Celebrate International Literacy Day with Food, Drink, and Community

Every year on 8 September, people across the globe come together to mark International Literacy Day, a day dedicated to promoting reading, writing, and access to education. 

While it is often recognised through school programmes and literacy initiatives, you can also celebrate in your own community or at home by bringing people together with food, drink, and a shared love of books.

Why Celebrate with a Party?

Literacy is more than just the ability to read and write — it opens doors to opportunity, culture, and connection. Hosting a party not only shines a spotlight on this important cause but also makes it fun and memorable. A gathering with food and drink encourages conversation, storytelling, and of course, book sharing.

Themed Party Ideas

Book Club Feast: Ask everyone to bring a dish inspired by their favourite novel. From Harry Potter’s pumpkin pasties to Paddington’s marmalade sandwiches, there’s so much inspiration to be found in literature.

Alphabet Buffet: Create a menu where every dish starts with a different letter of the alphabet. It’s playful, educational, and a great icebreaker.

Literary Tea Party: Brew teas inspired by famous books and pair them with cakes, scones, or biscuits. Guests can read aloud from their favourite authors while enjoying a cosy setting.

Cocktails & Classics: For an adult evening, design a cocktail menu inspired by famous literary works — think “Gatsby Gimlet” or “Sherlock’s Scotch.”

Book-Inspired Food Ideas

Here are some dishes that will delight readers and eaters alike:

Pumpkin Pasties (Harry Potter) – Mini puff pastry parcels filled with spiced pumpkin or squash.

Turkish Delight (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) – Sweet, rose-flavoured squares that tempt Edmund in Narnia.

Marmalade Sandwiches (Paddington Bear) – Fun, nostalgic finger sandwiches perfect for children and adults.

Green Eggs and Ham (Dr Seuss) – A quirky breakfast or appetiser twist using avocado-dyed eggs.

Madeleines (In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust) – Perfect for a literary afternoon tea.

Cocktail & Mocktail Suggestions

The Great Gatsby Gimlet – A refreshing gin, lime, and soda cocktail, served in a coupe glass.

Sherlock’s Pipe – A whisky-based cocktail with a hint of smoked cinnamon for drama.

Anne Shirley’s Raspberry Cordial (Anne of Green Gables) – A non-alcoholic fruity punch that’s sweet and vibrant.

Alice’s Tea Party Punch – A fun mocktail with Earl Grey tea, lemonade, and a dash of elderflower.

Moby-Dick White Whale Martini – A creamy white chocolate martini for adventurous adults.

Food and Drink as Conversation Starters

Sharing food encourages guests to relax, while book-inspired dishes or drinks spark conversation about favourite authors, memorable characters, and personal reading journeys. You could even pair dishes with short readings, encouraging guests to discover new genres and writers.

Adding a Charitable Twist

International Literacy Day is also an opportunity to support those who struggle with reading. Consider asking guests to donate a book, contribute to a local literacy charity, or help fundraise for organisations that promote reading skills worldwide. A table for donated books can easily become the heart of the event.

Making It Personal

For families, a smaller gathering with themed snacks and a storytime session can be a wonderful way to get children excited about reading. For friends, it could be an excuse to revisit old favourites or discover new writers together over drinks.

Closing Thought

Celebrating International Literacy Day with food, drink, and community is a meaningful way to remind ourselves that reading connects us all. Whether with a tea party, a literary feast, or a book-inspired cocktail evening, your party can turn the power of words into shared joy and lasting memories.

Celebrate Read a Book Day with a Feast of Culinary Inspiration

Celebrate Read a Book Day with a Feast of Culinary Inspiration

Every year on 6th September, book lovers across the globe celebrate Read a Book Day. 

It’s the perfect excuse to curl up with a favourite title, discover something new, or finally open that book that’s been sitting on your shelf for months. 

While novels and biographies may get most of the attention, this year why not take the opportunity to explore a different kind of book—one that feeds both your mind and your stomach?

Culinary books and recipe collections have long been treasured companions in the kitchen, inspiring generations of cooks and capturing the flavours of cultures near and far. They’re not just manuals on how to prepare food—they’re windows into history, culture, creativity, and tradition.

Why Culinary Books Belong in Your Reading List

A Blend of Story and Flavour – The best recipe books don’t just tell you how to cook; they tell you why. Many are filled with personal anecdotes, regional histories, and cultural insights that enrich your understanding of the dishes.

Food as a Universal Language – Exploring culinary books is like travelling the world without leaving your home. From the spice markets of India to the pastry shops of Paris, each recipe book takes you on a journey.

Practical and Rewarding – Unlike most books, culinary titles give you something tangible to enjoy when you turn the page: a finished dish that you can share with friends or family.

Modern Favourites Worth Tasting

Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi – Fresh, vibrant recipes with bold Middle Eastern flavours made approachable.

The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer – A collection of fuss-free one-pan meals perfect for busy weeknights.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat – More than a recipe book, this is a masterclass in the fundamentals of cooking.

The Book of St John by Fergus Henderson & Trevor Gulliver – A celebration of nose-to-tail eating and classic British cooking.

A Nod to the Classics

Let’s not forget the timeless cookbooks that changed the way we approach food:

Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1861), which shaped Victorian kitchens.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, a landmark in bringing French cuisine to English-speaking audiences.

How to Mark Read a Book Day with Food

Cook a recipe you’ve never tried – Challenge yourself to explore a new cuisine.

Share the experience – Invite friends or family to join you in cooking a meal inspired by a favourite cookbook.

Read between the recipes – Take time to enjoy the author’s introductions, stories, and tips.

Start a food journal – Record your own notes, adaptations, and memories alongside recipes, turning your cooking into a personal story.

On this Read a Book Day, why not let your next culinary adventure begin with the turn of a page? Whether you’re baking bread, simmering a curry, or exploring forgotten family recipes, a good cookbook can provide both inspiration and comfort. After all, food—like books—is meant to be shared.

How to Collect Old Recipe Books

There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about old recipe books. 

From wartime ration guides to quirky 1970s jelly mould marvels, vintage cookbooks are time capsules of how we used to live, eat and entertain. 

If you’ve ever been charmed by browned pages, handwritten notes in the margins, or curious recipes using ingredients long forgotten, then collecting old recipe books might just become your next passion.

Here’s how to get started.

Why Collect Old Recipe Books?

Old cookbooks do more than provide recipes—they tell stories.

They reveal social history, culinary trends, and even regional ingredients that might no longer be in common use. You’ll learn how families made do during rationing, what counted as exotic in the 1950s, and what the average Sunday dinner looked like a century ago.

Where to Find Them

1. Charity Shops & Car Boot Sales

The British high street charity shop is a treasure trove for vintage books. Cookbooks are often donated in bundles, and older titles can go unnoticed on crowded shelves. Likewise, early mornings at car boot sales often uncover quirky or rare finds for pennies.

2. Online Marketplaces

eBay, AbeBooks, and Etsy are filled with vintage and antique cookbooks. Use search filters for decade, publisher, or region, and don’t be afraid to ask sellers for more info or internal page pics.

3. Library Sales & House Clearances

Public libraries often rotate stock, including donated or older cookery books. Estate sales and house clearances can yield full collections from a single person’s lifetime.

4. Specialist Bookshops & Fairs

Second-hand and antiquarian bookshops sometimes specialise in food and domestic history. Visit a rare book fair for curated selections and expert knowledge, though prices can be higher.

What to Look For

🔹 Age & Condition

Books pre-1950 are usually considered vintage. While condition is a factor, slight wear or notes often add to the charm—especially handwritten family additions.

🔹 Unique Themes or Eras

Look for niche topics: jelly and aspic from the 50s, microwave cookery from the 80s, or vegetarianism from the 70s. Each offers a cultural snapshot.

🔹 Local & Regional Titles

Cookbooks produced by churches, schools or local societies often contain regional gems you won’t find in mainstream publications.

🔹 First Editions or Signed Copies

These are collector gold, especially if the author was well known or the book became a culinary classic.

Caring for Your Collection

Store books upright in a dry, cool room.

Keep away from damp, sunlight, and food spills.

Use archival-quality sleeves for very old or delicate books.

If you want to try a recipe, photocopy the page instead of using the original.

Bonus Tip: Start a Digital Archive

Scan or photograph your favourite recipes and create your own searchable digital archive. You can even transcribe and share long-lost gems on a blog or social media to bring them back to life.

Final Thoughts

Collecting old recipe books is a beautiful blend of history, nostalgia, and culinary adventure. Each volume you find could be a glimpse into another era’s kitchen, waiting for you to rediscover its secrets and stories. Whether you're a casual browser or a serious collector, there’s a whole world of food history out there—one dog-eared page at a time.

2024 Mother’s Day Literally Gift Guide

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we have the ultimate gift guide for all the book loving mums out there, and for every taste, too. So if your mother likes to nibble on biscuits, sip coffee or enjoy a glass of wine whilst reading a new book, these books are what she'll love! Available on Amazon and via all good bookshops.

Whether your mum loves a gripping page-turner or a laugh-out-loud read, there is literally (and I chose that word deliberately!) something for everyone.

The Mother of Honey by Ana Maria Luisa

This story takes the reader from the harsh conditions of rural Brazil to the concrete jungle of Sao Paulo. Readers follow Iracy's journey which is filled with love, loss, and triumphs. 

Along the way, she and her sisters Maria and Ana Maria Luisa are confronted with the harsh realities of the lives of indigenous and African slaves in colonized Brazil and the formation of the first mixed-race families.

If you're looking for a book to keep your Mom on the edge of her seat, this book is a must-read. It's a powerful testament to the human spirit and a celebration of the triumphs that can come from the darkest of places.

Spanning generations from Brazil to England and India, The Mother of Honey makes for the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Beyond Beige by Sylvie Boulay

Old age. It's something most of us get, whether we want it or not. This book is about the joys and horrors of our old age. Sylvie Boulay writes: "It will show you the uncensored reality of my experience and that of women who confided in me. You will find humour, despair, and some gritty bits but absolutely no euphemisms.

Unflinching, honest, and relatable, this illustrated book is neither a celebration of nor a complaint about old age. It is the simple, unadorned truth of a life. Fully illustrated throughout with cartoons and drawings, this fantastic new title shines the brightest of lights on ageing as a woman."

Beyond Beige is the perfect gift this Mother’s Day for mums with a sense of humour!

Thirty-Eight Days of Rain by Eva Asprakis

Androulla is 24 and recently wed when she discovers she is infertile. In a bid for Cypriot citizenship she is undergoing adoption by her stepfather, and wondering if she will have to adopt a child one day herself?

As the reality of her situation sets in, Androulla's marriage begins to unravel. Between migration departments and doctors' appointments, she learns she must question what it means to be from somewhere, what it means to be a woman and, when an impossible choice presents itself, which of those things means the most to her? It's an unflinching literary novel that explores themes of womanhood, infertility and PCOS, immigration and complex family dynamics. For fans of Conversations With Friends & Breasts and Eggs.

Bright Midnights by L.S. Delorme

As Amelie finds herself increasingly drawn to Clovis, who is an alluring and mysterious young man who she meets in a dream, who hides a secret, she learns his story, establishes how it intertwines with her own life and finally discovers how to live her life in the real world. Until her own secrets are revealed to the wrong people and that world is turned upside down.

Bright Midnights is the second in the Limerent Series and continues in the thought-provoking and beautiful style of the first as it considers different dimensions, different ways of looking at the world, and the transcendental power of love. This is the described as the paranormal romance to gift this Mother’s Day.

She Can Prosper by Diane Watson

Diane Watson is an award-winning, distinguished financial advisor, entrepreneur, and the passionate founder of 'She Can Prosper.' It's Diane's firmly held view that you can afford to take risks if you stay informed and remain continually aware of what is happening around you. 

Through her work as a financial advisor, she witnessed far too many women who she believed were abdicating responsibility for their finances to their partners. The realisation was that women who did not take control of their finances were being left vulnerable and potentially severely impacted later in life. 

Their lack of knowledge or input into shaping their financial future was the catalyst to write this book. The book aims to provide women of all backgrounds with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to take control of their financial destinies.

She Can Prosper is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, whether your mum is super financially savvy or not at all, there’s so much to learn for everyone.