I just ran across a mention of this in a food blog... what a good
idea! http://www.eatyourbooks.com/?ReturnUrl=%2fmy-eyb Of course if
I bought it, that would mean I'd have to put my cookbooks in some sort
of organizational state where I'd be able to put my hands on the ones
I needed without pulling my hair out first.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> I just ran across a mention of this in a food blog... what a good
> idea! http://www.eatyourbooks.com/?ReturnUrl=%2fmy-eyb Of course if
> I bought it, that would mean I'd have to put my cookbooks in some sort
> of organizational state where I'd be able to put my hands on the ones
> I needed without pulling my hair out first.

This is how I find a cookbook in my collection. I admit I'm probably
way behind Christine and Ginny in terms of cookbooks, but 520 is still a
decent number. I have a FileMaker Pro database that lists my cookbooks
and their locations in the bookshelves around the house. Although SO
would beg to differ, there is a method to my madness. Each bookshelf is
arranged around various classifications: vegetarian, baking, and
Southern occupy one bookshelf; all of my international cookbooks a
second. There is one shelf in another bookcase devoted to BBQ/grilling
cookbooks. SO can find this shelf easily. When I cull cookbooks, I
will delete them from the database. I also have separate databases for
recipes in various books and my files that I've tested with major
ingredients and critiques.

Although going paperless sounds like a wonderful option in theory, my
experience with online recipe websites is mixed. Some of them are
poorly edited, or call for ingredients I refuse to use. You should have
seen some of the dreck my former students found online for their recipe
modification projects years ago. Technology has a place in my batterie
de cuisine, but there's no substitute for thumbing through cookbooks by
trustworthy authors.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me