Re: wall of cookbooks (you don't have to post this) I had to box up my cookbooks as they 'detracted from the appearance' of the kitchen and 'decreased the resale value' of my home according to more than one real estate agent. Well, you have to jump through hoops in this economy, so I caved in and pared down to two shelves of shiny untouched gourmet cookbooks. But behind them I rebelliously hoarded my favorite stained, splotched, and fingerprinted cookbooks - the ones that fall naturally open to the recipe you need. The one where my mom made me meticulously calculate a double then a quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies when I was in grade school. The green stars, post-its, tabs, dog-ears, the alterations, substitutions, and "never again!" notes - these are the things that make a well-used cookbook a living thing, a family history. Too bad they don't have 'value' to anyone else.

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