Yesterday lunchtime, wandering back after having my haircut, I decided to drop into one of the charity shops and check out their bookshelves. And I was happy I did, because I managed to snag a hardback copy of the third generation of The Joy Of Cooking, for under a fiver. Yay! (Not bad for something originally £25, and still in good condition, no stains, no tears in the dust jacket.)

I already have the second generation version (one published in 1971), but that one is a paperback, won't lie flat, and has got comparatively small print compared to the new one.

('Third generation' because the original was published in 1931. The 1971 edition was done by the original author's daughter, who added her name on the cover, and the 1999 edition was done by the daughter's son, who now has his name on the cover as well. My mother used to swear by it - presumably a first edition picked up in Canada.)