In the introduction to "The Art of Eating" there is a quote from Thackeray that readily explains the impulse of food writing & reading; "Next to eating good dinners, a healthy man with benevolent turn of mind, must like, I think, to read about them."
Living close to a library that feeds addictions with impunity, I ingest cookbooks and books on fork and cork by the score. I love the notes and asides and introductions that spell out the mind of the person who cooks or picks up a fork or glass with intent. This compilation of the first five books by M.F.K. Fisher is truly a feast in itself. You'll love the prose and the recipes but it's the mind of this diner that forever proves to be most delectable...
