Our first book, Entertaining Friends: Easy Does It with 101 Rules of Thumb, was jammed with useful-often whimsical-information on everything from theming parties, simple suppers and sit-down dinners, with food and drinks quantities, to table decor, flowers, candles, even conversation starters. Houseguests? What's to say beyond sheets, right? You might be surprised. The concept goes back at least to the Ancient Greeks who coined the term "guest-friend" to mean the person would always be sheltered. It was also an unspoken treaty between individuals, even those from very different cultures. In our era, entertaining friends for an overnight or weekend is the most intimate experience one can have. Apart from sex of course and we're not going there Our focus thus becomes people and places, subjects that lead to the second oldest pastime in the history of our world: storytelling. In these pages, you will find stories about hosting and guesting in Newport or the Cotswolds, in a West Virginia coal-mining town, on the banks of the Shannon or in the Hudson Valley. Oh, there are rules of thumb too, 101 of them. Plus our mix of cartoons and quotes, tips, quips, inspirations, and easy recipes for a welcoming lunch or supper. For those of us with a taste for the macabre or outlandish behavior, we have small bites entitled The Wrong Fork, inspired by Yogi Berra's famous quote: When you get to the fork in the road, take it. We hope you enjoy this romp through the rules."