Need some good old-fashioned loving? No diary here, ladies and gents, but rather a book that is meant to take you on a journey from the basics to the ‘not so easy’ – and it’s all about the sweet things in life. There’s a glorious recipe for simple vanilla ice cream (basic) and another for special occasion vanilla-bean ice cream. I love that Bracks has coded the recipes from easy to hard. Delicious and practical. That’s the type of loving we all need!

Christine Gordon is the Events Coordinator for Readings and is a committee member of The Stella Prize.