When you ask most people to name something about summer one of the first things they will name is ice cream. Yet, as a convenience store worker, I seem to sell more of it during the winter. I hadn’t thought anything of it at first. Then I started wondering why.

So, I did the natural thing and asked a few of my regular customers that bought it on a regular basis. Some said it was because of the flavor while others said it reminded them of summer. Of course, then I also found myself one night after work buying some. I had to chuckle at the fact that selling so much of it in winter had led to me getting a craving for it.

It led me to sit down and think about not just ice cream, but other foods we think about as having a traditional season. Some we eat more traditionally than others, such as the foods we eat at holiday dinners.

We tend to eat turkey and ham only around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, aside from deli cuts on sandwiches. We typically only BBQ in the summer. We might have some of those foods when we eat out, though.

We tend not to see desserts as being seasonal like the main dishes, though. Aside from birthday cake and wedding cake that is.  Pie will be had all year round, even when it is not a holiday. The same is true with ice cream not being just for summer. Or coffee–iced or hot–during summer and winter. Hot chocolate is enjoyed year-round as well.

The reasons why are as many as the number of people enjoying them. Like the number of reasons so many people enjoy the same book. For instance, combine food and the Harry Potter Series. Anyone who has read the series will tell you there are a lot of interesting food items mentioned in it. (And, no, you will not get any spoilers from me if you have not read it yet.)

But it is interesting how food and books do not have a season. Each has a basic recipe, but an infinite number of varieties. Writers understand the recipe when it comes to books better than most, and cooks are the same way with food. The people that read and eat each understand the number of varieties with each, though, and have a wide array of opinion on each variety. That isn’t to say there aren’t some that go better in certain seasons than others. Just that you can have ice cream in winter or a Christmas tale in summer and there is nothing wrong with it. It makes one wonder why there isn’t a bigger market for snacks associated with reading.

So, what would be a good reading snack? Something that would leave no marks on the page but is easy to eat one-handed. Definitely not a Cheetos type of thing. That still leaves the question, what makes a good book snack?

*tips his hat walking out the door to brainstorm*