Amazing what you can do with some sugarpaste and a palette knife, although I suspect to achieve quite the neat finish of Debbie Brown's cakes, from her new book Naughty Cakes (New Holland, £12.99, out 1 August), is quite beyond me. But the book is hilariously chav - my favourites include a greek god sponge cake and a Big Brother-style Jacuzzi party cake (complete with candles and discarded flip flops and beer bottles).
Where to start with Rose Prince's The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat (Fourth Estate, £18.99)? If you buy one cookbook this season, this is it. It has explanations and tips on everything from stocking, seasoning, jointing and storing, to the politics of the National Farmers' Union, animal welfare and eating game. Plus tons of great recipes.
Loads of chefs, from Ainsley to Zilli, have contributed dishes to a lovely book, East Meets West (Accent, £14.99), with proceeds going to tsunami relief in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Buy it for that warm, fuzzy feeling.
Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy (Quadrille, £19.99, including a DVD) is exactly what it says - great, simple recipes divided into sections like brunch, summer barbies, kids, posh and cooking for a crowd. Beautiful pictures of the food and the family.
Visually, Sarah Paston-Williams' Recipes from a Busy Island: Fish (National Trust, £24.99) is an absolute stunner. It's a good combination of guide book and recipes, from Cromer crab to Anglesey oysters.
Another visual treat is The English Summer Cookbook (Mitchell Beazley, £18.99) by Thane Prince - principal of the Aldeburgh Cookery School. Fantastic range of recipes and equally mouth-watering photos. The school is included in Jenni Muir's A Place to Cook (Conran Octopus, £16.99) - a round-up of some of the best cookery schools around the world, a recipe from each and description of the courses.
As a chef, Sophie Michell started piling on weight and to research food for weight loss. A TV show (Fit Farm) and some celebrity endorsement later, she has brought out Irresistible: Beautiful Food, Beautiful Body (Cassell, £20) - a collection of thoughtful dishes designed to fill up, maximise energy but keep off weight.
If you thought you'd exhausted all combinations for the perfect salad, think again. Peter Gordon, from the wonderful Providores restaurant, has compiled a book of really great year-round salads with Salads - the New Main Course (Quadrille, £18.99). How about a warm salad of greenshell mussels, hijiki, potatoes, watercress and broad beans; or chorizo, olive, potato, peas and green beans topped with rocket and crispy onion rings?
BBC's Masterchef Goes Large attracted an army of passionate fans, and I have to say the accompanying book (Ebury, £14.99) has got some really interesting and unusual recipes, interspersed with masterclass advice from John Torode.
If you love Cornwall, then Carol Trewin's Gourmet Cornwall (Alison Hodge, £14.95) is an invaluable book. The county has taken its wonderful produce a lot more seriously over the past decade, and this useful guide has lists of shops, markets and producers and recipes.
· To order most of these books for a special price call the Observer Book Service on 0870 836 0885
