Everything you need to know for a successful visit, from invitations and etiquette to furnishing a cozy guest bedroom and well-outfitted bathroom.

Whether you have several months to prepare or just a few days, live in a sprawling mansion or a tiny one-bedroom apartment, "A Warm Welcome" is a must-have for any host/hostess who hopes to create a fabulous experience for visitors, and enjoy every minute of their stay. Combining beautiful lifestyle photography with a relaxed, "anything goes" tone, "A Warm Welcome" is a guide to the essentials of hospitality: making the most comfortable bed imaginable; stocking the bathroom with a mix of convenient and indulgent amenities; stress-free menus that will allow you plenty of time to enjoy guests' company; and cocktail recipes to please every drinker in your midst. It proposes possible outings and uncomplicated activities, from staging a picnic to organizing a multi-generational poker game. And etiquette matters are also addressed: Under what circumstances is it appropriate to give up your bed? Are you obliged to accompany guests on all of their sight-seeing jaunts?*Practical tips and stylish, fuss-free ideas will help you plan for your visitors.*Helpful sidebars provide information on those important guest requirements, such as bedroom and bathroom essentials and top snacks and beverages.

In her first book, the South’s most inviting designer explores her principles for creating a beautiful home rich with comfort and warmth. Barbara Westbrook has been designing classically inspired homes full of Southern charm and a European touch for more than twenty years. A native of Virginia, Westbrook grew up accompanying her mother to antique shops and was introduced by her to Virginia’s rich architectural legacy. With a design vocabulary that ranges from casual American to formal English to French modern, Westbrook’s homes share a welcoming elegance, whether it is a country cottage or a penthouse apartment. In Gracious Rooms, she sets out her principles for creating a house rich with both polish and patina. Walking the reader through a dozen stunning homes—light-filled lake retreats, contemporary houses, and historic mansions—Westbrook shares her accessible, appealing ideas. From the judicious use of symmetry to the importance of including natural elements in a room, utilizing color to unify spaces within a house, and setting a mood with materials, Gracious Rooms is rich with advice and inspiration.

An unflinching account—in words and pictures—of America's longest war by our most outspoken graphic journalist Ted Rall traveled deep into Afghanistan—without embedding himself with U.S. soldiers, without insulating himself with flak jackets and armored SUVs—where no one else would go (except, of course, Afghans). He made two long trips: the first in the wake of 9/11, and the next ten years later to see what a decade of U.S. occupation had wrought. On the first trip, he shouted his dispatches into a satellite phone provided by a Los Angeles radio station, attempting to explain that the booming in the background—and sometimes the foreground—were the sounds of an all-out war that no one at home would entirely own up to. Ten years later, the alternative newspapers and radio station that had financed his first trip could no longer afford to send him into harm's way, so he turned to Kickstarter to fund a groundbreaking effort to publish online a real-time blog of graphic journalism (essentially, a nonfiction comic) documenting what was really happening on the ground, filed daily by satellite. The result of this intrepid reporting is After We Kill You, We Will Welcome You Back as Honored Guests—a singular account of one determined journalist's effort to bring the realities of life in twenty-first-century Afghanistan to the world in the best way he knows how: a mix of travelogue, photography, and award-winning comics.