A Very KBR Christmas 2021 and A Delicious New Year!

As we all stumbled through another year of monumental change, frustration, despair and ridiculous joy, for the team here at KBR, one thing remained resolute: our love for story. All stories of course but, most emphatically, kids' stories. For the privilege of being able to share as many as we possibly could with you, we are humbly grateful. To all our contributors, publishers, creators, and fellow book lovers we thank you. 

And, because we too love a good Christmas tradition, this year's team question is one that raised many eyebrows and created as much polarisation as questions surrounding Covid! So tuck in your napkins, set aside your bookmarks and experience our responses to the question: Are you partial to reading while you eat or eating while you read and if so, what is your favourite thing to nibble on as you chow down your favourite book? 

Disclaimer: you may like to nibble on a wedge of shortbread or sip on a mulled wine as you read this, or not. The choice is unequivocally yours! HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 

Tania McCartney: I can’t say I nibble while I read. I just can’t. But what I can say is that I sip. It’s most commonly coffee with a dash of cream, tisane tea in myriad flavours, sparkling mineral water with a squeeze of lime, or—if the book inspires festivity—Prosecco or Champagne. I’m right now sipping coffee while I read Before They Were Authors by Elizabeth Haidle (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). My kind of bliss. 

Dimity Powell: Let it be known, I love to eat. I also love beyond measure sitting down to soak up a good book. I am not one to segregate love or waste moments of precious time therefore I DO eat and read, at the same time. A cold glass of milk or warm honeyed tea may accompany easy-to-eat-with-one-hand salads or easy-to-hold toasted sandwiches, (I reserve one clean hand for page turning). I try to avoid soiling especially if the book is on loan but accidents sometimes occur. For some this might seem heinous, like dog-earing pages (which I may or may not also be guilty of). For others it is merely a defining moment that signifies divine palatability and adds to the book’s story rather like us acquiring scars throughout life. That said I’m being extra cautious with my current read, Phosphorescence by Julia Baird. Exquisite.

Shaye Wardrop: Generally, I'm a 'no food near my books' kind of gal! I love to keep my books for years and years and years so I can read them again and again, and periodically open them, smell them and touch the pages. Books with vegemite smudges tend to lose their bookish charm! That said, I absolutely will drink tea while I read.

Elizabeth Vercoe: No nibbling for me! (No soup for me, either). I’m a tea-sipping reader. Variety is important, so I like to mix things up whenever possible. I’m quite partial to organic vanilla rooibos in the morning, an aromatic Earl Grey in the afternoon and the delightful Tiger tea (Bengal spice) in the evening. When I’m particularly engrossed in a book or creative past-time, (look away now if you’re a tea aficionado), I’ve also been known to drink my tea… cold!  

Anastasia Gonis: I have always believed that eating and reading are a dismal combination. When I eat I eat, and when I read, I read. For me, reading is a feast in itself. I must taste the words, roll them around my tongue and mouth, even say them loud at times. I love to repeat them if they have a special flavour seeping from the sound. How can that be achieved with food filling the crevices of the mouth? No, I never eat and read, or read and eat!

Sue Warren: I'd say Vegemite toast (must have butter) with a large cup of tea! While reading Brian Cox’s autobiography, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat: My Autobiography.

Penny Harrison: My two favourite things in life - eating and reading. If I have a cup of tea and something sweet, my first instinct is to pick up a book. And vice versa. It's a vicious but delicious cycle to be trapped in! At the moment I'm reading the exquisite Kingdom of Silk series, by Glenda Millard, and they're always cooking up something scrumptious in the Silk kitchen or garden. I'm in the middle of Plum Puddings and Paper Moons, when it's Christmas time in Cameron's Creek, so I feel it's only fitting that each time I pick it up I have a plate of star-shaped shortbread or Florentine biscuits to munch on. And there'll definitely be leftover plum pudding for the next book in the series!

Karen Mitchell: My preference is a glass of wine with either chocolate or cheese & biscuits while I am reading in a comfy chair. . . I love a good mystery where I can get absorbed in the story.

The last book I have just finished is The Banksia Beach Shack by Australian author Sandie Docker. The storyline centres on journalist Laura, who after the death of her grandmother Lily, discovers an old photo of her grandmother with a cryptic message on the back. It leads Laura to discover the small town of Banksia Beach, but when she arrives Laura finds a community steeped in secrets and everyone has something to hide. Will she learn the truth about her grandmother's past?

Lily Weigl: I love to read while I eat! (Although Mum and Dad ask me to put books away at the dinner table!). I love chowing down on a graphic novel while devouring two-minute noodles and broccoli (it doesn't sound like the most appetising meal, but I challenge you to try it). I also enjoy nibbling on chocolate as I read comfort books. The last time I had chocolate while reading was just the other day as I was reading Pony by R. J. Palacio, the author of Wonder.

Sarah Steed: My favourite snack while reading would be cheese and crackers, or chocolate, or some ice-cold grapes (when they're in season). At Christmas time, then it's got to be a piece of Christmas cake or coconut ice which make a great festive treat. 

Leigh van der Veen: I love to read with a steaming cup of tea and some dark chocolate squares. I like to have a bite of chocolate then a sip of tea and let the tea melt the chocolate in my mouth. YUM! I’m currently reading The Smidgens by David O’Connell.

Katrin Dreiling: I actually love to read with a good cup of coffee and some chocolate but usually end up staining the pages due to Qld heat and melting choc pieces.

Sarah Rasmussen: I almost never eat when I read as I find it too much for my brain to handle. I love to read in bed so I will often have a coffee or a chamomile tea, which is about as much as my motor skills will allow. One of my good friends is a religious eater reader, and when she lends me books they come covered in all kinds of food, AND she even breaks the spines of the book she is reading to make it easier (blasphemy!) to lay flat. 

Amie Sabadin: I like to drink coffee or peppermint tea when reading!? I wouldn’t usually eat while reading… but may sneak a few chocolate coated almonds from time to time.

Nia Shetty: I am partial to reading while I eat because my book finds a way to gravitate towards the dining table.

Wishing you all sensational Christmas and delectable New Year! Let if be full of deliciousness and books that fill you!