“Two years ago, Lynne Truss was vaulted into unexpected celebrity when, after a long and quiet career as a novelist and critic, she published a short, witty book on punctuation. Initially brought out in London with a hopeful first printing of 15,000 books, ‘Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation’ went on to sell some three million copies in hardcover.” Now she’s back with another sermon: “Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door.” The book’s basic contention is that people in public places no longer bother to treat one another with even a semblance of Old World courtesy or respect.