So, you may have deduced that I have a thing for cookbooks. We try to live simply and not accumulate too much stuff, but over the last few weeks, I fell off the wagon. Thrice.

But I was on vacation!

But I walked into two stores dedicated only to cookbooks!

But we’re starting a cookbook club!

Excuses, excuses, I know. But for me, cookbooks are one of the most regularly used books in the house. How often do I run to this shelf for reference? Pretty much never.

That’s why the above bookshelf is in the guest bedroom and the cookbooks are allowed to take up precious counter space in the kitchen.

You already heard about my adventure in Seattle’s Book Larder, where I picked up Tony Hill’s The Spice Lover’s Guide to Herbs and Spices. I managed to escape Vancouver without buying a cookbook, but Powell’s Books on Hawthorne did it to me in Portland. This extension of the famous Powell’s is full of books about food, including some used finds, like these vintage copies of the Joy of Cooking.

Some of my favorite sections of the store included those the baking, cheese, and ice cream shelves. Sorry, vegan friends, but the dairy is my downfall!

I walked out of Powell’s with Lynn Alley’s The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker, a book that will get more use in the coming months, as the weather gets cooler and I transition back to full-time employment. The sale price and gorgeous food photography by Leo Gong were irresistible.

The last of my new friends, Local Flavors by Deborah Madison, was waiting for me when we returned to the east coast. Inspired (yet again) by Tea of Tea and Cookies and by the From Scratch Club’s virtual cookbook club, Heather and I decided to gather our food-loving friends together for an in-person club here in Providence. Local Flavors is our club’s first selection, a perfect summer read that groups veggies and fruits into botanical families and regional seasons and includes suggested menus and some of Deborah’s own musings on her visits to various farmer’s markets. I love the look and the feel of the book – its pages are shiny and smooth, the soft cover falls and stays open easily, and it’s full of beautiful photos of whole foods and recipes alike.

If you’re inspired to join us in this cookbook adventure, keep an eye out for future blog posts and please join in the conversation via the comments! Or check out Tea’s suggestions on starting a cookbook club of your own – and tell us how it goes!

Enjoy!