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Lorna: I probably have about twenty cookbooks including those ones church groups sell to raise money....the ones with recipes for things made with Jell-o pudding. I don't use any one cookbook most. You're talking to some who has a 3 x 5 recipe card box that never gets opened. I'm not the gourmet cook. I only want cookbooks that I will really use. I don't want to stray from what my family likes; I don't like criticism. My most recent cookbook? Better Homes and Gardens Light Family Favorites.

Susan: I have around thirty cookbooks. The ones I use most often are Back to Square One (by Joyce Goldstein) and The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking (by Sally Schneider). What I look for in a cookbook are interesting recipes that are well-presented and easy to follow. I do appreciate a book that is nice looking and well laid out (Susan is a graphic designer). The last cookbook I bought - about six months ago - was Everyday Cooking with Dean Ornish. I haven't used it yet. I got it in one of those "do-good-for-yourself" moods.

Kathleen: Maybe I have fifty cookbooks. I use about fifteen of them. The ones I use most often are the Silver Palate books -they're tried and true. I also use The Greens Cookbook (by Deborah Madison) a lot; that's always good. I'll get in moods - Indian, Thai - and use those cookbooks. My mom just gave me the San Franciso Chronicle Cookbook (ed. Michael Bauer). It looks good, kind of Silver Palate-ish, interesting ingredients. At this point, I look for cookbooks that are less meat oriented, that have easy to find ingredients. If I'm entertaining, I want make-ahead stuff. Day to day, I need things my kids will eat.