Due to so much focus on good food and nutrition, people are keen to develop and improve their cooking skills. Jamie Oliver's new book is about inspiring people to get back into the kitchen and start cooking again with a list of simple recipes using easy-to-source ingredients. The book is a spin-off from the TV programme and campaign of the same name, which have proved very popular and inspired many Britons to change their eating habits for the better. It is beautifully illustrated to give step-by-step instructions. Available at Dymocks.

A Quadrangle in Beijing: The Story of a Chinese House

Author Priscilla Chen Architectural editor Ho Puaypeng Price HK$680

This book leads readers into the world of 400-year-old siheyuan - or house built on the traditional quadrangle style of architecture - in Beijing. Each courtyard is revealed, with original interiors and furnishings faithfully recreated to scale and by hand in watercolour and gouache. Chen, a fashion designer, published this second edition of her hand-bound board book last year to accompany her art exhibition on siheyuans at Exchange Square. The book, which comes in a red presentation box, is available at Kelly and Walsh in Pacific Place and Exchange Square, the Mandarin Oriental Book shop and St John's Cathedral Bookshop (all proceeds from this bookshop go to the cathedral).

My word is my bond

Roger Moore: The autobiography

Author Roger Moore Publisher Michael O'Mara Price HK$234

Many would regard Roger Moore as the original and best Bond character. This is the first autobiography by the man who played Bond a record seven times. It recalls his long and varied career, including stories of his encounters with other personalities, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Cary Grant and Sean Connery, and memories from the heyday of Hollywood. Fans of Moore's work will find the story entertaining and real as he documents his extraordinary life. Available at Dymocks.

Chocolat: The chocolate lover's handbook

Author Stephan Lagorce Publisher Hamlyn Price HK$225

For the sweet-toothed out there, this book, which resembles a massive bar of the good stuff, has all you need to know about chocolate. There are 40 recipes for using chocolate in cooking and tips on how to enhance your chocolate experience. It also offers practical advice and tricks so that you can truly indulge all your chocolate fantasies. Available at Dymocks.

Alice in Wonderland

Author Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Rodney Matthews Publisher Harper Collins Price HK$270

Every child should have a copy of this classic tale to introduce them to the world of make-believe and kick-start their imagination. Alice is a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole and lands in a fantasy world full of peculiar creatures. The tale makes you question logic as nothing in Wonderland makes sense. From the Mad Hatter's Tea Party to Alice's run-in with the Queen of Hearts, this is a book that appeals to children worldwide.

Ando: Complete Works

Author Philip Jodidio Publisher Taschen Price HK$430

Tadao Ando is the only architect to have won the discipline's four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale and Kyoto Prize. Combining influences from Japanese tradition with the best of modernism, he has developed a unique aesthetic using concrete, wood, water, light, space and nature. Ando has designed homes, churches, museums, apartment complexes and cultural spaces throughout Japan, in Europe and the United States. The book presents his complete works to date. Available at Page One and Swindon.

Bethanie & Nazareth: French Secrets from a British Colony

Author Alain Le Pichon Publisher HKU Press Price HK$500 (boxed gift set)

Historian Alain Le Pichon has penned a book about the origins of Bethanie, a restored building in Pok Fu Lam, built in 1875 by the French mission Etrangeres de Paris. Bethanie was used as a sanatorium for more than a century, while its sister building, Nazareth, was used as a linguistic and printing headquarters. Both buildings are now used by the School of Film and Television at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Unesco Asia-Pacific gave an honourable mention to Bethanie in its 2008 Awards of Excellence and paid tribute to the dedication of the project team who transformed the building, ensuring that it is used within the community. The book also comes in a French edition and there is now a limited-edition boxed gift set that includes a DVD and lai see packets. The book and the box set are available at Bethanie campus or can be ordered by calling 25848633.

China: Portrait of a Country

Editor Liu Heung-shing Publisher Taschen Price HK$510

Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Liu Heung-shing charts 60 years (1949 to 2008) of China's visual history through the work of 88 Chinese photographers. This collection depicts people blossoming despite extraordinary hardship and the photographs map the road the Chinese have travelled to rejoin the world. A chronology listing key political events on the mainland helps place the images in context. Available at all leading book shops.