‘Silence of the Lambs’ with a nice Chianti

Randi Kreiss

Even though multitasking is king, there are so many things we can’t do at the same time: drink a martini and ride a roller coaster, text and take a shower, watch a movie and mow the lawn, run a marathon and flip pancakes. But we can read a book and eat at the same time, and it strikes me as worthwhile to find some appropriate pairings for a rich and delicious summer reading experience.

A disclaimer: My headline aside, you really can’t eat anything while reading “Silence of the Lambs.” Hannibal Lector is the ultimate appetite buzz kill, and your sense of well being goes rapidly downhill with the first mention of consuming a victim’s liver with a glass of red wine and some fava beans. Same goes for the life story of Jeffrey Dahmer or any book about famine or starvation. There is a place for heart-wrenching memoirs and tales of suffering — but not at the table.

Not to worry. We are left with a cornucopia of great books to buy or borrow and read this summer. Since these are serious times, I’m focusing on reading material that edifies, illuminates and enlightens. If the book also entertains, that’s perfect, but entertainment cannot be our top priority as we watch the Gulf of Mexico turn into a dark soup of oil and dead birds.

We need more, not less, to inspire us, to spark the brain and focus our thoughts. In the spirit of being kind to ourselves, why shouldn’t we munch our way through the experience as well?

First, pick up a copy of “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers. It’s a memoir of Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of the storm in New Orleans, and the writing has been called “Dickensian” and praised for its evocation of an extraordinary time and place. Consume this book with a bowl of shrimp étouffee, a chicken moufflette, a bowl of crawdads and three hurricanes from O’Brien’s bar. After the hurricanes you won’t be able to walk, so reading will be a perfect activity. While the story is familiar by now, and tragic, and while Eggers places us in New Orleans during its darkest days, he reminds us of the glories of that great, beleaguered city.