time reading books and articles or blogs and online sites with self-help suggestions, you won’t find a lot of new stuff here, but you will find simple practical advice in one small book that works in establishing new relationships or improving existing relationships.

People of all ages may find these tried and true steps to be remarkably effective in becoming a cherished partner, friend or relative ….. with small efforts yielding broad effects.… (altro)

Mostly common sense material if one was not raised by gorillas. Definitely aimed at the white, suburban, middle/upper-class socialite-wanna-be, quasi-professional "home-maker female. A blatant generalization: I do not envision men, working class or people of non-white ethnic heritage giving two-hoots about this book. Best chapter: taking care of aging parents. Had some helpful advise and it was clear that Steinworth's specialty was in this area. Worst chapter: "How to be a Corporate Drone" (not really the title, but should have been). Anyone following Steinorth's "advice" in a work-place environment will soon find themselves the butt of "goodie-two-shoes" derision and ostracism.

I'm thinking about placing this book in our school's library (I am the librarian), since, perhaps, teens--possibly raised by gorillas--might benefit from the strange concept that social etiquette can matter.… (altro)

This started out inoffensively enough--the "cue cards" conceit is a bit meaningless (they're headings in a book, not actual cards), but it was all "remember to be kind" and "talk to your teen like an equal" and maybe intermittently good reminders of the kind of obvious things that we still forget to do that Steinorth must see a lot of in her practice as a family counsellor. (There is a weird cranky "maybe THIS'll sort all you people out" undertone that is offputting, and while I don't want to criticize Steinorth's appearance, she looks like a weird debutante on the back cover, and she seems horrified by the idea of taking public transit. Why are so many counsellors this same type of kind, slightly overwhelming woman from upper-middle-class backgrounds who think all the world's problems can be solved with a little meddling, he generalized wildly). But then it gets into "cue cards for work" (I guess she felt the book needed padding) and it's all "your employer doesn't pay you to laze about. They pay you to increase your productivity and represent the company in business casual attire! End your maladaptive behaviours posthaste!!" It's a conservative and smarmily apolitical vision of the counsellor's role and I go feh.… (altro)

This self-help book contains information on a variety of relationships including lovers, family, friends, and coworkers. The "cue cards" mentioned in the title are actually just section headings. I think it would have been a bit more interesting to format them as actual cards that could be removed and used, but that's a pretty superficial complaint.

The information here is basic, but Steinorth's tips do serve as good reminders for proper etiquette and the consideration of others in our everyday interactions. Despite my complaint on format above, the lay out does make it easy to skip through sections that don't apply and quickly pick up info from those that do.

The book, however, lacks step-by-step action plans for putting these "cue cards" into use. In the section on "Friendships, Parties, and Social Events," for example, one cue card reads "Learn to make small talk." But aside from "read the news, read books, watch television" Steinorth does little to teach the reader how to actually make small talk (And this piece of advice contradicts her earlier instructions to avoid politics or religion. Conversations gleaned from the news are sure to veer into politics and/or religion.) One exception to this observation is Steinorth's chapter on apologizing. In this section she does, indeed, lay out specific instructions for issuing sincere apologies.… (altro)