Nom Nom Nom

Have you ever noticed how much fiction revolves around food? Well, science fiction and fantasy do quite a bit. The Chronicles of Narnia are packed full of descriptions of what the characters are eating. Particularly which foods are preferred by which species. Trees eat dirt (described in detail), beavers eat fish, dwarves eat sausages. Pages of this stuff in each book. Remember the Hobbit? Mutton, and honey, and cakes, and beer, and mushrooms. Whole banquets described. In the Night Watch series, the characters are constantly in possession of cognac, vodka, salami, and pickled eggs. Horror, not so much, though Stephen King's Dark Tower series talks quite a bit about beef jerky and deer meat. Then, of course, science fiction is all about food OF THE FUTURE! Sometimes reconstituted and vat-grown, often alien, periodically trying to eat you back, but always, well, nearly always delicious. There are some genres that I (much to my shame) have not really cracked open, but I wonder about them. Westerns? I bet there's a lot of ink devoted to chili. Apparently Jane Austen puts enough food in her books to inspire a cookbook. Probably all puddings and things on toothpicks. I am a firm believer in the principle that a reader will be less likely to notice the quality of poor writing if they are thinking, "Man that sounds good."