Despite my immense collection of cookery books I still find myself drawn to the cookery section in bookshops. They're such things of beauty. This year food lovers are spoiled for choice; my top pick has to be Rory O'Connell's Master It: How to Cook Today (Fourth Estate). In it, he demystifies countless cooking techniques and encourages you to then put your own twist on the recipe. His writing style is so thoughtful and warm. His respect for and love of food are evident on every page.

Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers's The Day the Crayons Quit (HarperCollins) is a children's book with a great sense of humour and colourful imaginative drawings to match. It's a simple yet believable story about how Blue crayon needs a break from colouring in water all the time and how Yellow and Orange no longer see eye to eye. Anything that makes my two-year-old son realise that crayons have feelings and are not to be eaten is miraculous.

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