Darina Allen: Exciting new books and weekend food

Exciting new books are piling up on my desk, some have kindly been sent by publishers, others by the authors themselves, and then there are several that have caught my eye in bookshops.

I love small, independent bookshops, I can’t seem to pass one without slipping in for a root and a meander along the shelves of tempting titles. I am also acutely aware of how badly they need support at a time when so many of us are tempted to order on-line.