Forum Topic

Home reference books.

Two young European friends are getting married soon and will come to live in London for five years as they're both starting jobs here. We want to buy them a few essential home reference books to start their married and working life together, as a wedding present. A good dictionary and thesaurus are "musts", as is a sound reference cookbook of recipes and perhaps a streetmap of Greater London. What other home reference books should we consider please? A household medical and illness book perhaps? Advice welcome and publishers named please.

Gerry Tan ● 4112d27 Comments

"Cities are much better explored on foot than any other way!"Agreed, when we were younger my wife and I loved walking around Paris - every arronddisement(spelling?) just about with our trusty guide book in hand.

Gerry Tan ● 4106d

We loved walking in London and discovering unknown places and sometimes meeting and talking to strangers. Its best done with a good reference book I agree.

Gerry Tan ● 4106d

There are quite a lot of useful books about walks in and around London, amongst others the Ordnance Survey, Time Out, etc. I'd suggest getting the young couple 2-3 of those, covering both Inner and Outer London. Most include maps and a decent amount of information about the area concerned which is often (a) difficult to find online and (b) much easier to look at whilst on a walk. Cities are much better explored on foot than any other way!

Sue Rowe ● 4107d

Grateful for the useful opinions and views - thanks guys.

Gerry Tan ● 4108d

A pound says they probably read English better than most indigenous school leavers.

Nigel Brooks ● 4108d

Just a thought but would they not want any detailed technical manuals in their first language?

Philip Coe ● 4108d

Phil Kay suggested :4.  DIY books - I'm very much with Nigel here.  I was going to suggest the Reader's Digest DIY book, as it's loose-leaved but I don't think it's available at the moment.  That organisation seems to be under new ownership and undergoing a huge change of direction.................As Gerry's friends are only planning to stay here for 5 years then presumably they'll rent. So wouldn't any DIY be the responsibility of their landlord ? In fact unless they were already expert isn't it possible they might make things even worse ?While nowadays unless you're particularly knowledgeable repairing even simple domestic appliances is rendered almost impossible by design.michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 4108d

I wouldn't try to cook while peering at a webpage. I do, however, research recipes online, look at a few and memorise what I need.

Susan Kelly ● 4109d

It seems to me that most suggestions are based on what the poster would like to get for their own reference library.  Trying to second guess other people's preferences is likely to end up with unused books.  And as been mentioned elsewhere much is now on-line anyway.

Philip Coe ● 4109d

Quite right Sam - I use Leith's Vegetarian Bible all the time.  Although not a vegetarian myself, I particularly like the nut roasts.

Phil Kay ● 4110d

This may be a little controversial in the heart of Middle 'Ealing' England, but forget Delia - Leith's Cookery Bible is the bees knees.

Sam Salisbury ● 4110d

That's what they all say...

Keith Iddon ● 4110d

Hence the smiley I put on the post Susan...

Keith Iddon ● 4110d

Following a recipe on internet whilst cooking is a NO NO - cooking's difficult at the best of times imo.

Gerry Tan ● 4110d

I'm not a prisoner, Keith. Technology is my servant.

Susan Kelly ● 4110d

Thanks Phil for your excellent reply - most informative and helpful. And thanks for the others who replied.

Gerry Tan ● 4110d

I think it's reasonable to assume that Gerry knows pretty well what sort of interests and capabilities his young friends have.  My experience is that I now use only 5 types of physical books:1.  Cookbooks - I tried following a bread recipe from my smartphone a few months ago and it was a nightmare!  There was flour all over the screen and dough on the power button.  I forgot to alter the screen settings and it kept turning itself off.  I know I could have printed it out but I regularly use my books.  Delia is, I believe, a good suggestion.  Clearly we can get an enormous variety of ingredients nowadays but those used by Delia will almost always be more easily found and probably cheaper.  I like the first few Jamie Oliver books,  The Naked Chef & The Return of the Naked Chef.2.  Master Atlas of Greater London A to Z - I like using Google maps etc to get route ideas but I would not be without this fantastic map.  Apart from anything else, it never runs out of battery power nor does it freeze at awkward moments.  Overall, it might be different if I was using a massive screen but I need the context of seeing both pages of the map as I'm looking at different areas.  Drives me mad when my destination is on the cusp of different pages though. 3.  UK Routefinder Atlas - invaluable for planning journeys outside London, stopping points en route and calculating detours when stuck in traffic.4.  DIY books - I'm very much with Nigel here.  I was going to suggest the Reader's Digest DIY book, as it's loose-leaved but I don't think it's available at the moment.  That organisation seems to be under new ownership and undergoing a huge change of direction. 5.  Restaurant guide - this is definitely best done online but I get sent a free copy of Harden's guide each November and I like looking through it.I haven't felt the need for a paper dictionary for quite a while.  I almost never send handwritten letters, so I tend to write at my keyboard and use an online dictionary site for ease.  This has the additional advantage that I can copy and paste my chosen word into my new text.  When I need to use a thesaurus, I generally find the one supplied with MS Word adequate.

Phil Kay ● 4110d

I didn't realise you were such a prisoner of technology Susan..;-) I prefer the old fashioned ways sometimes, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Keith Iddon ● 4110d

Only really ancient ones that I haven't got round to throwing out, Gerry. I'm sure they'll be turfed out when we next move house.

Susan Kelly ● 4110d

Keith Iddon suggested:"A Chambers dictionary and Delia's Classic Cookery Course would fit the bill imo."...Why I didn't jump into this thread before, is simply the assumption that on arriving in England these two young European friends of Gerry's would need to consult reference books - or the Internet for that matter at all.This seems to assume that they can't already cook, anddon't already know about things like first aid or even basic DIY. Without generalising too much, from what I've heard anyway, many Europeans could teach the average English person an awful lot about cooking both as regards ingredients and techniques. Most of whichare already catered for nowadays in our more cosmopolitan shops.Without any in depth knowledge I wouldn't imagine there's be much difference either, in the bandagessticking plasters, screws, hammers etc they'll encounter in their new home either as compared with what they're already used to.And whether English reference books will be of any real use as compared with those they might bringwith them, will surely depend on how good their English is   michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 4110d

The Collins Complete DIY Manual is a really good DIY guide.

Nigel Brooks ● 4111d

Susan, do you have ANY reference books in your computer using household?

Gerry Tan ● 4111d

A decent dictionary and a good cook book like Delia's which does not just give  recipes but explains the processes involved in cooking, are timeless imo.

Keith Iddon ● 4111d

You said they were young, Gerry. I find it inconceivable that they are not computer literate. Reference books are obsolete before they leave the printers. Why not have up-to-date information?

Susan Kelly ● 4111d

A Chambers dictionary and Delia's Classic Cookery Course would fit the bill imo.

Keith Iddon ● 4111d

But what about those who don't have or want to own a computer? Or indeed don't know how to "surf cyberspace"?

Gerry Tan ● 4111d

All redundant, surely, now you can look everything up on this here Interweb?

Susan Kelly ● 4111d