Gracious: A Practical Primer on Charm, Tact, and Unsinkable Strength

Like her first book, Gracious is full of practical tips and a lot of common sense, which isn't so common these days. It seems to be directed more toward those of her gender and generation, but even a 60+ male like me got some good reminders and new information. Unlike many of the prim and proper etiquette books of the past, Kelly provides needed guidance about the whole topic of social media. Her chapter on being gracious to yourself is also a good pick-me-up. What I like most of all is her writing style and her humor in nearly every paragraph. Be sure to read the footnotes--some of them are priceless.

A modern primer on graciousness for women everywhere. Worth a read, then a reread. As a southern woman, I appreciate the gentle reminders on what it means to be GRACIOUS, especially in a world that is so often NOT gracious. Kelly is an entertaining and wonderfully funny writer. This is a book to share with as many people as possible. I just gave away my original copy and purchased a second one for myself. Everyone needs to read this book!

I'm enjoying this book and finding plenty of food for thought in it's pages. It is one of those books, however, I think would be much better as an audiobook or in print. It appears that the print version has many sections which are in different fonts or text boxes which then can't be re-sized in my Kindle version--some I can't read at all. I have also had difficulty finding the sections referenced in the footnotes (many of which are very amusing and really should be connected to the text!) I would have sprung for Whisper-sync for this book because I sensed it was a book that would be enhanced by being read by someone from the South. Sadly, it wasn't available.

I am barely in chapter one and I am impressed. It has help me recognize the qualities that I have in me and that I share as affection with my love ones. Qualities such consideration, focus attention, listening are some of the qualities she calls being gracious. Furthermore it promotes self reflection and direction towards the adjustments and improvements that need tunning within me. I am motivated with her words to be able add another layer to my personal growth development, and to have a clear path to nagivate to.

It was ok. I thought there was a lot of good advice in there, but the style of presentation was distracting. I felt like she’d begin to discuss a topic, but then insert these tangenital random thoughts that pop up in her head as she’s writing, and put them in parentheses. She seems to do it to make it fun, but for me it was distracting and I’d rather she stay on point without sharing her divergent thoughts. It seemed like she was trying overly hard to be likeable and relatable, while I just wanted her advice.

This is the second book I've read within 5 days that bashes conservative opinion. Why does every liberal who writes a nonfiction book feel it's mandatory to denigrate Donald Trump? It's such a bizarre fixation, uninteresting and irrelevant at best. Isn't it gracious to respect others' opinions despite them being different from your own? I guess they enjoy alienating half of their readers. Here's a gentle reminder to this author and others who follow their method of trashing anyone who disagrees with them: 1) books can be returned, 2) books can be tossed in the trash.

There is a lot of etiquette and manners books that would tell you how to introduce somebody at a black-tie event or how to dress for a top managers' business meeting. But not so many to give you common sense about behaving in heavy road traffic or moderating online communities. Manners are not some upper-class privilege - everyone can be gracious - and this book is a good proof to that. I will give it to my daughter when she learns enough English to read it.

In a world that feels rushed, frenzied, and often cold and careless, this book poses a lovely idea: "What if we all tried to be a little more gracious?" From setting up your guest room (or couch) for an overnight guest, to hosting a dinner party, to dealing with email and social media, this book is full of sensible tips on how to be more thoughtful, compassionate, and respectful. Plus, Kelly (the author) is hysterically funny. A total joy to read!