We have no shame in admitting that the latest in book design gets our hearts racing at a swifter pace than the latest 'app' and when we received the first books in Penguin's new GREAT FOOD series there was a collective 'ooh, ahh' heard around the shop. This is all that we love about books - tactile, beautiful, little gems of culinary history that sit perfectly in the hand.

We want them all to display at home, face out - they really are that charming. And, there is as much to please our curiousity and literary appetites as there is to please the eye. For example, who knew that as well as being the author of the The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas was also an enthusiastic gourmand and expert cook? His Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, published in 1873, is an encyclopeaedic collection of ingredients, recipes, and anecdotes, from absinthe to zest via cake, frogs' legs, oysters, roguefort and vanilla.

Penguin's description of their new series (20 paperback titles, each one focussing on food writing from the last 400 years) sums it up nicely. "Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment - and passion. In the GREAT FOOD series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen."

Thank you Penguin for putting new faces on these treasured classics and reminding us why we are lifelong booksellers and booklovers.

Maison des Mots Barbara-jo Residency