This past year was a good one for cheese literacy. Publishers released a terrific new lineup of books for us enquiring cheese minds, each one an engaging way to tap into the wonders of the dairy world.

They range from easy guides for the novice who wants to advance their basic cheese understanding, to page-turners that bring the reader behind the scenes at creameries and farmsteads around the world. Other new publications serve as a virtual cheese school, detailing how to make a wide variety of simple or sophisticated styles of cheese at home. We all had our favorites among these literary debutants of 2012, including: