Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I'd suggest at least one basic cookbook like The Joy of Cooking.

Then one or two ethnic cookbooks, depending on what cuisines you like.

If you enjoy baking, you could get a baking book. Maybe one on breads, or a dessert baking book, or a general baking book, depending on what your interests are. If baking isn't your thing, maybe a book on soups, appetizers, pizzas -- pick something that you like that you want to learn more about.

Then, if you've got a particular chef you like, pick up a book by that chef.

If you want to start collecting cookbooks for the fun of reading them, some of my favorites are old books that I picked up at flea markets, garage sales, used bookstores and antique shops. Most of those I spent just a dollar or two on, and some were probably a quarter a piece.

For more current books, or when I'm hunting for a specific book, I usually check alibris.com to see if they've got what I want. Their prices are usually pretty good.

Methinks that @dbcurrie has given you excellent advice. I too would suggest "Joy of Cooking" albeit a 1970s or earlier edition and from there I would be asking what your interests are.
I'm an incurable traveler and tend to collect cookbooks from places I've visited somewhat like others collect thimbles or silver spoons. You might have a particular family heritage that you'd like to explore or friends or neighbors of ethnic backgrounds that you'd like to dig into. I've done all of the above plus sought out only the oldest books available at garage sales and bazaars. My experience is that these collections become an obsession and a bulky one at that. Of late, with the exception of my "travel" collection, I turn now most often to the Internet for recipes and "foodie reads".
When you decide on a book you really can't live without, in addition to the above mentioned alibris.com, try bookfinders.com. It seems to be collecting data for books on offer from a ton of the major Internet sellers; new and used. The best part is that it compares prices including shipping costs! I've found some real deals there. No I have no vested interest.
Happy hunting. I'll see you at the next CA (Cookbooks Anonymous) Meeting. Bring cookies!

I"m mostly a baker, so let me reccommend my two favorite books--Rose Levy Berambaum's "The Bread Bible", and Taste of Home's "Complete Guide to Baking."
As far as cooking goes, the only real cook book I have is Better Homes and Gardens' "New Cook Book." it covers a very broad range of dishes and styles, and goes into a good bit of detail about technical details surrounding the dishes.

Start with known winners. All the Cook's Illustrated annuals, and special cookbooks are tested (AKA America's Test Kitchen) and you can be sure the final product is going to be good. Cookbooks often have flaws (OMG your kidding) if you go to a website of a cookbook author you will find the corrections.
I always recommend Joy of Cooking.
The Martha Stewart Old Classic and New Classics are good for a variety of recipes.
Cake Bible, Pie and Pastry Bible and Bread Bible are also good staples.
Rose Levy Berambaum.
In the baking area I am partial to the friends (my name for them) Nick Malgieri, Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz.
In the italian area pick someone you like and buy one to start. For me it was Ada Boni Italian Regional Cooking and The Talisman Italian Cookbook These are very good. I did not like the Silver Spoon it was very generic but if your not an accomplished cook it might be for you.
Grabbing a Mario Batali or Lydia Bastanich or Maryanne Esposito are all good. Maryanne is from the same village from grandparents were from in Sicily her cookbook is all the same food I grew up with.
To fund your quest go to amazon's used section. I buy 98% of my cookbooks this way. First its great for recycling, second its much cheaper, third you may 3.99 for media mail.
Can you find everything you need this way. Your darn tooting you can. I even found some that were out of print. Used book stores are good for finding some for a buck. The good part about that is you take it home play with it and then if its not good your only out a buck.
Rick Bayless and The Two Hot Tamales for mexican.
The White Dog Cafe Cookbook, Silver Palate, also any Barefoot Contessa and Anna Pump. These are your go to for all things brunch and lunch.
So there you are to begin. When you ready for part 2 post again.

I'm going to disagree with @dianeb re. the Joy of Cooking. This book has been revised many times since the 60s, so you'll get a much more up-to-date book than you would have owned if you'd bought it in the 60s. But you'll also get a great reference book.

Want to know how long to hard-boil an egg?
Want a definitive answer on how to clean mussels and clams?
Need instructions for carving a turkey?
Want details on how to eat an artichoke?

Joy of Cooking answers all of these questions and more.

@HeartofGlass I'd agree with you that there is wisdom in browsing the library to help select some cookbooks to suit your needs and style. There is nothing in the original post that would indicate that @Rhiannon had not already done that just prior to visiting Borders. The question is what would SE family members recommend. Going to the library is great, but starting a collection from there could get you into a great deal of trouble ;~)

Yeah, Joy is a great basic reference. The newest edition is much easier to get - the one just before it was quite "mod", for want of a better word, and there was a great deal of chatter about its editorial difficulties, but the author's grandson stepped in and headed up the most recent reworking.

So: One basic. Then, I'd suggest one really easy one. and I have no recommendations there for the current crop of books.

Then: Yes, choose one ethnic cuisine that you really like and look for a start-up book in that.

And a baking book. As much as I love Rose Beranbaum, and as good as her books are, they mostly make you choose cake/bread/pie and pastry, which limits you. I'd opt for either Marion Cunningham's "The Fanny Farmer Book of Baking" or Dorie Greenspan's "Baking", which is newer, but doesn't go into quite as much elementary stuff as Cunningham does.

And that brings me to my most salient advice: Read the front of a cookbook as well as the recipes. There's lots of basic advice, and it gives you a sense of how that author works. That's where you find out the author always means for you to use room temperature ingredients, for instance, in a baking book. Andyou need to know that.

The fifth book? Dealer's choice.

I'm with whoever said go to the library first. I bought a few cookbooks before and ended up never using them. When I go to the library and get cookbooks, I find out a lot quicker which books get used week after week and which ones get lost under the couch ....... I got Julia Child's "The Way to Cook" and found it to be a good reference as well, at least for how to prepare, use, and store pretty much anything, along with technique, if you happen to be in that developing your cooking skills stage.

I would recomment the Joy of Cooking as a reference. I have one of the new versions, and while I don't use it constantly, it's nice to have around. I also have the Tex-Mex Cookbook, which has a lot of great recipes and interesting history in it.

Also, this might sound dumb, but I've found that I like food blogs better than cookbooks overall since they can be edited to add good ideas and comments are full of extra ideas on how to adapt things to personal taste and troubleshooting, if need be. Given that you want cookbooks, you might want to cruise around to find food bloggers you like and see if any of them have cookbooks out. That way you'd have a preview into how they cook/what kind of recipes and writing you'll get as well, without having to buy anything without test driving it.

@chgoeditor I'll "stand corrected" on my advice. That's what I love about this site is that you can always learn something. I'll want to get the updated version for my three grown children! They were taught to make certain recipes from me however they would no doubt benefit from learning why things are done a certain way.

Thanks everyone!

Just want to add another vote for the library food section. We rely on a shelf-full of standards for reference--the ones mentioned, plus Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Didi Emmons' Veggie Planet. I would also urge you to look at Harold McGee's books on how things work. And then we peruse the library. My son is learning to cook & we hunt up current interests, and try all kinds of things. Sometimes--tho rarely--we will realize we've checked out a book so many times it needs to be added to our regular home collection. You've no doubt noticed the magazine section has lots of food magazines, too, and back issues can be checked out. All this rummaging about can lead a person off in surprising directions. You may think you're looking for a bread book & go home reading about Turkish cooking--and then cooking & eating it!). And its guilt-free because you haven't broken the budget.

Libriaries are excellent resources for cookbooks. I've been pleasantly suprised by the breadth and depth of the collection in my local branch, and I really didn't think I lived in a neighborhood that would have such an interest in cooking. Most of the newest volumes show up, too, so I've actually purchased far fewer cookbooks this past year.

Generally, I think the best cookbooks to own are those that focus on technique, rather than mere recipes. I don't mean high levels of French technique, but I mean those authors and books that are more interested in giving you skills that you can use in other ways rather than a catalog of recipes.

My thoughts on Joy are that I actually prefer the 90s version, since I have no sentimentality for Joy per se, I don't need to know how to skin a squirrel, and I actually like having a a wider variety of different ethnic foods in a general cookbook.

I use mine much less now than when I started, for a few different reasons. First, I use the internet much more often for simple recipe searches, especially when it's a basic dish with many versions, or if I have only an ingredient in mind and few ideas. I like the internet for this purpose because of the reviews and comments. Joy has a solid collection of recipes, but there's nothing innovative or exclusive to it in that regard.

I have a couple of books that are focused specifically on vegetables, which was my most frequent reference use for Joy. They have better information, more interesting recipes, and a wider expanse of coverage. If I could only recommend one, I'd recommend Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. This is much like Joy but without meat. It has an ample baking section and will teach you so much about putting together meatless meals. I gave up my copy in a moment of weakness and intend to replace it asap. I also like Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love, but it's not as much fun as VCFE.

I used to use Joy also for info on meat, but found that I wasn't usually that satisfied with the recipes. Again, most of the reference material on meat cooking is easily available on the internet. And for fish, I don't own a special book because the info changes over time re environmental concerns, overfishing, etc., so the internet is a better resource there.

I think if you're hoping to limit your collection to 5, or fewer than 10 books, than Joy has its place, as it covers so much, decently, in one volume. But I found that once I had an understanding of how I like to cook and allowed myself (with the help of Amazon's used books) to build and edit a collection, I almost never open it anymore.

My list of 5:
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison
Cooking One on One by John Ash
Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen
Lighter Quicker Better by Marie Simmons and Richard Sax (an outstanding health-minded book; all 20-30 recipes I've tried are excellent)
-a baking book catered to your interest and ambitions; I like Sherry Yard's Secrets of Baking because it really teaches an understanding of the different cakes and techniques, but the only breads in here are brioche/croissant-type of doughs.

I'd also like to recommend your local library. Often libraries are interconnected and if your branch doesn't have a book you can reserve it online from another branch.

I often have more than 20 cookbooks at a time from my library, the ones I use the most I buy. I often browse Amazon lists (or write down titles when I'm in Barnes and Noble or Borders) for what's new and what's coming out and then I can essentially look at cookbooks for free from the library, and not have to worry about wasting money on a book that may look great, but I don't want to cook from.

That said I own Bittman's How to Cook Everything, the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and a few Cooks Illustrated books as basics that I probably reference most often when looking for dinner or baking ideas.

Also as others have said online resources can be great too, I belong to Cooks Illustrated and Cooks Country and often print recipes (make my own changes and notes) and have a couple binder recipe books that I use almost daily.

I see a lot of Joy of Cooking and I don't have it though I have about 20-30.. maybe I need to get it! I agree that the Cooks Illustrated classics are great (American Classics, etc)- just pick one of their many for the style of cooking you want. Some of my other favorites:
Hot Sour Salty Sweet- gorgeous book and great southeast asian recipes
Simple to Spectacular (one of Jean-Georges' books)
Sunday Suppers at Lucques (Suzanne Goines)

Also would suggest subscribing to a magazine- they are fun and help inspire each month- Gourmet, Saveur, Food & wine, Cooks Illustrated....

The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan (for me, the best cookbook I have ever owned, and have used it and its prior components for forever with, in all that time, only one recipe that actually came out badly)

A basic reference cookbook, for me its The Joy of Cooking.

The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Jenkins (Not a diet diet cookbook)

For Vegetarian cooking, I'd go with any of Mollie Katzen's books but making sure to get the revised editions as the original works were way too loaded up with butter and sour cream and too lightly spiced.

If you like to bake, The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

I actually have one of each edition of the Joy of Cooking (the first one is the facsimile version, since the original is way too expensive). I think it's seven editions all together, and sometimes I'll look up the same recipe in several editions to see how things have changed. Sometimes the changes are significant, sometimes it's not much at all. If you find a cookbook that you particularly like, and it's one like Joy where there have been multiple editions over the years, it may be worth buying a couple versions, just for the fun of seeing how things have changed. Just because the cover is the same, it doesn't mean the insides are the same.

I've never really liked the Joy of Cooking too much. For basics, I like:

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
The Silver Palate Cookbook
The New York Times Cookbooks by Craig Claiborne
Julia Child - any, all
Essentials of Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan
Martha Stewart - Old and New Classics

I also use the library to "test drive" cookbooks and do most of my purchasing from used book sites, like Albis Or Abe Books.
I would like to put in a plug for James Beard's "Therory and Practice of Good Cooking". It's an excellent technique book.

How on earth did I miss this thread!

I have a monstrous collection, between collecting for the past 20+ years (even losing many in a fire), inheriting Gramma's when she passed away and keeping custody of a friend's collection.

One title I am missing, and for whatever reason never think of buying it, is The Joy of Cooking. I do have 3 versions of Good Housekeeping, which have been "go-to" for me for years. I love to pick up books at garage sales and auctions.

I am primarily a baker, but I don't have the "bibles". One of my recent "go-to's" for standard, classic cakes is a compilation of county fair winning recipes "Blue Ribbon Recipes", published in 1958. I LOVE this book.

And, whenever I venture into B & N or Borders (where my son works), I ALWAYS hit the clearance shelves first. Even though in my general cooking I kind of go with ingredients we like and never measure, I do like to look at recipes and get an idea of what ingredients go together to create a certain taste, i.e. certain ethnicities.

And...not sure where they are around the country, but Central Ohio has several "Half-Price Books" stores. There are many used books, and many new books as overstocks at amazing prices.

I'm also a collector of cookbooks and recipes -- something I regret every time I have to pack up and move!

I agree with those who suggest a good, basic cookbook. The Joy of Cooking, How to Cook Everything, Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens are all good and all appeal to various cooks. I'd suggest you go to the bookstore or library and look at them to determine which one fits you best.

After that, what you choose depends on how you like to cook and eat. I'm very fond of the foods of the Mediterranean and good, old Midwestern home cooking. I'm also fond of quick and easy (or, at least, not a lot of time and effort from the cook). There are quite a few cookbooks already mentioned that I like.

Among my favorites:
How to Cook without a Book by Pam Anderson

The Good Home Cookbook by Richard Perry (this one I found through a mention on a blog, and purchased the book from Amazon)

All of The Barefoot Contessa cookbooks -- I've never had a recipe failure from Ina

How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver

The Olive and the Caper by Susanna Hoffman

Mediterranean Light and Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman

I'll have to admit that many of the Mediterranean cookbooks I like as much for the reading as the recipes.

However, probably my favorite "cookbook" is my binder of recipes that I've collected over 30+ years from family and friends, magazines, blogs and other sources on the internet. I also copy and put my favorite recipes from cookbooks in my binder. My one true test of whether or not a recipe from a cookbook is a keeper is my willingness to copy it (by hand or typing) to add to my binder.

The Joy of Cooking is indispensible

And for just getting started, especially when you need the most variety from the least number of sources (and the most bang for your buck), I recommend getting one of the annual collections from one of the leading cooking magazines (Southern Living, Cooking Light, Bon Appetit, etc). These are especially affordable if you're willing to buy one that is a few years old. I got the 2004 edition of Bon Appetit's annual collection for about five dollars on the Barnes & Noble discount shelf.