The season to be jolly is here, so Fat City is
looking around for holiday gift ideas, preferably the kind that can be
eaten (or used to make something that can be devoured).
There's nothing more frustrating than having a long list of friends and family members who require at least a token holiday gift, while you have a tiny budget with which to buy everything. That's one reason why this Saturday's annual cookbook sale, sponsored by the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library, might be a lifesaver.
Where else can you find a copy -- and there's only one -- of Laura Corn's The Great American Sex Diet for less than $10? USA Today once said that the book "increases sexual appetite." But does the 2001 self-help book really qualify as a cookbook?
Yes, according to Susan Bailey, one of the directors of the Friends of
the Library organization. She expects the handsome, oversized book to
sell quickly.
There are many more less sexy (and even cheaper) titles at the sale, which begins at 10 a.m. at the Plaza Branch (4801 Main) and continues until 4 p.m.
"Each year we have a greater selection of books to offer," Bailey says. She adds that the Friends are accepting donations to the sale -- at the Plaza Branch only -- until Friday. "This year we've got some big, beautiful hardcover books with beautiful photography. Those books will be offered for considerably less than their retail prices."
The real bargains at the sale include those spiral-bound cookbooks that are printed by church groups and nonprofit organizations as fundraisers. Many of these books would be cherished by our Studies in Crap archivist ,Alan Scherstuhl; think Alaska Operating Nurses Favorite Recipes and Recipes from Hope, Arkansas Birthplace of Bill Clinton. These books will be sold for $2 each.
"We've also got a big supply of Junior League cookbooks from many cities and lots of vintage Betty Crocker cookbooks," Bailey says.
Slightly more costly: Cooking With the Ancients: The Bible Food Book by Arlene Stadd and -- for sports fans -- Royals Recipes, World-Series Style, published after the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 1985.
