St. Martins Press has just published writer Marylouise Oates' entertaining new how-to guide, THE SECOND HOME BOOK, which disarmingly details everything you need to know about owning and running a weekend home. In this playful, humorous, yet amazingly comprehensive primer, Oates covers all the salient points on how to make your home away from home second to none. Running the gamut from how to stock your pantry for the summer to how to take stock of possible clandestine trysts among your guests, Oates shares the secrets of insuring a memorable time not only for guests but also for the owner/host as well. (Not the least of these includes a brilliant treatise on how to keep your second home from becoming your friends' new bed and breakfast!) This quick and easy to read handbook makes you laugh, gives you important tips and most of all, explains how to deal with a myriad of sticky guest situations any unsuspecting host might face.

The lucky publisher has a rare burnished gem in Oates, a long-time Washington D.C. literary fixture. In this delightfully sassy book, Marylouise Oates is part Martha Stewart and part Rachael Ray while still being wholly true to her own idiosyncratic voice. And a friendly word to the aforementioned domestic divas: watch you backs, because the delicious Oates is poised to give you both a run for your collective money while garnering her own coterie of devoted followers.

Publishers Weekly in a rave review says:

"Oates exercises her experience, her detail-oriented nature and a good dose of humor to confront the challenges of managing multiple homes at once. Aware that the purpose of most second homes is fun and relaxation, Oates stresses a casual and comfy approach to decorating, housekeeping and entertaining—without losing focus on the fact that running a home away from home takes a certain amount of undivided attention. Apart from the obvious must-dos, such as decorating, securing and managing utilities and implementing a system for closing up and caring for the home during off-season, she addresses the niggling things new or potential second-home owners might not have considered. For example, finding dependable craftsmen, a local hairstylist and a dog groomer can be difficult when you're away from the city or suburbs. Some of Oates's tips are gold—like how to keep a kitchen stocked so that you can immediately fix a decent meal upon arriving, or how to deal tactfully with people who want to borrow your vacation home while you're not there. All of this valuable information is presented in an easy-to-read, entertaining."

With the buoyant verve and clever nerve of an "Auntie Mame", Oates dances the reader through day one in a second home with suggestions on how to effortlessly triumph over even the most difficult and unexpected circumstances. Her intuitive, innovative recipes, her must-read, definitive check lists and her inclusion of personal dicey situations resolved in her own home prove to be wryly charming as well as enlightening. And did I mention funny? I couldn't stop laughing at the middle age maiden who insisted in walking around the house in her panties or at the failed attempts of two guests introduced at dinner to silence an especially boisterous sexual adventure later that night in a narrow twin bed! In addition, I will be forever grateful to Oates explaining in compassionate terms how to best deal with other peoples pets, unexpected illnesses and problematic vacation inebriations. Finally, I now know not only what I need stocked in my pantry but also in my medicine cabinet.

Pick up this utterly unique, breezy read and be prepared for any situation that might arise in your home, be it your first, second or third. As a periodic house guest of Oates and her husband, political advisor Bob Shrum, over the years, now, thanks to this book, maybe I'll be able to amend my behavior enough to become a perennial.

Can't wait for St. Martin's to do a follow up on this joyful and helpful book