The best cookbooks of 2018 to buy + gift

The best cookbooks of 2018: these are the best cookbooks of 2018 to buy and gift this year!


I’m still not ready to talk about fall, but I do want to talk about all the cookbooks coming out this season-that-shall-not-be-named.

Because, guys. The coming crop of cookbooks is INSANE. AMAZING. BANKRUPTING. DIET-CRUSHING.

And I’m ready.

We’ve got the heavy hitters like Ina Garten, Ottolenghi, Dorie Greenspan, Chrissy Teigen, Gina Homolka, Melissa Clark. Then we have the up-and-comers: Naz Deravian, Nik Sharma, Julia Turshen, and many, many more. The best cookbooks of 2018 might end up being the best cookbooks of the past five seasons.

The Best Cookbooks of 2018

If you don’t know what to cook, don’t have any motivation to cook, or don’t think you need more cookbooks, there are approximately 50 reasons coming up to change your mind.

That means the real problem we’re faced with is selection: how do we find the best cookbooks of 2018 for us? How do we know which voices we’ll jibe with and which are better for gifting to someone else?

If you haven’t heard of the Salt + Spine podcast yet, I think it’s the perfect solution to finding the best cookbooks for you. Brian Hogan Stewart launched Salt + Spine only this May, but it’s already had an all-star roster of guests—cookbook legends like Nigella Lawson, Diana Henry, and Samin Nosrat.

And if you love to talk about food, books, and books about food, I can’t think of a better listen than this. It’s basically the podcast I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

You, too? Then come on over to the blog and get to know Brian. I interviewed him about how he got started in food media, how he fell for cookbooks, and best of all, his picks for the best cookbooks of 2018. (There are a few that will surprise you!)

Brian Hogan Stewart of Salt + Spine on almost going to culinary school, cookbook podcasting, and the best cookbooks of 2018

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best book news and publishing news

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Engaging Audiences Through Twitter in Just 15 Minutes a Day (Kirsten Oliphant at JaneFriedman.com): Kirsten writes about platform-building and the creative journey at Create If Writing, but here she is on one of my favorite sites, Jane Friedman’s blog, sharing tips for how writers and bloggers can get more out of Twitter in just 15 minutes a day. Kirsten and I will be chatting on her podcast in the next few weeks about publishing and platform-building, so keep an eye out for that interview!

Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch on the Future of Publishing: How an Invention From the 1400s Will Fare in the Years Ahead (Michael Pietsch, The Wall Street Journal): “Ever-larger retailers and wholesalers bring significant margin pressure, which will lead to continued conglomeration. Social media will continue to expand the writer’s ability to connect with readers; publishers will deepen their relationships with writers, but they’ll also create content of their own. As runaway books sell ever-larger numbers, publishers will earn more on their biggest sellers—which will keep driving up the advances they pay for potential hits. At the same time, publishers will need to innovate and challenge assumptions about every aspect of the business.”

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