Book Habit

It's always the way; you go to your fave book site and end up ordering stuff that you really only lusted over and then you feel terribly guilty as all your rainyday money goes down the pan....I raise my hand and admit I have a book habit - one day I'll count them and let you know how many but the cook books alone, I would say, can guestimate in the 300 region. And I always seem to buy them for presents for people!

It's the lure of the bookshops you see. You get sucked in by the gorgeous pile of bargains on display and then you browse away looking for hidden gems that you would hate to pay too much money for in a regular bookshop. Instead you see ones that have dusty covers, elusive first editions, that must have recipe that you promise to cook immediately and finally, you come across the book that you were really looking for. The gasp of pleasure, the furtive look and possessive hand on the shelf as you look for more, the thrill of getting to the till and paying and then the guilt knowing that the bookshelf and the OH may give way at any moment. Nightmares are filled with charity shops being filled with your books and a big skip outside where they all get wet in the rain - I can't bear it!

Somebody once told me that it will never matter how many cookbooks you have, even if there is only one recipe you use, it is worth it. I don't use mine specifically, more adapt from with some disastrous consequences - cest la vie! I keep meaning to cross reference mine, alphabetise, copy recipes and discard, but it never happens. I love my books and the weighty feel of them, splashes of food and dog eared corners mean that they are fondly used (my Auntie said that a well used book is a good book - ie the more you splish and splash it means it is obviously being put to good use). I always say that a good cook book (well, food in general) is porn for the soul. Fabulous, dirty and secret. So naughty and you know you will get in trouble! I used to do a lot of dangerous sport, now I shop for books. It's the thrill of the shelf snapping that I'm weighting for.....