Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

A to Z Challenge: 2023 Food Edition
Time Frame: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023


Read a book from the combined 1001 book lists with a food that fits each letter of the alphabet. Beverages are not included. This challenge does not need to be done in any particular order. Try to limit yourself to no more than two foods per book.

Set up your own personal topic at A to Z Challenge, 2023 -- Completions to chart your progress.

Happy Reading!

So it isn't about finding a book in the 1001 books with a food in the title then?

No, just a mention of a specific food in the book.

I’m not aware of a specific thread for mentions of books about food, so it could be helpful to start one here.
List books I’ve read that have a lot of food mentioned in them as follows:
Like Water for Chocolate
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
The Sea, the Sea
Brideshead Revisited
Embers by Sándor Márai
Excellent Women
Winter by Ali Smith

I think I’ll get stuck with X though - is XO sauce mentioned in any books?

The book Paradise of the Blind mentions Xoi (Vietnamese sticky rice).

Sadly, I've already read it, but it is great and I might re-read just to be silly with completing the scavenger hunt.

Parade's End mentions quince trees - would this count for q since they are not actually eating them? Trying to figure out the best way to do some of the harder letters.

Not a mod, but I imagine it would. The word "quince",which is a type of fruit, appears in it in the context of actually being that thing. Something is a food item whether someone is eating it or not.

Also, for anyone else trying for the letter Q, more than one book I've either read or looked into so far mentions Quail. I suspect a number of books about high society people, or older ones, mention it.

Yes, it definitely counts.

I thought this article might be of interest to members participating in this topic.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Bob wrote: "I thought this article might be of interest to members participating in this topic.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20..."

Looks interesting, thanks for the link!

Karen wrote: "Yes, it definitely counts."

Very interesting.