5 Better than Fiction Books

You’ve probably worked out from my mini book review posts that I’m a big fiction reader. I don’t have a very specific genre I tend to stick to – I’ll read anything from classics to sci-fi, fantasy to historical fiction – but I do generally tend to stick to fiction. I like stories that immerse me somewhere I’m not; that create something impossible; that create an escape.
Despite this, we’ve got quite the collection of non-fiction books in our house too. I’m a book lover, what can I say! For the most part, they’re all my books as Ben doesn’t really read (I know, how do I let him get away with it?!), but there is one domain for books that’s all his own: cook books! So I thought I’d look at something a little different today – a few of the non-fiction books we’ve recently acquired:

Ladybird Well-Love Tales: Cinderella & A Ladybird Book of Colouring

I do admittedly have a mini colouring book collection in my house! When the adult colouring craze took off recently, I hadn’t wanted to get involved as I knew I would like it too much and that I already had lots of other things I spend my free-time doing. But I finally got stuck in when we went on holiday and I decided I needed one for the plane.
I received these gorgeous colouring books from Sarah at Penguin, and, well, WOW! All I can say is that I wish I’d had these when I was little – although I’m not complaining about having them now! The Cinderella book is wonderful as it would have been perfect for me and my sister – I loved to listen to the story, while she’s always been the artistic one and wouldn’t sit still to listen, so she could have been colouring along. I’ve actually not yet coloured either of them and am considering keeping hold of them till our Florida trip next year and presenting them to my cousins (who will be 6 and nearly 4 then) on the plane as a pre-Disney activity!

Cook Books

These are just 3 of our vast collection of cook books, and the three that we’ve bought in the last month *gulp*. As in, the month before, we also bought some. And the month before that…
These are actually the 3 cook books I bought Ben for his birthday, narrowed down from a list of several more that I planned to buy him (and one that’s got stashed away for someone that I bought then realised we already owned, woops!). Cook books are a favourite in our house because Ben loved cooking and celebrity chefs even before I met him, then he got me just as addicted to them as he is. He laughs because I wouldn’t have even known who Jamie Oliver was before I met him, but I can now reel off a list of chefs that we both love as long, if not longer, than my arm!
Jamie’s Family Classics Superfood was a given for our collection since we own every book he’s released since we’ve been together and several from before that too. It includes some good staple family recipes with new twists to make them fun and healthy.
Rick Stein’s Long Weekends was also a given considering that he is my absolute favourite at the moment (keep your eyes peeled for more news on this!). That series is the best, especially the opening intro song – listen to it!
And finally, the Hairy Bikers’ Chicken & Egg. Okay, another given considering our collection – these 3 (well, technically 4) are the go-to chefs in our kitchen! The series for this has just finished on TV too and it was awesome. I was expecting to find so many chicken recipes that I would like – surely there are only so many ways to cook a chicken?! – but I’ve been proven wrong.

Hygge Books (The Little Book of Hygge and How to Hygge: The Secrets of Nordic Living)

After saying that I wasn’t going to buy one of these Hygge books that kept appearing as suggested books on Amazon for me…yeh, I caved. And apparently bought two without realising! One I must have pre-ordered at some point because it turned up randomly one day whereas the other I bought to make an order up to £20 so I could get an add-on item, woops!
Anyway, I don’t own many home interiors and lifestyle books, but I’m really enjoying flicking through these two. They make perfect coffee table or bathroom books: pretty to look at, easy to pick up and read a section of and put down again. Especially for the winter months when you’re wanting something cosy and inspiring to read to stave off the cold and dark, these are perfect.

Fashion Mash-Up

This is another book that Sarah sent me (I know, she’s awesome!), and yet another that appeals to the things I love. It’s packed full of styling tips and gorgeous illustrations, PLUS the dresses and pieces on the right hand page above? Yes, they pop out and can be placed onto pop-out models who can be put into a variety of different lifestyle Instagramable backgrounds. Basically, it’s a massive, fashion-related, dress up book with crazy and designer pieces. I can see myself having a LOT of fun with this! Watch out for more on my Instagram!

The Secrets of Sewing Lingerie

Okay, confession! The above image isn’t a real photo of my book…I took mine up to my sewing room to get immersed in the art of sewing lingerie and lost it to the dark depths of the room – I need to clear it out, okay!
Ben bought me the Secrets of Sewing Lingerie for my birthday along with a couple of bra making kits because he’s sometimes awesome like that (don’t tell him I said that ;D). You all know how obsessed I am with sewing and bra making, so this is like the ultimate book for me with patterns including silk soft cup bras to roll on suspenders and French knickers. I’ve had another project in the pipeline recently so haven’t started anything from here yet, but keep your eyes peeled!