By the book

Let's start this new year by showing off our book(s). Which book have you thumbed through so often that it is worn down, but still prized???
No, this is not another event. Aren't there enough of those already in blogosphere? But if you will, please take this up as a tag. If you are a food blogger, I'd appreciate it if you show me your most-loved cookbook. If you are a non-food blogger, tell me which is your favourite book and why. If possible, please upload a picture of the book or a write-up telling me why you like this book so much. Link back to this post of mine and leave me a comment so I can drop by and read your post.
I'll start off by showing you my most-used cookbook. It is......(drumroll please)....

.....Mallika Badrinath's 100 Vegetarian Gravies.
I know it looks really worn down, but it is the very first cookbook that I acquired.
It was passed on to me by my aunt when I was in school and has been my trusted guide ever since. The first time I used it was only after marriage, though I used to thumb through it quite often even before that. The first dish that I cooked using this book as a guide is Rajma masala and since then, I have always thought of Mallika Badrinath as my cooking guru.
I now ask my blogger buddies Sra, Valli, Lavi, Bharathy and Jayasree to show me the book that's closest to their heart - it could be a collection that you've put together from your favourite magazine or a collection of recipes your grandma/ma wrote out for you....in short, something that you treasure. Put it up on your blog and keep this tag going.