Are you ready to be wrapped in a big ol' bear hug of awesome? One that smells like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and the unbeatable huevos rancheros you first ate on a trip to Mexico when you were a teen? Then turn to the first page of this graphic food memoir by comic artist Lucy Knisley and prepare to settle in for a happy afternoon of reading.

We've been reviewing a lot of cookbooks on The Kitchn lately, which has led me to thinking about how and why I still use my print cookbook collection.  I know that the internet is in many ways a more efficient method for procuring recipes and researching variations.  Why, then, are cookbooks still a big part of my life in the kitchen?  Here are four reasons why I will never give them up.

At a dinner party, where you sit and who you sit next to can make the difference between a fun-filled two hours and an evening of awkward conversation and polite boredom. Choosing the right seat isn't as easy as you might think; you have to consider the shape of the table, the number of seats, and — heaven forbid — what if there are two tables? Lucky for us, designer Alex Cornell has created a helpful (and funny!) infographic on finding the right seat at the table.

Let's be honest with ourselves: half of the reason we eat salads is for the dressing. Whether it's a tart balsamic vinaigrette or a creamy blue cheese dressing, we love the way that dressing wraps around every bite. This new book by Michele Anna Jordan is a boon to us salad-lovers. Here are over sixty recipes to shake up your salad routine and ensure that you'll never buy dressing again.

If Dan Lepard's new cookbook Short & Sweet is the one-stop shop for homey everyday sweets and baked goods, Patisserie is the one-stop shop for all things classic and French. Want to become the master of puff pastry? Craft your own pulled-sugar roses? Drap petits fours with fondant? With over 3,200 step-by-step photos and 210 recipes in 800 pages, this book will show you exactly how to do all of these things and more. Wowzas.

Some days you want a dessert that goes all out. Some days you want — scratch that, need — a rainbow sprinkle cake in your life. And The Cake Blog has an easy-to-follow tutorial to make it happen.

Working with sugar can be a little scary, or so a lot of people think. The Sweet Book of Candy Making is determined to quell those worries by explaining everything you need to know to make candy in the comfort of your own kitchen, just like your Grandma! More

My boyfriend and I make quite a few cocktails, often preferring our home bar to going out for over-priced and often marginal drinks at our neighborhood bar. We like experimenting and making up new seasonal drinks, so I find myself turning to three books in particular for constant inspiration. More

Imagine you had a tiny expert baker who you could put in your apron pocket and take with you into the kitchen. This baker would offer helpful tips at appropriate moments, "It's ok that your sauce separated — just keep whisking!" and nudge you toward new recipes, "Try the Jammy Lamingtons. Trust me." Short & Sweet from Dan Lepard won't quite fit in your apron pocket, but it will almost certainly become the voice you trust when you step into the kitchen to bake.

Looking for more feel-good recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out Healthy Desserts, the newest iPad and iPhone app from the food blog Green Kitchen Stories, which is full of gorgeous photos and recipes for an assortment of sweets, many of which are grain-free, vegan, or raw — and totally tempting.