Food and Books

When I eat food, I eat it in a certain order. First I start with the vegetables because although they're not yucky, they aren't exactly my favorite thing on my plate (and you don't want to finish a meal with a bad taste in your mouth). Then I eat my mashed potatoes and meatloaf, usually a couple bites of one and then a few of another. After that comes the dessert. The dessert is sweet and tasty, and I savor it as I eat it. And I leave the table feeling full and satisfied and content.
That is also how I read books. The first few chapters in a book are the vegetables, because they are (in a sense) the pilot episode, they set you up and get you ready for the story while also letting you decide whether you want to continue reading or not. Then I finish those chapters and move on to the meat of the book, which is wholesome and fulfilling. After that comes the dessert, the ending of the book. The ending can be the best part, or it can be the worst. It's either a wonderfully tasting buttermilk pudding or a sour buttermilk pudding, because the buttermilk wasn't used before the expiration date. And then the book is done and I sigh. If I disliked the book, it's an exasperated sigh, an I can't believe I wasted my time reading that sigh, and I hurriedly reach for another book to get the bad taste out of my mouth. But if I liked the book, it's a contented sigh, and over the next few days I think about the wonderfulness of the book as I go about my daily routine.