Its successor, "How to be a Domestic Goddess" (2000), focuses primarily on baking. "The Times" wrote of the book that it "is defined by its intimate, companionable approach. She is not issuing matronly instructions like Delia; she is merely making sisterly suggestions". Lawson rejected feminist criticism of her book, adding that "people did take the domestic goddess title literally rather than ironically. It was about the pleasures of feeling like one rather than actually being one." The book sold 180,000 copies in four months, and won Lawson the title of Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2001, fending off competition from authors such as J. K. Rowling. "How to Eat" and "How to be a Domestic Goddess" were published in the U.S. in 2000 and 2001. As a result of the book's success, "The Observer" took her on as a social affairs columnist.