Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

Like a tall glass of sweet tea served with a shot of bourbon, Helen Ellis serves up true southern charm with a side of Manhattan skepticism. She is completely honest and there seems to be no subject that is off-limits. Half Erma Bombeck and half Joan Rivers, Miz Ellis dishes up such gems as how to stay happily married by not objecting to how your husband loads the dishwasher to her mom's advice on how to avoid getting mugged by carrying a plastic lemon filled with hairspray and always saying, no thank you. Between bouts of uncontrolled laughter I began to shout, "Lawdy, Lawdy isn't she precious" which I'm pretty sure is southern lady code for "did she really just write that?" I finished this slim volume of essays wanting several more volumes and instantly couldn't wait to pass it on to several friends and co-workers. It doesn't get any better than that.