Reader Mailbag: Favourite Snacks or Drinks
In the April 2025 newsletter, we asked readers what their favourite snacks and drinks were while reading.
Here are the responses:
Chris: Well, if I’m reading a book, I have to have snacks that won’t get my hands messy, so one of my favorites is peanut M&Ms, of course! I’ve decided that the peanuts provide protein, so they’re not really bad for me. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
Christine: For a favorite snack while reading I really just like either ice water with lemon or a peppermint lifesaver — I keep it simple.
Denise: I would have to say my go to snack while reading is cashews and Iced Tea. Not really sure why but that is what I get hungry for during a late night read.
Corinne: When I was a kid, every book I read had orange corners in the upper right hand due to my eating various types of chips while reading. When my mom would ask us what we wanted from the grocery store, inevitably I would say, “Fritos, Cheetos, and Doritos!” Because those were my reading snacks. I try not to snack nonstop while reading, now, but you just can’t go wrong with a bag of Doritos! 😂
Barbara: I don’t really eat anything in particular with reading. Coffee or water I guess
Buck: When we have all of our commitments done by mid-afternoon, I put on the kettle, settle into my reading chair in the front room, put three cookies on my cookie tray, and get back to whatever murder my colleagues are currently investigating. I used to dream of being able to do this during my 40 year career in the office. It’s proven to be as satisfying as I imagined. I’m amply Blessed!
AJ: For me, it is all about meals – I live alone and eat out alone often and always spend my meals with a good book. The waitstaff tend to ask what I’m reading now and we share recommendations back and forth. Generally have a lot of other stuff to keep my busy, but I always take my time over meals and enjoy a book.
Judy: Thanks for asking. My favorite drink while reading is a glass of wine. It relaxes me just enough that I’m not constantly distracted by thoughts about tasks that I should be doing instead of reading, which I’d rather be doing.
Caryn: My favorite reading drink is a cup of hot black tea with soy milk and a little of my favorite sweetener. It’s just soothing when I am finally relaxing cozily at home with a wonderful book, after a full day.
Betty: What a fun question! If I’ve had lunch, I often start my reading with a bowl of ice cream for a late dessert. If it’s been several hours and hunger actually distracts me from reading, then it would be Dr Pepper and Fritos. Most of the time I’m too lost in my book to notice that I’m hungry or that I’ve missed a meal.
Debbi: Something easy and not messy, I love roasted pecans and my husband makes the best. All buttery and a touch of salt, It’s the perfect snack when reading because it leaves me one hand available to turn pages, or swipe on the kindle!
Elizabeth: This is an easy one for me. I read every evening before bed. I have a glass of white wine and something chocolate, candy or cookies or whatever I have on hand or in the freezer.
Looking forward to seeing what everyone else likes.
Jessica: I don’t eat while reading books. I know my mother used to eat cereal and read books. But I do eat while reading the news. I eat trail mix in bed while reading the news
Joy: As a child, I was taught to take very good care of a book. So I don’t eat snacks while I am reading.
Canno: Cannot sit down and read without my Diet Pepsi alongside a bottle of water. As for a snack nothing tops my homemade snax mix. Maybe not healthy but sure is good-and it is partly cereal!!!
Lee: I frequently have a bad of thin pretzel sticks and a coke to help my reading. Gotta have those munchies to keep the reading steam going.
Linda: Before I settle into reading I ensure there are SNACKS (not greasy, not melted). Usually my snacks are variety of nuts, raisins, and pretzels and a Bao drink-mandarin orange is best; and rainy days I like herbal tea and a biscuit or two. If I am reading a book that is dragging on I use snacks as REWARDS for soldiering on!
Linda L: I always have a tall glass of ice water beside me when I read. When I am reading a thriller, I become so engrossed I can not swallow. lol Then my other snack is to have a bunch of Resien caramels with that glass of water.
Jenny: Back in the day, when I was working 80+ hours a week. I loved reading my book while taking my lunch break. If I didn’t have a book I found I didn’t bother to take a lunch break! Forty years later I find myself eating a meal I don’t really need just to extend my book reading time. I’m not skinny anymore. Sometimes I feel bad eating my lunch while reading a book about someone stranded in the wilderness with no food or facing poverty or war and I’m munching away.
When I told my guitar instructor that I was working so many hours that I hadn’t had time to practice. He asked me how much time I spent watching TV and I assured him that I didn’t watch TV. Later I mentioned a book I was reading and he said Ah Ha! How much time do you spend reading books? and I explained that I read while eating my lunch and I can’t practice my guitar while eating!
When I was a kid I would pack a lunch and go for an explore. When I found a cozy spot somewhere I would stop to eat my lunch and read my book. Usually that was the end of my bike ride as I would get hooked into my book for the rest of the afternoon.
Matt: When I relax into a book, if I have anything to drink and eat, most often it will be a pot of tea (at least three cups) and some Arrowroot cookies. This is a tradition going back to when I was 5 or 6 years old. I’m 73 now so it has lasted for a while. My choice of tea has never changed, it is still orange pekoe, although now I only drink decaf. The only change is the occasional addition of a black Twizzler licorice stick which I suck melt into nothingness to make it last as long as possible. As wonderful as this sounds or tastes (to me at least), nothing compares to the joy of devouring a new book by a favourite author, yummy.
Phillip: Snack: Pretzels (small)
Drink: Dr. Pepper Zero
Sam: I go with Sweet Chili Doritos. I tell people – that’s my “crack”.
Phoenix: : I usually read in bed, so no eating there, but I ALWAYS take a book with me when I go out to eat. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner…doesn’t matter. I’ll have a book with me. I’m rarely with another human when I go out to eat, so I bring a book.
Shannon: My favorite snack really depends on the time of day that I’m reading.
If it’s morning or afternoon I like a cup of tea and something sweet like a cookie or muffin (who am I fooling, just about any baked good Emoji).
Tom: Hello…I guess it’s just coffee or tea for me when reading. I eat enough snacks as it is. As with watching a movie, it becomes mindless munching and
the junk food maker’s marketing plan works every time.
If it’s in the early evening a glass of wine is always nice.
