Current editions of Emily Post, Amy Vanderbilt, and Letitia Baldrige address almost any imaginable situation: how to accommodate unmarried visiting couples; how to write letters of condolence, apology, or thanks; how to introduce the subject of condoms on a date; how to dress for a hunt.

No household should be without at least one of these texts, if only for the next rainy afternoon. Look for The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette ($32,www.amazon.com ), Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to the New Manners for the '90s ($30, www.amazon.com), and Emily Post's Etiquette ($35, www.amazon.com).