How about some good news from the business world for a change? That sound you hear is the collective sigh of immense relief from workers in office towers and business parks country-wide, for it turns out that this year many offices are choosing to forego their annual office holiday party. But wait, it gets better -- for, in many of those offices that are still having parties, the event is not just being scaled down financially but scaled up culturally. Welcome to the phenomenon of the office book party.

An office book party is one in which, in lieu of the usual God-awful wrapped "present" for an agonizing round-robin of anonymous Kris Kringle, everyone brings a wrapped book. This way, rather than leaving with wrapped bottles of hotel hand lotion or regifted chocolates, everyone leaves with a book. For some book parties, there is a theme -- for one such I've seen, it's "your favorite novel," in which you leave your name inside the cover with a note about why this novel is your favorite -- but for most of them, the only rule is to bring a book someone would like to receive as a gift.

Obviously, there are holiday events outside the workplace, but wherever your holiday party schedule takes you, we hope you get invited to at least one book party. As a dedicated slashfoodie, we thought you'd like to give the gift of a cookbook, so here are some suggestions from a variety of price ranges for great gifts for cooks on any party circuit.

The Improvisational Cook. Part of what makes Sally Schneider a great cook and a great writer is that she understands her reader. Most cooks like to master a recipe and then tailor it to their own kitchen style. As she did in its predecessor, Schneider teaches how to use basic ideas to create your own signature dishes. Anyone who has ever found themselves facing the challenge of turning the ingredients they have on hand into a meal on the table will appreciate Schneider's ideas and approach -- and so will anyone who enjoys gorgeous food photography.

Martha Stewart's Cooking School. Cooks, God love us, like to share, and one of the questions we get asked most often is "what fundamental cookbook would you recommend everyone have in their kitchen?" Most cooks can answer instantly, and this year my answer is this book. Truly a cooking school on paper, this tome proves once and for all that style is substance: in Martha's school, writing, design, photography and dinner are individual and collective arts, achievable by anyone with the motivation to learn. If you're giving Marthalove for the holidays, you can also consider her Baking Handbook.

I Like You. Like its author, Amy Sedaris' book is a pastiche of kitsch and quality, with good recipes and fun ideas that are written and illustrated with humor and style. Most of the recipes can be accomplished by even the most reticent cooks, and anyone will enjoy such ideas as a gluttonous bucket of candy and pantyhose crafts. It's an entertaining book that is also entertaining to read -- and to use.

A Hedonist in the Cellar; Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. Remember the banner year of 2004, when thanks to Sideways everyone was praising pinot noir and dissing merlot? Both Jay McInerney and Kevin Zraly do. McInerney's Bright Lights Big City might be your offering at the novel party mentioned above, but A Hedonist in the Wine Cellar is a collection of his wine columns, which illuminate the joy of wine and flirts with the intoxication of language. Kevin Zraly's legendary Windows on the World Complete Wine Course delivers just exactly what the title promises: a succinct, thorough and understandable master class on wine from history to vintage, updated yearly.

A Good Day for Salad. It is also a good day for salad cookbooks, as effective January 1, 2009, nearly everyone you know will be on a diet. A book like this should get them through at least the first two weeks of solid recipes and techniques for healthy -- and, yes, delicious -- greens. As they're both inexpensive, consider pairing this book with a companion on salad dressings.

The Old Farmers Almanac Everyday Cookbook. Anyone who likes stick-to-your-ribs yankee cookin' will appreciate this book, which features kitchen sink-to-table cuisine. God love anyone who rescues such classics as pot pie, dinner rolls and chocolate cake from the weight of nostalgia and presents them as good, honest food that anyone who has a mind to can -- and should -- cook.

Quick & Easy Indian Cooking; Quick & Easy Chinese. Asian flavors and techniques are essential for a cook's repertoire, and these two inexpensive volumes are great places to start. Some will feel these books are not appropriate for experienced creators or partakers of these cuisines, but anyone who's eaten take-out will find the recipes and techniques accessible, while the photography will inspire both cooks and eaters alike.

The Christmas Table; Hip Kosher. If it's appropriate for your audience, a Christmas-themed cookbook is a lovely Christmas-time gift. Diane Morgan's Christmas Table is a standard of the form, featuring elegant recipes for both the day's feast and for making gifts from the kitchen. If you or your recipient celebrates Hanukkah, try Hip Kosher, whose simple, elegant food should, in the words of the original reviewer, "please just about any cook out there."

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe; Best American Food Writing 2008. If you prefer to give the gift of prose, how about one of these? Fannie Flagg's classic novel traces the lives of the citizens of Whistle Stop, Alabama from the Great Depression to the 1980's, with great lessons on love, prejudice and the power of a plate of southern food. Best American Food Writing continues this yearly anthology, with a blue-ribbon panel of honorees including Anthony Bourdain, Barbara Kingsolver, Madhur Jaffrey and Ruth Reichl.

This holiday season, what cookbooks and books-for-cooks are you giving -- or hoping to get?