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Joanna Gaines, author portrait
Photo:Mily Fitzgerald·CC BY 3.0·
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Joanna Gaines

American
Joanna Lee Stevens Gaines is an American interior designer, television personality, and author. She co-hosted the home renovation show Fixer Upper, which began airing on HGTV in 2013, alongside her husband Chip Gaines.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed 3 of Joanna Gaines's books, including Magnolia Table, Volume 2, Homebody, and Magnolia Table.
3
Books Reviewed

In Joanna Gaines' own words

Joanna Gaines visits the TODAY show to discuss her debut cookbook, Magnolia Table, and shares some of her favorite recipes.

Uploaded by TODAY, 2018 · Watch on YouTube ·

Writing a Cookbook While Pregnant

Gaines shares that being pregnant made it the ideal time to work on a cookbook because she was constantly enthusiastic about food and cooking.

Becoming a Dedicated Home Cook

Gaines explains that she only became an avid home cook in recent years because her children began actively preferring home-cooked meals over dining out at restaurants.

Also in this interview

On Magnolia Table

In order

Joanna Gaines books in order

8 books; 2 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.

  1. The Magnolia Story cover
    2016
    The Magnolia Story
    Amazon ↗
  2. Magnolia Table cover
    2018
    Magnolia Table
    Our review →
  3. Homebody cover
    2018
    Homebody
    Our review →
  4. We Are the Gardeners cover
    2019
    We Are the Gardeners
    Amazon ↗
  5. The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be cover
    2020
    The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be
    Amazon ↗
  6. My Moment cover
    2022
    My Moment
    Amazon ↗
  7. The Stories We Tell cover
    2022
    The Stories We Tell
    Amazon ↗
  8. The World Needs the Wonder You See cover
    2025
    The World Needs the Wonder You See
    Amazon ↗
Cover of Magnolia Table, Volume 2: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering
Magnolia Table, Volume 2: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering

4.9/5

reader rating · 28,822 ratings

Magnolia Table, Volume 2 is an instant #1 New York Times bestselling cookbook from Joanna Gaines that delivers 145 new recipes spanning breakfast through dinner, breads, soups, and sides — drawn from her family home, the Magnolia Table restaurant, Silos Baking Co., and the Magnolia Press coffee shop in Waco, Texas.

Reviewed Jul 17, 2026

Cover of Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave
Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave

4.8/5

reader rating · 12,162 ratings

Homebody is Joanna Gaines's comprehensive interior design guide, structured room by room to help readers identify their personal style, solve common decorating problems, and create homes that feel genuinely their own — an instant #1 New York Times bestseller upon its November release from Harper Design.

Reviewed Mar 26, 2026

Cover of Magnolia Table
Magnolia Table

4.8/5

reader rating · 36,134 ratings

Magnolia Table is a #1 New York Times bestselling cookbook by Joanna Gaines and Marah Stets, published by William Morrow Cookbooks in April 2018, collecting 125 recipes drawn from Gaines family favorites, American comfort food classics, and dishes inspired by the Gaineses' Waco restaurant — framed throughout with personal stories and photographs.

Reviewed Mar 24, 2026

Ask LuvemBooks about Joanna Gaines

Joanna Gaines brings the same practical warmth to her writing that she's known for on screen — her cookbook Magnolia Table, Volume 2 pulls from real family meals and gathering traditions, rather than restaurant-style showpieces, making it representative of her broader approach across all three books we've reviewed. Between two cookbooks and a home design guide, her work consistently treats domesticity as a craft worth taking seriously, with recipes and interiors framed around how people actually live together. Readers on Amazon rate her titles remarkably consistently, with all three sitting between 4.8 and 4.9 out of 5 across tens of thousands of reviews.
Where should I start?
If you're new to Joanna Gaines's books, Magnolia Table is the natural entry point — it's her first cookbook, introduces her cooking philosophy through dishes tied to specific memories and family occasions, and has been rated 4.8/5 by over 36,000 Amazon readers, making it one of her most widely read titles. It gives you a clear sense of her tone before moving on to the second volume or her home design work in Homebody.
What's their writing style?
Joanna Gaines writes in a warm, conversational first person that reads more like an extended personal essay than a how-to manual — recipes come with the story of where they came from, and design advice is framed through her own home rather than abstract principles. She tends to foreground intention and meaning over technical instruction, which means her books work as much as lifestyle reading as practical reference. The tone is consistent whether she's describing a pot of soup or a living room layout: grounded, unhurried, and domestic in a deliberate way.
Books we've reviewed
We've reviewed three books by Joanna Gaines on LuvemBooks. Magnolia Table, Volume 2 is her second cookbook, focused on everyday family meals and rated 4.9/5 by Amazon readers. Magnolia Table, her first cookbook co-written with Marah Stets, ties recipes to specific occasions and memories, rated 4.8/5. Homebody is her home design guide, rated 4.8/5, offering practical guidance on creating spaces built around how you actually live rather than how spaces are supposed to look.
How do her books compare?
The two Magnolia Table volumes are closely related in format and tone but differ in focus: the first is more occasion-driven, with recipes anchored to gatherings and holidays, while the second leans toward simpler, more everyday cooking. Homebody is the outlier — it shares her voice and domestic philosophy but is a home design book rather than a cookbook, making it the right pick if your interest is in interiors rather than food. All three reward the same reader: someone who wants practical content delivered with genuine personal context.
What genre do they write?
Joanna Gaines writes primarily in two genres: Cooking & Food, represented by her two Magnolia Table cookbooks, and Home & Garden, represented by Homebody. Both sit within the broader lifestyle category and share a domestic focus — her work is about how people eat, live, and build homes together rather than any single narrow subject. She has also written memoir (The Magnolia Story, not yet reviewed here) and children's books.
What should I read after Magnolia Table?
After Magnolia Table, the most natural next step is Magnolia Table, Volume 2 — it continues in the same spirit but with a slightly more relaxed, everyday focus that many readers find even more useful for regular cooking. If you want to branch into a different subject while staying with Gaines's voice, Homebody offers the same personal, home-centered approach applied to interior design rather than food.
Who is Joanna Gaines?

Who is Joanna Gaines?

Joanna Gaines is an American interior designer, television personality, and author best known for co-founding the Magnolia brand alongside her husband Chip Gaines. She rose to wide public recognition through the HGTV series Fixer Upper and has since extended her creative voice into books covering home design and cooking. Her writing draws directly from her life in Waco, Texas, and her focus on intentional, family-centered living runs through everything she publishes.

Follow up

What is the Magnolia brand?
Does Joanna Gaines write alone or with co-authors?

Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review

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Karen Mordechai

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Karen Mordechai's Sunday Suppers shares Joanna Gaines's warmth-first hosting philosophy, offering seasonal menus and unfussy recipes designed around the communal ritual of the shared table.
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Myquillyn Smith

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Myquillyn Smith's The Nesting Place shares Joanna Gaines's conviction that a home should feel personal rather than like a showroom, offering a warm, low-pressure approach to decorating.
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Marah Stets

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Marah Stets partnered to create Magnolia Table, sharing the same comfort-food roots and focus on gathering.
1 book reviewed
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