My love for cookbooks

Browsing second-hand bookstores is a hobby of mine. For obvious reasons, I typically spend most of my time in the cookbook section. Not a surprise. What strikes me about cookbooks are THERE ARE SO MANY AND HOW DO YOU CHOOSE???

Torn and yellow ones.. arthouse ones.. microwave cooking ones.. glossy picture only ones... somebody famous ones.. magazine ones.. cooking school ones..

There are so many to choose from and how do you know if any of it is any good? Also, I generally steer clear from the celebrity factor, especially when they're written by models.

I like the classics for good solid "old-fashioned" recipes. I mean why mess with something that has been proven time and time again to be a favourite? Also, given I don't really have a grandma to pass on recipes, I'm kinda building my own "Grandma taught me" library.

Classics are the most important books in my eyes as they are what I call the foundation skills. These teach me about the food that people eat at home. Memory triggers and taste makers. I think these are the recipes one must really understand and know to be a good cook. I spend a lot of time learning these books and getting ideas from.

They are also the ones I end up adapting because I have a different take on them and want to add my own spin or a personal preference.

Then there are the inspirational ones. The beautiful pictures and interesting ideas. These are hard ones to find just like original ideas are difficult to come up with. Most of these, are by word of mouth or just random pick-ups. These bring new ideas and different techniques.

So far I've collected about 100 cook books. Have I used all of them? Don't be silly. It's impossible. I have my favourites and I generally go back to them but I have pretty much read/browsed through every single cookbook in my house. I

I love all of my cookbooks and they take pride of place in my living and dining area. Always accessible if I need a recipe but also when I need comfort or inspiration.