What is a decent amount you would pay - for a cookbook?

My2Beauties wrote: I am going on lunch to Borders down the street from here and I am on a search for a really good reasonable cookbook, nothing gourmet with Duck A L'Orange or anything in it I have been wanting to get one now for a while because I need to spice up my cooking a bit, I seem to always cook the same ol same ol! I saw some at Cracker Barrel when we went out to eat the other weekend and they were $17.99 which wasn't bad. Then I saw some at Wal-Mart the other night that were $19.99 and not as nice as the ones at Cracker Barrel. What would you ideally pay for a decent cookbook?

moped replied: $20 is about he most I would pay, but if you go on abebooks.com you can get wicked cheap prices on books, some are used and like $1

C&K*s Mommie replied: $20/$25

but I do not cook, so I would not have a need for one... but that is what I would pay to buy someone else one.

coasterqueen replied:
same here.

ammommy replied: If it's a good, hardbound cookbook with lots of interesting recipes I'd pay about $25 for one.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: A good cookbook to have on hand is the Better Homes and Garden cookbook or Betty Crocker. They both have just about anything and everything you would need to cook and they have a lot of other cooking advice and tips. They have everything from the simple, 30 minute 2 ingredient meals to more complex meals. They are both pretty basic.

I use those and my Southern Living cookbooks the most. I cook a lot, btw. I love to cook and experiment with different recipes.

5littleladies replied:
This would be my suggestion-I have both and love them!

Although honestly, since I have a laptop upstairs now I rarely use my cookbooks anymore since you can find a wealth of recipes on the internet-Including those from Better Homes and Gardens and Betty Crocker.

My2Beauties replied: Thanks everyone. The price range I saw was between $20-40. I saw the Better Homes and Garden and the Betty Crocker ones, they were hardback so a bit on the more expensive side, but they had tons of recipes. I saw some Southern receipe books that I liked, they were pretty neat. I could get on the net and print some out too I guess, that would really be the cheapest way!

PrairieMom replied: I don't buy cook books any more. I discovered Allrecipies.com
They have recipies for anything you could possibly want! I just look up what ever I want to cook!

fashionmumofboys replied: I used to buy cook books all the time, but now with the internet I usually go online to get mine. You can get a variety of recipes, so I really don't bother buying anymore.

If I were to buy them I would spend between $20-$30.

I surf razzledazzle.com, toprecipes.com and a whole lot of other ones.

Sarah&Mackenzie replied: O.K. I admit that I am a cookbook junky I have tons of cookbooks, half of which I haven't looked at in years. But I belong to a cookbook club and when they have specials of a % off and free shipping I can get a pretty good deal on them. It is called thegoodcook.com Just a suggestion.

holley79 replied: I'm with most everyone else. The internet. You can type in what main ingredient you plan on using and what type of dish you want and BAM there it is. It's so much easier that way. I have some great cook books that were bought for me but I hate searching through them. I see too many things that I want to cook then just get tired and don't cook anything. LOL

My2Beauties replied: I just went to allrecipes.com - that place is awesome. I'm gonna do that from now on! Thanks guys! Not wasting my money, I never even really thought about the internet- DUH! I found a bunch of chicken and dumpling recipes which is what I really wanted for this week. Thanks.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Do you have a Michael's in your town? I bought a bunch of cookbooks for only $5 there for gift exchange gifts. I thought they were pretty good ones and I like to cook! I own a lot from William Sonoma that are pricey, but they were wedding presents. But sometimes they have sales. I would also try Barnes and Noble where they have the sale section. Usually in the middle of the store, there is a whole section of discounted books. Sometimes you can find some for under $20.

Try and find a book with a lot of pictures. I personally like to see what I'm attempting to make. And make sure the book seems flexible, meaning the pages stay open well. My biggest pet peeve is when you're trying to hold a page open, read the ingredients and cook at the same time and deal with a toddler, kwim?

Good luck!

PrairieMom replied:
Have you tried using a hanger? like one for pants that is a big clip? you can clip the book into the hanger and hang it off your cupboard knob. I do it all the time and it really works!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied:
Genius! I'm going to try it tomorrow! Thanks!