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Commitment-free cookbooks

Borrow them, or check ‘em out virtually

By Ashley Griffin Gartland

October 12, 2007

Every year, hundreds of cookbooks, food memoirs, and lush tomes of food photography appear in bookstores. It’s hard to resist the latest collection of recipes, thoughts, and art. But there’s only so much shelf space the average home can offer. And then there’s the commitment issue: Will I love this book enough to keep it forever?

Fortunately, our convenience-loving society has spawned a company that sends books right to your home, just like Netflix sends movies to your door. For a small fee, Booksfree will send you popular titles like Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour or more obscure titles like The Prickly Pear Cookbook. The service allows you to enjoy multiple food-related books without the commitment of purchasing them — and without much more exertion than rooting around in your mailbox.

Those who aren’t fans of mail-order services might enjoy another online company for bibliophiles: Shelfari. Members of this free interactive networking site can create a virtual bookshelf of their own recommendations and peruse friends’ bookshelves to see what they’re reading. They can even create a virtual book club surrounding their favorite book authors, topics, or genres.

Current groups on Shelfari include “Cook’s Books,” described as the group for “cooks who like books.” The group’s top bookshelf picks: The Silver Palate Cookbook and 5 Spices, 50 Dishes, by Ruta Kahate.

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1. by Joanna on Oct 13, 2007 at 5:04 AM PDT

Very interesting ... do you think shelfari is better than librarything - which I’ve just started using, but not yet embedded on my blog.

Also, can’t make the booksfree link work ... sounds worth investigating, as - like all food bloggers - I’m overrun with cookbooks

2. by Ashley Griffin Gartland on Oct 13, 2007 at 9:54 PM PDT

Joanna - I am just starting to play around with both and enjoying them. I’ve read many positive reviews of both however. It seems both have their own perks and of course drawbacks!

I am able to get the booksfree link to work. Are you able to get it to work now?

3. by anonymous on Oct 17, 2007 at 2:19 PM PDT

I am a member of Shelfari and think it’s better than LT. Both the graphics and the navigation are far better. They just put out a new blog widget that looks really good. I would recommend Shelfari.

4. by anonymous on Oct 18, 2007 at 4:16 PM PDT

I feel compelled to mention here that you can get nearly any book, cooking or otherwise (even books on CD), for FREE at a local library. If they don’t own it, most libraries offer a service where they can borrow it for you from elsewhere. I wonder if most people even realize that! I suspect you have access to many, many more books that way than through Booksfree. But I suppose if you have no local library or can’t leave your house...? Shelfari is a great service, though. Neat way to share info.

5. by anonymous on Oct 19, 2007 at 6:04 PM PDT

I agree with the first post about the local library! It’s a great way to try out books to try or see if you might like to purchase.

6. by Dave on Nov 1, 2007 at 4:24 PM PDT

Hi Ashley,

Thanks for mentioning Shelfari. We do have a growing number of cooks using the site.

Joanne, I’d love it if you would try our new blog widget at www.shelfari.com/widget and see if you like it.

Thanks again!

Dave from Shelfari

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