To some the Cornerhouse bookshop may seem an intimidating place. Making a choice from amongst all the sparkling items can seem like a multiple choice test. Well, to me at least.

And whatever you do, do not lean on the magazine racks. They will fall down.

But for all its sheen and wobbly fixtures it’s a fantastic little shop (and indeed, a fantastic venue), and as the good folk of Belle Vue point out in issue #4, once the Cornernhouse has relocated it needs to be used, or else we’ll lose it.

So, without further ado here are the purchases I made on my last visit, with a little discussion as to why I liked them, and why you might like them too:

Fire & Knives: A quarterly magazine on the topic of food

One for your library rather than your kitchen shelf. Edited by Tim Hayward, Fire & Knives comprises some of the best writing on the topic of food to be found anywhere. This month brought together features on the lost course of ‘savories’ by Tom Parker Bowles, A Scotch Egg Manifesto by David J. Constable, and the curry confessions of Mel Fenson. The publication is printed on thick A5 card, and each article is rendered onto the page using flavescent tones and unique illustration.

Fire & Knives is an absolute feast. Each article is like a delectable word-truffle, consumed though your eyes, digested in your mind, and nourishing to your relationship with everything edible. At £9.50 an issue, it is a bit dear, but quality journalism is worth paying for, and the ticket price covers the publication costs rather than making anyone a profit.

Belle Vue #4: A Manchester-centric zine

I cannot claim to be down with the kids and to have known about Belle Vue for sometime. In fact, almost as soon as I discovered this zine I found out it was to cease publication for a little while, as two of the founders are upping sticks, heading to New York and Australia respectively. This is a shame, not least because I’ll only be able to get my hands on one back issue (#2) when I go to their vinyl night at An Outlet on the 26th August.

Try if you can to get hold of issue #4, as it contains possibly one of the best profiles I have ever read (of architect Norman Foster written by Phil Griffin, since you ask). The introduction and framing device used is expertly deployed with a lightness of touch. I came to the end of the piece surprised I’d taken so much enjoyment from the profile of a man whose area of expertise I know very little about.

Other highlights include a discussion of Manchester’s relationship with Fallowfield, and a funny article drawn from a presumptuous “fifty books you must read before you die” display in Deansgate Waterstones. At £2 this zine is a bargain.

Mistress Quickly’s Bed #1: A literature zine

Named for the inn keeper of Shakespeare’s Henry IV parts one and two, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mistress Quickly’s Bed compiles poems and short stories from new and established writers. A particular highlight was Fred Voss’s poem Dropping the Needle of the Blues and S.Kadison’s short story, Demobbed.

Not being as adept at literary criticism as I would like, I chose this zine hoping to remedy this to some extent. I enjoyed Quickly’s on the first read, and find myself returning to its blue covered pages when opportunity presents itself on buses and lunch hours. Also priced at £3.50, for an enthusiast of the written word it is a good investment, and an introduction to an area of writing I’d like to become more familiar with.