Southampton - Here's the thing: Deep down, we all want to do the right thing. But in this day and age of texting and tweeting, online dating, and "Real Housewives of the One Too Many Cities," things can get complicated - fast. And when they do, or when you can't even picture what the "right thing" might look like, that's when you've stumbled into "Social Q's" territory.

Lucky for you, you're not alone anymore.

Since its debut in 2008, Philip Galanes' "Social Q's" has been a fixture in The New York Times and has quickly become one of its most popular features. Galanes has a unique and sharply witty voice, and he strives to answer what exactly passes for good behavior these days. Readers on all ends of the social spectrum have identified with Galanes' advice as they look to him to help them navigate through the murky moral waters of these modern times.

Now, in "Social Q's: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today" (Simon & Schuster; $23), Galanes collects his etiquette tips for a Mr. Manners-type guide that would make Emily Post dizzy. A man who isn't afraid to tackle any type of issue, he sifted through years of columns (and thousands of questions he hadn't had space to answer). The result is a series of clever, briskly paced and hilarious essays in which he contemplates a host of sticky everyday situations - from texting on the bus to splitting the dinner check - and offers readers light-hearted insight into how they behave - and misbehave. Sharp but never biting, smart without scolding, 'Social Q's' gives modern-day decorum the helpful and entertaining shot in the arm it desperately needs.

Galanes visits the awkward nooks and crannies of our daily lives in 'Social Q's,' from the moment we wake up (and hopefully, brush our teeth) to our last act of waking consciousness (checking our Match.com mailbox, of course). From hotsy-totsy bosses on Facebook to scorched-earth exes moving in across the hall, Galanes gives us the tools and techniques for making these delicate situations less so.

'Social Q's' Offers Guidance On How To Deal With:

 • Surviving The Holidays: The Gifts, The Grannies and All That Booze
 • E-Mails, Texts, and The Three Commandments of E-Living
 • If the Shoe Fit's, Its Ugly!: On Fashion Crimes and Misdemeanors
 • When Good Hygiene Goes Bad - Dealing With The Odors and Intimate Issues of Those Closest to Us
 • When Strangers Get A Little Strange: On Sidewalks, at Starbucks and Just Waiting in Line
 • "Who's the Boss?" Handling Yours Like they do on TV
 • Taking the Woe Out of Co-Workers: Just Because You Sit Together Doesn't Make You BFFs

Galanes will be doing a book signing at Book Hampton East on November 26, at 4 p.m.