I think that statement is true at any time of the year, but at Christmas I think it's especially so. For me Christmas Day wouldn't be complete without some time in the afternoon with my nose in a new book. Thankfully my family know this (and don't mind!) and this Christmas I had a few books to choose from.
So for this month's Papery Peep, I thought I'd share those.
1. Where Chefs Eat
First up is a guide to restaurants in and out of London and yes, its USP is that the restaurants have been recommended by chefs. It's a good reference book, but of course is subjective as while restaurants strive for the same level of service each night, at times it does differ, hopefully not too much though.
I thought I'd check to see what it said about Polpo, a favourite of ours and a relative of Polpette which we ducked into when the crowds at Lumiere London got too much.
Polpo is recommended by Marcus Eaves, Shaun Hill and Bryn Williams, and while you may not immediately recognise any of these names (sorry boys!) they are responsible for restaurants such as Pied à Terre, The Walnut Tree Inn and Odette's as well as appearances on Great British Chefs and Saturday Kitchen.
Marcus says "I'm a massive fan of this place and its emphasis on simply great food in a chilled-out, stripped-back environment. Polpo opened in 2009 and it's still one of the hottest tables in London" - I definitely agree with him there.
2. 20 Fabric Flowers in the Twenty to Make series
A change in genre for my next book 20 Fabric Flowers in the Twenty to Make series. In the past few months I've grown to love textile flowers, incorporating them on my new woolly scarf and on gift tags at Christmas.
I was looking to buy myself one to pin onto my flower-less clothes, when I realised I could probably make my own, so this book was an inspired choice.
I've not progressed past flicking through the images yet, but the year is young! And I suspect that once I start and find a design that I like I'll be blooming all over...
3. A colouring book!
Yes finally I've joined the colouring revolution and I'm looking forward to not going over the lines on these gorgeous animals...
4. A year of good eating
But the real jewel for me this Christmas was the latest Nigel Slater diary-style book. This one is the one I struggled to take my nose out of, even for a turkey sandwich and a slice of Christmas cake.
It's as good as both of his previous Kitchen Diaries and while I am a huge Nigel fan (you may have guessed) I'd recommend this book to anyone that likes food.
I'm only up to June 8th, but it's a good year already.
I don't know about you but with these types of books I always check what's in the entry for my birthday. In this book there's Rose and almond shortbread on that day, which is most acceptable.
Well done Nigel!
Now I wonder if he'll pop over and cook it for me...
So there's a roundup of the paper in my life from the past month, what about in yours?