# What books make you hungry when you read them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501 "2004-11-07T15:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/1 "2004-11-07T15:54:58Z")
Pretty self-explainitory thread. I was reading Fellowship of the Ring and so, this morning, I just had to have sauteed mushrooms for breakfast, since I can never read past that one scene in Fellowship without getting a monster craving for shrooms… What books and scenes make your mouth water? (And, yes, if it’s for some _other_ appetite, that counts, too!) ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/2 "2004-11-07T16:04:03Z")
Any time Captain Kirk has coffee, I have to have coffee too. Playing the Sims 2 I get hungry for the food you can cook there, like omlets, Turkey, or mac and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/3 "2004-11-07T16:15:26Z")
I don’t even like candy, but I still want some anytime the Hogwarts children are eating candy from Hogsmede in the “Harry Potter” books. And I’ve always wanted to know what butterbeer tasted like. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/4 "2004-11-07T16:16:18Z")
Moby Dick = Chowder! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/5 "2004-11-07T17:25:48Z")
The _Sten_ books by **Chris Bunch** and **Alan Cole** are filled with characters fixing and eating some amazing dishes. The preparations are described clearly enough that I have transcribed recipes for some of the more yummy items, like **Angelo Stew** and **The Eternal Emperor’s Own BBQ Sauce**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/6 "2004-11-07T17:44:50Z")
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory does it for me. I start jonesing for chocolate. That is not a good thing. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/7 "2004-11-07T17:50:37Z")
_Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe_ had me hankerin’ to try the fried green tomato recipe. I _hate_ tomatoes, but dang, it just sounded so yummy. Same with all of Ninnie’s talk about barbecue. Ended up making a BBQ veggie thing. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/8 "2004-11-07T18:14:33Z")
Funny, _Fried Green Tomatoes_ made me not hungry for barbeque for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/9 "2004-11-07T18:52:46Z")
The scene in Wodehouse’s _Right Ho, Jeeves_, where Tuppy Glossop makes a midnight raid on the larder (after refusing his dinner to demonstrate his love for Bertie’s cousin Angela) always makes me want to go downstairs to get something to eat, no matter how late at night. Oddly enough, while what Tuppy goes after is a steak-and-kidney pie, what I always crave in these circumstances is game pie. Either way, however, there is no such thing in the house (at best, there might be a chicken or beef pot pie in the freezer, but that’s really not the same thing). ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/10 "2004-11-07T19:06:29Z")
I remember in grade school we read a series of stories called The Boxcar Children . As I remember I always liked the descriptions of the meal preparations, as those made me a bit hungry, especially before lunch. ---
**Author:** ![libwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@libwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/libwen)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/11 "2004-11-07T19:08:53Z")
_Like Water for Chocolate_. Of course, it’s got recipes incorporated into the fictional story, so I think it’s designed to make people hungry! ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/12 "2004-11-07T19:49:33Z")
> [@lee](#): > > Funny, _Fried Green Tomatoes_ made me not hungry for barbeque for a long time. The book goes into much greater detail aboout food in general and the “bad BBQ” stuff doesn’t show up until much later, after Ninnie has gone on and on in earlier chapters to make you hungry. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/13 "2004-11-07T20:05:14Z")
Harry Potter does it for me too. Ardred was reading the HP books when he was on a $3 a week food budget. That’s just plain torture. ---
**Author:** ![Procyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@Procyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procyon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/14 "2004-11-07T20:23:06Z")
Anything by Brian Jacques relating to Redwall. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/15 "2004-11-07T20:23:43Z")
I’ve mentioned it before, but Jean Auel’s Ayla books make me feel very carnivorous. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/16 "2004-11-07T21:00:55Z")
Whenever I read _A Year In Provence_ by Peter Mayle, I crave ripened goat cheese, a baguette and a glass of Cotes du Rhone like you wouldn’t believe. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/17 "2004-11-07T21:16:41Z")
> [@pugluvr](#): > > Whenever I read _A Year In Provence_ by Peter Mayle, I crave ripened goat cheese, a baguette and a glass of Cotes du Rhone like you wouldn’t believe. I didn’t have to read the book, just your post! _drool_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/18 "2004-11-07T21:57:19Z")
Well, every now and then, the Nero Wolfe mysteries featured some dishes by chef Fritz Brenner that sounded mighty good! That said, when Rex Stout finally did publish a Nero Wolfe cookbook, I was underwhelmed. Almost none of the recipes were inspired or even good. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/19 "2004-11-07T23:17:18Z")
> [@Procyon](#): > > Anything by Brian Jacques relating to Redwall. Definitely. I always want some sort of bread with nuts in it or rhubarb crisp. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501/20 "2004-11-08T00:21:56Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Well, every now and then, the Nero Wolfe mysteries featured some dishes by chef Fritz Brenner that sounded mighty good! > > That said, when Rex Stout finally did publish a Nero Wolfe cookbook, I was underwhelmed. Almost none of the recipes were inspired or even good. I’ve seen the cookbook and it didn’t excite me either. but _Too Many Cooks_ had me feeling faint with hunger a few times. There are a few other mysteries featuring food, one series at least including the recipes, but I don’t have the reference at hand. The Aubrey and Maturin books (_Master and Commander_ to start) also have their moments, and I have the cookbook. That has some stuff that looks really good, but not for your arteries! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-make-you-hungry-when-you-read-them/273501.md?page=2)