Just a bibliophile in a foodie world

Good books and good food go hand in hand. After all, good cookbooks contain the key to help you unlock the secrets good food...

In the kitchen of my dreams, I have a pantry as well as a library. There I will store a cookbook collection for the ages, I tell you! I'm too unorganized to implement the Dewey Decimal System, but I'll know just to look when I want to make a specific dish.

My prized items will undoubtedly be the cookbooks my grandmother gives me (replete with handwritten notes containing her modifications and reviews), and my vintage books. I only have about 30 books in my collection right now, but I love adding out-of-print gems to it. I have a deep and abiding love for 19th-century cookbooks and recipes, as I find them to be rather fascinating. I love to observe the trends that ebb and flow when it comes to good food. For instance, I found a recipe for Fourth of July cake on the Web site for Allaire Village, a "living museum" in New Jersey. I don't think that will come out looking anything like this Fourth of July cake with which you are probably more familiar...

Who among you are foodies and bibliophiles? Just admit that you like to read 'em, too. If I'm alone in this, good... More books for me!