Top Ten Favorite Cookbooks

1. The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook : Excellent basic source, with loads of color photos and clear explanations of techniques. I have had a few recipe fails from here, but overall a solid resource.
2. Simply in Season, Lind et al : As the title suggests, this book is divided seasonally, with tasty recipes and inspirational and helpful tips sprinkled throughout. I also like the ingredient based index.
3. Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook : Reprint of the 1950s original, which my great grandma used. Some ingredients and instructions I update,but some good recipes and tips. 
4. Joy of Cooking : Comprehensive classic. I don't often use the recipes as much, but it is useful, often containing recipes or explanations not found elsewhere. 
5. The Big Book of Breakfast, Vollstedt : For the best pancakes, waffles, hash, and other morning staples, this is my favorite book.
6. Eat This...It'll Make You Feel Better, DeLuise : Mostly Italian American home cooking, with other recipes from the actor's life and friends' thrown in. I've found some family favorites in here.
7. Make a Mix, Eliason et al : Recipes for making your own mixes at home, including large batch freezer cookie doughs, a helpful thing during holidays.
8. The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook : A helpful reference for, well, cooking light.
9. Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home: A beautiful coffee table size book, with the best Hollandaise sauce recipe and more. Clear, useful tips from these two master chefs.
10. Deceptively Delicious, Seinfeld : A good starting point for incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your cooking. I usually don't follow the recipes exactly, but use them as a reference for what might work where, like sweet potato puree in pasta sauce or cauliflower puree in tuna salad.