Perhaps the 26th rule of the "Essential Etiquette Business Guide: 25 Simple Rules to Make Your Manners Shine" should be don't pull the guide out during a business lunch.

If you do, though, Sharyn Kennedy Amoroso, the author of the guide, said perhaps it's best to hold it under the table.

That didn't work.

As Jason Snyder, vice president of WordWrite Communications, and I found out while testing the guide over lunch, if you hold it under the table, it looks as if you are sending a text message.

"Everybody knows when you are texting under the table," Ms. Amoroso said.

Then, after further contemplation she said, "You can say, 'I just want to do the proper thing, so I brought my handy business guide.'"

Probably the best way to handle the situation would be to read the guide before you need it; but sometimes, like with a dictionary, it's nice to have a reference in arm's reach.

Ms. Amoroso did note that the guide is only $3.

"You can buy the book for less than the cost of your daily latte and read it faster than you can finish that latte," she said.

She actually has four separate guides, each $3 and with 25 rules. In addition to the business guide, there are guides on dining, weddings and one for dating and the prom.

Ms. Amoroso, of Walnut Creek, Calif., has been teaching etiquette for 16 years, and while she knows people want to be aware of the proper courtesies, many are reluctant to spend $30 for a comprehensive book on manners.

She said she had been told by people in her classes that they wish they just had a list of tips. Then she noticed little pocket guides on calorie counting and budgeting while standing in line at the pharmacy and grocery stores, and the idea for her guides was born.

"Essentially these are the Cliff Notes of my seminars," she said. "Everyone wants their information in a Yahoo! minute: Just give me the headlines."

Mr. Snyder and I mostly had fun with the guides at our lunch, but we couldn't find out what to do when the paper napkin blows off your lap in the middle of the meal.

When I asked Ms. Amoroso about this, she noted that what you do at home (which is mostly follow the 10-second rule or just pick it up and put it back in your lap) is different than what you would do at a restaurant, which is ask the waiter for a new napkin or, in a place where you serve yourself, get up and get a new one.

"There are things we do at home that we don't do in a public place," she said.

But even at home, she said, it is best to respect the people with whom you are spending time.

Summing it up, Ms. Amoroso said about etiquette: "Always at the heart of it is respect and courtesy for the people you are with."

The guides are available at www.eti-kits.com.

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