A new book …

… and how to get the best out of it.

Is there anyone out there who remembers the book by Joanne Harris called Chocolat, followed of course by the film of the same name. There's another book “Joanne Harris The Little Book of Chocolat and Fran Warde – Fifty recipes celebrating the bestselling novel ...”. (The Little Book of Chocolat).

I've mentioned before that I aim to get the most from a new book. The process should never be rushed – you should take time out for yourself and savour the experience. I'm very careful how I spend my dosh – I want to be inspired - not decorate my coffee table if you know what I mean.

I reckon that if I get six ideas from a new book then it has been well worth the outlay. I should point out that this is not a massive tome 18x18 cms and 127 pages. To give you an idea, an average A4 size book has 300 + pages.

Armed with my tabs and a glass – water, tea or wine – I settle down and take my time page by page, tabbing as I go. It matters not if I don't try them all, very often I remove a tab or two after the initial browse. Better to do that than have to trawl through for a recipe that caught your eye but has now vanished into thin air!

This is a result – 9 tabs on my first page turn!