Between the Covers

Crazy busy around here, but here's a little snippet of interest from AbeBooks (via BookNinja; thanks!) about the treasures found between the covers of used books. My best finds have been in cookbooks. I picked up a hardcover copy of The Joy of Cooking awhile back and found slips of paper with handwritten recipes for Mina's Oatmeal Cookies, banana bread, and a newspaper clipping for "New No-Bake Treats!: Chocolate Favorite Flavor for Cookies" (no date, but 12 oz. tins of "beef loaf" (!) were 2 for $1.00; and creamed corn was 6 tins for $1.00). On the end pages are hand-written recipes for Grace's Oat Cakes, Pink & White Squares, Never Fail Biscuits, Jam Jam Cookies, Bean Salad and more. Sound like the fare of bake sales and church potlucks to me.

The recipes bring to mind a favourite book around here: The Party by the very talented Barbara Reid (such a great website; don't skip the intro.).

I can just see these recipes this cook took the time to write out decorating the overflowing food tables in this keeper.

If you haven't read The Party, check it out. It's a gem and is guaranteed to bring a flood of memories to anyone over 40 (and probably younger). It's a perfect read for the inevitable summer gatherings of friends and family. Here's a link from Ms. Reid's website and here's a review. This gem was the recipient of a Governor General's Literary Award in 1997.

So what have you found between the covers of a used book? Do tell.