Mining for Meal Plans in Literature, With a Healthy Dose of Emily Gilmore

What You Will Find Here

Every post on A Literary Feast starts with the same question. What would it look like to actually live inside a story for an evening? Sometimes the answer is a dish a character eats, sometimes it is a bookstore or a coffee shop worth the drive, and sometimes it is simply a busy week of dinners that leaves me enough time to finish a chapter before bed. Here is how the site is organized.

Why Food and Books Belong Together

Food is one of the most basic elements of any story, and yet it often hides in plain sight. A meal can tell you who a character is, where they come from, what they can afford and who they love enough to cook for. Once I started paying attention, I noticed it everywhere, in the classics and in the newest paperback on the front table at the bookstore. A tin of meat on a river boat says something very different than a tray of macarons in Paris.

Recreating those meals gives me a reason to slow down with a book. It turns reading into something I can share with my family at the dinner table, even when they have no idea which novel inspired the casserole. And honestly, it keeps me from making the same five dinners on repeat.

Friday Night Dinners With the Gilmores

If you know me, you know that Gilmore Girls is my show. Emily Gilmore is my favorite character, and her Friday Night Dinners are masterpieces of elegance, even when they are coerced. My quiet little dining nook will never match the splendor of the Gilmore home, but I am determined to work my way through all seven seasons anyway. Read my very first Friday Night Dinner to see how it all started, box cake disaster included.

A Reading Life With Little Ones

Reading as a parent looks different than it did before kids. These days my books travel in the diaper bag, ride along to baseball practice and wait on the nightstand for the ten quiet minutes before I fall asleep. I read on paper, on my Kindle and sometimes on my phone in the car line, and I have stopped apologizing for any of it. A chapter is a chapter.

I also love sharing stories with my kids. Picture books, read alouds and simple crafts inspired by our favorite characters show up here regularly, because raising little readers is one of the best parts of this whole adventure. If you are looking for ideas to bring books to life at home, the kids’ book posts in Book Reviews are a great place to start.

Join the Reading Challenge

Every year I put together a reading challenge with one prompt for each month, designed to stretch our reading lives a little. This year there is a love story in February, a travel memoir in March, a book that gives you goosebumps in October and much more. You can read all about the Literary Feast 2026 Reading Challenge and download the free printable to keep track of your picks. Join in at any point in the year. There are no rules about catching up.

Where to Start

New around here? These are the posts I would hand you first.

• Call Me Zelda, a book review and literary meal inspired by the Jazz Age.
• Mi Abuelita’s Spanish Rice, a cozy family recipe with a story behind it.
• The African Queen of Tinned Meals, a classic film and a pantry challenge in one.
• An Honest Review of the Kindle Oasis, for anyone who reads in the bath or by the pool.
• When Your Village is Just One Person, for every parent who has ever felt alone in it.

Thank you for spending a little time here. Reading is how I become my best self, and I hope this bookish community helps you do the same. If you want to say hello, suggest a book or talk about working together, you can always reach me through my contact page, or read more about me. Now go find a cozy chair. Your next great book is waiting.