Pungent Pretty Things: Wild Garlic (Ramp) Hazlenut Pesto from "Garlic" by Jenny Linford

The Guardian recently ran a piece with which I wholeheartedly concur: "The Book is Back: Only the Technodazzled Thought They Would Go Away."  Ebook sales are on the way down, and people are discovering (or rediscovering) what I knew all along -- there is no replacement for the tactile pleasure of holding a real, solid, crispy-paged, yummy-smelling book in your hand.

Though I don't have the data to back it up, I think the over-saturation of food blogs -- combined with, let's face it, the many blogs of ... erm, dubious ... quality -- has probably helped boost hard copy cookbook sales as well. Even the most lush, gorgeous, recipe-tested blog or Web site can't (in my mind) hold a candle to the visceral pleasure of paging through a beautifully-photographed cookbook.