Response to our editorial about snacking was overwhelming, with salty snacks taking a slight edge over sweet. While we were mildly shocked at the librarians who eat and read, we were pleased with the suggestions we hadn't already thought of. For your reading and snacking pleasure, here are just some of the many comments we received.
Eliza Langhans sent a great line to begin with, from Amanda Filipacchi's novel Nude Men: "I am a man without many pleasures in life, a man whose few pleasures are small, but a man whose small pleasures are very important to him. One of them is eating. One reading. Another reading while eating."
One reader, Cheminne Taylor-Smith, said that books and food go together like peanut butter and jelly, and has become so obsessed with "the whole reading-and-eating thing" that she started a blog that links books and food. Roxann E. Dorweiler favors crispy chips and doodles: "I read in the sunroom so my husband does not hear the extreme chitter of the bag as I remove handfuls of salty goodness." Another reader, Clynell Reinschmiedt, also takes her husband into consideration because she reads in bed while he sleeps. She lets Life Savers (the original five-flavor ones) slowly melt in her mouth--"Cherry and pineapple are my picks but the other three flavors give me the little added joy of anticipation for my favorites, so the snack provides its own little story line as a sub-plot to the one I'm reading."
Barbara Fredholm had no hesitation in choosing cookies. "They can be eaten with one hand while balancing the book on a pillow and snuggling in my easy chair before the fireplace. The crumbs can be readily brushed off of clothing, chair and book to be consumed by the cat or dog." Pretzels--"Not messy, not greasy and not too bad on the calorie count"--are librarian Marge Mey's choice; "The best thing is that they leave no tell-tale signs on the book pages!" Another vote for pretzels comes from Karin Gjording: "Of course it's necessary to snack while reading! I drink coffee with morning reads. Eat muffins. Afternoons--popcorn or those peanut butter pretzels from TJ's." And popcorn, as Kathy Hudson says, must be air-popped: "You can read or craft and keep right on munching because there are no grease stains. It's lovely." Another greaseless munch is Cheerios, a favorite of Barbara Jones: "The hand-to-mouth moves speed up or slow down depending on the level of suspense or pace of action. Cheerios fly when things get tense."
As hard as it is to imagine (for most of us), some readers exercise willpower when snacking. Pat Hyatt limits herself to only one rosemary Triscuit every five pages, which is admirable. And others are decidedly genteel about it. Meredith Vajda says that reading is an excuse for sherry and shortbread on a wintry Sunday mid-afternoon. Katherine Hussey prefers tea and a tiny gingersnap or two, or wine and a few nuts, but follows that with "dark chocolate is ALWAYS good!" And Laurie Hawkins doesn't eat with a book but loves a glass of red wine while reading.
Not too many people copped to reading while eating a meal, but Stephanie Varga admitted to doing so, and said, "An additional dinner knife rested over the open book will keep it open so I can read and eat. My mother would roll in her grave if I committed the unpardonable act of cutting up all my food in advance. Pu-leeze."
Several readers tie specific foods with certain books. I, due to a Dick Francis marathon one time when I was sick, cannot even look at a Francis novel without wanting a ham sandwich, which his heroes always eat. For Renee Barker it's a liverwurst and cream cheese sandwich--"Meg Murray ate them in A Wrinkle In Time and I feel the pull to have one every once in a while in late October." For Janet Snyder, Heidi makes her "crave a toasted (or grilled) cheese sandwich when I read about Grandfather heating the cheese over the fire and tearing off a chunk of bread."
Some people don't eat or drink when they read, like Karin Toomey: "I may either sit up or lie down. When I read I read. Period."
Taking that a step further, or maybe backward, Jon Haupt squeezes in reading when he brushes his teeth. "I brush 2 minutes 2 or 3 times a day, and that adds up to 24+ hours of extra reading time per year. I use an electric toothbrush with a built-in timer. Gotta be careful not to dribble. So far, no accidents. No calories, either." Angela Dallin is another "non-eater," who has learned instead how to walk and read--usually not as messy as food--and has been an inveterate reader since childhood, when she "crawled into the corner behind the Christmas tree when it was lit, and managed to wade through Gone with the Wind and many other novels that way."
No matter the snack food or drink, Lynn Pines cautions that "Careful consideration must be given to whether or not the book will ever be shared. If not--it's 'game on' for snacks. I don't snack with other people's books--and let's be honest--some books we keep to ourselves. Potato chips alternating with M&M's work well for me. My dog is too smooth to use as a napkin so a damp washcloth works well for page turning...." And speaking of damp washcloths, Pepper Evans wants to know how to soak in the tub without getting her book wet. Karen Gray Ruelle also reads in the tub and ends up with damp-curled pages. But, she says, "We shouldn't be too precious with our books. Some are meant for keeping pristine, but most are meant to be read, read, read, and all those tears and marks and dog-ears show just how much we love those books." --Marilyn Dahl