Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't think of a question this month, but this fun one comes from Katy. What snacks to you enjoy eating while reading? Ha! I liked this one.

Looks like I'm starting the conversation. My husband and I work opposite shifts. I am an elementary school teacher whose alarm goes off at 5 AM. He often gets home after midnight because he works in a restaurant. My dinner meals are usually solo at home. I love to read while eating dinner. Now for pure snacking, I keep a can of mixed nuts. Those are great while reading. Popcorn with butter is my all-time favorite snack, but it is too messy!

I drink lots and lots of tea. I try not to snack. But…. apples, nuts and chocolate (pure dark 70-85%)

And.... notice how my saintly halo shines: I often listen to audiobooks while on the exercise bike. No snacking there.


How about: What time of day do you read? Paper/ebook/audio, library/own/borrow,....?

J_BlueFlower wrote: "I drink lots and lots of tea. I try not to snack. But…. apples, nuts and chocolate (pure dark 70-85%)

And.... noise how my saintly halo shines: I often listen to audiobooks while on the exercise b..."

In response to the paper/ebook/audio part of your question. Many years ago I bought a bookstand - the type that cooks use for their cookbooks. If I'm reading a paper book with dinner, it's on the table on my bookstand. If it's an ebook, the Kindle cloud reader will be open on my laptop on the dinner table. Sometimes I have a free pdf on the laptop. Audiobooks are for when I drive or clean (but I rarely clean),

One-handed snacks when reading a paper book. One hand to hold the book, one to stuff my face, lol.

Anything goes if I'm reading on a laptop. I ate breakfast this morning (eggs and toast) while surfing the web.

I've started reading EMMA online while listening to the audio. Now that you mentioned snacks, I think I'll get some hummus and celery.

I mostly “read” audiobooks, and that while commuting, so if I’m eating it’s usually breakfast on the way to work. But most of the time it’s nothing more than coffee.

When I’m reading a physical book, I don’t like to be eating anything at the same time. I’m not too precious about books, but I do dislike getting any kind of schmutz on the pages.

spoko wrote: "I mostly “read” audiobooks, and that while commuting, so if I’m eating it’s usually breakfast on the way to work. But most of the time it’s nothing more than coffee.

When I’m reading a physical bo..."

Ha! I'm the same spoko. I got food smudges on a couple books over the years and because of that, I try to keep my hands clean when I read a physical book. But I'm just as (if not more) likely to be listening to an audiobook and drinking a caffeinated beverage in my car as I joyfully forget about the freeway gridlock.

I'm primarily a physical book reader, and while I basically love snacking at all other times, I never seem to want to eat while I'm reading. For me a good book goes with a large mug of coffee or tea, preferably next to an open window where I can pause and look out between the pages. Maybe because it feels like such an indulgence, I don't need to add food!

hmm ... no snacks while reading here; and actually, hardly any snacking at any time. Some tea and coffee throughout the day, but that's it.

I mostly read ebooks these days, and I read when I eat meals alone, but am careful not to touch either keyboard or touchscreen with greasy fingers. When I listen to audiobooks, it is usually because I have some knitting or other handicraft to do, so no room for greasy fingers there either.

Haha case in point here. I am at this moment reading Goodreads and eating a fried egg plus fruit and coffee for breakfast.

I don’t snack while reading, but I do read while I eat foods with utensils, usually an actual meal (I am NOT getting food on my books, that’s barbaric, lol). I try to fit in reading wherever I can and if I am eating, I can probably read too. Or I try. Usually the food gets forgotten and cold…

Lynn, I have some suggestions for questions. How can I give them to you? Maybe you can send me a message, I can answer?

I sip far too much iced tea in summer and winter. Sometimes I nibble on popcorn if I am listening to audiobooks or ebooks. I can clean tablet or phone glass, but not so much library books.

Kathleen, that sounds so lovely. Sometimes I go into the common area of our apartment where one room has big plate windows looking over a city street scene. It is beautiful when the rain comes.

NECCO wafers and tea. As I got older (now 76) I noticed my reading habits were becoming haphazard. I was once an avid reader (former HS English teacher) I decided to reinvigorate what was once my favorite pastime. I never cottoned to e-readers, although I tried. So, my new routine became sitting in a comfortable chair, under a lamp, holding a real book in my hand with a cup of tea at my side and getting lost in the wonderful world of the written page. I felt like I was home again. The NECCOs which I hadnt' had in years found their way to my side table and now and became a nice addition to my renewed enthusiasm for the well written book.

I don't eat too much when reading, but I do enjoy a GOOD hot cup of coffee while reading.

Cynda is on the return 2024 wrote: "Kathleen, that sounds so lovely. Sometimes I go into the common area of our apartment where one room has big plate windows looking over a city street scene. It is beautiful when the rain comes."

That sounds lovely, both of you!¹

Tony wrote: "I don't eat too much when reading, but I do enjoy a GOOD hot cup of coffee while reading."

Same here, coffee and reading seem to go hand in hand.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Lynn, I have some suggestions for questions. How can I give them to you? Maybe you can send me a message, I can answer?"

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Lynn, I have some suggestions for questions. How can I give them to you? Maybe you can send me a message, I can answer?"


I cannot message you bc your profile is private. Maybe try messaging me. Click on my name and see if it will work.

Lynn, You "isn't accepting messages".

I opened my profile. Please try again.

all about the drinks while reading, mostly coffee or tea! no snacks (tho I heart salty snacks at other times)!!

other coffee & tea readers: what is your favorite coffee roaster / ways to make it &/or your fave tea flavors/types?

Physical book = Probably nothing. If I'm reading in a bookstore, I will probably get a coffee.

Kindle = Most likely, I'll just drink water or Dr. Pepper or something. It's weird, but eating while I read on Kindle is distracting.

Audio = I'll eat my dinner while listening to an audiobook, lol.

I like all sorts of coffee--I tend to prefer a darker roast. But lately, I've been loving a nice mocha with a bit of habanero sauce. Sounds mad, but it's great.

victoria wrote: "other coffee & tea readers: what is your favorite coffee roaster / ways to make it ..."

Not much a coffee drinker. Tea: Anything with real tea in it. No herb tea.

A good dark no-nonsense Keemun, Assam or maybe Assam FBOP (Teekanne Assam from Amazon.de is excellent for the price.) or (rarely) Assam FTGFOP.

Mixtures chili truffle black tea, black tea with quince. Last time I ordered I also had “Lillebælt tea - black tea with forest berries, apple & vanilla”
https://alwilda.dk/shopalwildadk/25-s...
A nice mix. The fruit wasn’t too much (and it was real fruit and real vanilla).

Green tea Sencha or oolong. I can appreciate a Puerh tea, but I would not normally buy it myself. A true Puerh tea is pretty expensive. The store I often buy from has a mix of green tea and walnut that I am crazy about.

But really, I am an unsnobed tea-snob. Right now I am drinking black teabag tea “with a taste of mango”. (The wording suggest it never saw a mango.)

Oh tea ... Rooibos or decaf Earl Grey. The latter with a drop of milk when I want to feel particularly English - matching the book I'm reading. (is there any English classic where tea is not mentioned at least once?) I can't sleep when I have coffeine any later the 3 p.m., and keep wondering how the English manage to have tea in the evening and still sleep (my only explanation is that their usual level of wakefulness must be so low that tea only brings them up to what the rest of us Europeans would call 'normal').

And coffee ... I'm not particular there either. Fairtrade organic Arabica will do for me - plus a decaf late in the day - and I use a Bodum coffeemaker (the one with the piston you lower to separate the powder from the liquid). With a little milk and no sugar in the morning, and with a little sugar and no milk after meals.

And yes, I have both while reading, in considerable quantities ;-))

Not all people are affected by tea. I don’t understand how this works at all, but I can drink unlimited amounts of black tea (even the really black stuff like fine leafed Indian) and still sleep (I will of course need to get up after some hours,...). But eating chocolate with coffee (10% bean pieces) made me sleepless.

victoria wrote: "all about the drinks while reading, mostly coffee or tea! no snacks (tho I heart salty snacks at other times)!!

other coffee & tea readers: what is your favorite coffee roaster / ways to make it ..."

Tea - I started drinking hot tea in college - nothing added - as a diet aid. It quickly became a habit.

I love Ceylon Green teas - almost any brand - but mostly Bigelow.
Twinings Irish Breakfast, Lady Grey, and Earl Grey

Coffee - my husband was the family coffee drinker but during the pandemic I joined him. We experimented with various brands and ways to make it. I use a stainless steel percolator. It just tastes different in a percolator. Favorites are Starbucks Pikes Roast or Yukon Blend. I also like Dunkin Donuts Medium Roast. I buy beans and grind them at home. / I didn't like any of the instants or any of the flavored coffees we tried. I can drink Keurig, but prefer the taste of percolator coffee. I use real heavy cream, no sugar.

Lynn wrote: "...What snacks to you enjoy eating while reading?..."

What have you got? ;-)

Percolators are the thing. I grew up sipping that coffee at bog family parties. Always half milk/half coffee. What a treat.

The aunts would bring their perculators because you never knew when people would want more coffee--a lot more--and the children too. . . . . .It was a different world, a deep into a different century.

Pistachios. Always pistachios.

Dare I admit this? I go for cheezits, original only, of course.