Books: Part of a Complete Breakfast
Waffles! Oatmeal! Toast! Cereal! Fruit salad! Eggs! It is no secret that I love breakfast. I hate mornings, I hate waking up, but dear God do I love breakfast food. Much like the narrator of Green Eggs and Ham (who, if you can believe it, does not have a name—I know, mind blown), I will eat breakfast food here, there, and anywhere. While much of my love of breakfast has to do with just how delicious the food is, I also admit that part of it is that breakfast is the best meal for reading. Let me explain.
First of all, most breakfast foods can be eaten one-handed. We’re not talking about massive lunch burgers or a dinner steak that requires a fork in one hand and a knife in the other. When it comes to breakfast, if you need a fork, chances are you don’t need a knife (unless you’ve got steak and eggs or chicken fried steak). You can slice through your omelette or pancakes easily with the side of your fork, leaving one hand free to hold your book. Or maybe you’ve got something even more convenient, like a doughnut or Danish. Either way, you can’t beat the one-handed convenience of breakfast food.
Then, there’s the fact that coffee is both the best friend of breakfast and books. I mean, how many pieces of bookish paraphernalia have you seen that pairs these two natural companions? There’s nothing like a hot cup of joe (or, iced, if that’s your thing) with a good book. And who’s to argue with this stellar list of books and the mugs to use while you read them? So, if breakfast goes with coffee and coffee goes with books, it only makes sense that once again, breakfast is the best meal for reading. I can say that I didn’t do too well in algebra, but I do remember if a = b and b = c, then a = c. Even the simple math agrees.
Next, there are plenty of pieces out there naming the benefits of reading first thing in the morning. I’m sure you know what I’m going to say—breakfast, by nature, is our first meal of the day. And if we’re eating our first meal of the day, then why not pair it with a nice read to start your day off right? Get two for the price of one, eating the most important meal of the day to feed your body and enjoying some brain food in the form of books! Amazements never cease with this pair.
Consider the people you’ve seen in cafés (you know, where breakfast-y food is served) reading books. How much cooler do they look for that? You want to be cool, don’t you? The evidence is clear: enjoying breakfast in a café with a book makes you infinitely cooler than just enjoying breakfast in a café without a book. (Yes, that includes audiobooks and ebooks, whether read on an ereader, a tablet, or a phone!)
Of course, not all of us are so lucky to have time for breakfast every morning. I know I don’t. So, when I do get the opportunity to sit down for a complete breakfast, it feels like a luxury. The only thing that makes me feel more pampered is quiet, uninterrupted, guilt-free reading time. Breakfast may be a great meal to get some reading done, but I can’t really do much in the way of chores or more practical tasks while eating my first meal of the day, so it’s hard to feel guilty if I pair it with reading. Reading on its own, however, can be a bit guilt-inducing (at least for me)—how can I sit there and read when there’s laundry to be done, dishes to be put away, and floors to be swept? All I know is, I can’t get those tasks done on an empty stomach, so if I read while I eat, which I have to do anyway, what’s the harm? None! And that’s the beauty of it.
I have nothing against lunch and dinner, but breakfast is bae. You really can’t beat a meal that delights with food that’s basically just dessert, nor can you go wrong with the perfect runny fried egg. Even on toast with the egg dripping deliciously down your wrist, you’ve got that other hand to hold up your book, part of a complete breakfast.
