Fun Stuff

 Our Reading Experience and Eating Enjoyment

 

The Two May Be Connected

      What we read and what we eat seem like two separate categories don't they? But apparently not. A number of years ago several authors discovered they were on to a good thing when they started incorporating recipes into their stories. Most notably, cozy mysteries. Think Joanna Fluke. Pretty soon there were a number of authors on the band wagon because it turned out to be pretty lucrative. 

     So now I'm thinking that yes, you can enjoy a story and also come away with some recipes that sound good to try. 

     This has not become a habit with me, but I did like the basic New York cheesecake recipe Ruth Reichl included in Garlic and Sapphires. In fact since it was my turn to hostess the book club the evening we discussed this book, I served it as a refreshment.  And Barbara Ross' blueberry pancake recipe featured in one of her first Maine Clambake Mysteries was good too. 

     But it isn't a draw to read a book simply because it had recipes. Maybe some people do that. (One Hannah Swenson mystery was enough for me.) 

     What other lures are out there to attract people to try a new author a new book, a new series? And what makes a reader decide to give it a pass? What I've heard has been surprising at times.  

     Covers draw, of course. A cover is important but - don't groan - you really cannot judge a book by its cover, at least not entirely. You must have found this out for yourself. For quite some time a cutsie cover with something like a shapely cartoonish blonde sitting on a high stool with a martini in her hands has been a turn off.  My immediate response mentally is, "oh no, here's another superficial, modern, predictable, cozy."

     Titles are important.  Along with fads such as including recipes we now have clever titles.  One example that comes to mind is Dead Over Heels by Charlaine Harris. You get the idea. Nowadays some of the most disappointing books have awesomely clever titles! No reflection on Ms. Harris. It was a fairly good read.

     One lady shied away from reading my Sally Nimitz mysteries because she doesn't like reading anything written in the first person. That was a shocker. I would have missed many a good read if this was one of my prejudices. It did not influence me to change my style. 

     An avid read once told me he was making it a rule not to read a book where the author's name on the cover was bigger than the title.  Interesting....

      Good review, interesting synopsis, an author I've enjoyed in the past, and subject matter. Recipes have nothing to do with it. But I do enjoy reading while having my morning bagel and coffee.