Biscuits and Genres

**Warning the following text will make you want to eat biscuits**

Recently on our #LunchtimeLibraryChat over on Twitter we asked the all important question – If every Genre was a biscuit, what biscuit would it be?

This proved to be quite the conversation starter and it transpires that quite a lot of us have something to say on the matter! I guess it really is true that biscuits make the world go round… or is it books?

Books….. Biscuits?  Biscuits…. Books? Which comes first? I don’t know! What I do know is that Biscuits and Books go together like peanut butter and jam or hot chocolate and marshmallows – the perfect synergy.

Off the back of the Twitter chat we decided to ask our lovely staff to chip in and let us know their thoughts. This blog post combines staff and public ideas and we’re very thankful to everyone who joined in this very important debate.

Obviously I am biased but I think the stand out pairing from this discussion has to be Custard Creams and Crime = Custard Crimes. Other suggestions for Crime included: Ginger Nuts (because they’re zingy and snappy), dark chocolate Hob Nobs (particularly for dark noir  such as Scandinavian crime) and Jammie Dodgers (because they have a little heart that bleeds jam – slightly scary that one, people!)

Arden Library suggested that YA would be Oreos – a wise choice. Another comment was that Jane Austen Classics are definitely Jaffa Cakes because one is never enough! This nearly started the other age old biscuit/cake discussion but we managed to keep our razor-like focus and stay on topic! Although Alton Library suggest that this precise biscuit/cake conundrum is why Jaffa Cakes represent the Sci-Fi genre and someone else remarked that they do look like little flying saucers! To ensure that Classics aren’t forgotten, Nice biscuits were suggested instead.

As for Digestives – the most deliciously under-looked of all the biscuits (in my opinion) well, they were relegated to Non-Fiction because of their plain, simple nature – they get the job done!

Party Rings, are they Fantasy or Romance? YA or something else?  I think they are a little bit magical so obviously should be Fantasy… Jammie Dodgers also made an appearance in Romance (the hearts) as did Pink Wafers – not sure about that one, I think the kind of Romance a Pink Wafer would inspire would be a little dry and disappointing! I am surprised that more chocolate goodness was not suggested for Romance or something with more spice.

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All our talk of biscuits also inspired Gail, one of our members of staff, to write this suitably biscuit-based short(bread) story

A Sweet Mystery that takes the Biscuit

Whilst living in hiding, Garibaldi (who usually socialised with various Hob Nobs all wearing brightly coloured Party Rings) was quietly sipping his Earl Grey and snacking on shortbread, thinking how he could avoid yet another encounter with the infamous Jammy Dodgers. The head of the gang ChocChip Cookie and his sidekick Oreo, were responsible for all of the Custardly Crimes in the town and they would soon find him out.

Where could he go? Nice, Jaffa or Eccles, all had their charms and unique flavours. All this worrying was playing havoc with his Digestive system. So, packing his Pink Wafer like hat he decided to take off in his old boat the Fig Roll to some foreign shore, but which way should he go?

Ideas please….

I would be off to France to meet the Bourbon king.

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The whole world would be Topsy-Turvy if I didn’t give at least one reading suggestion even in the midst of biscuit wonderland. Therefore, I shall now attempt to match some biscuits to books (I’ll link to our BorrowBox content) and full disclosure – I am drinking tea (Early Grey) and eating a Digestive whilst typing this. 

If we stick with Custard Crimes then my choice would be The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I haven’t read this one in years and now I really want to stop work and start reading!

We know from past posts that I love Fantasy! (A Little Science Fiction and Fantasy Make the World go Round and A Fantastical Start) so it is hard for me to choose just one to recommend, but here it is: The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black. Pair this book with some Party Rings and you’re set for a day of magic and happiness. How strange that these covers match so well? I didn’t plan it!

May I suggest that at this point, we all take a little break and eat an apple?

Next we’ll move to Digestives and Non-Fiction, and yes, poor old NF does get a bit of a bad rep but so many of you (us) really do enjoy a bit of reality! I’m feeling generous as we all know that one biscuit is never enough, so I’ll give you a couple of recommendations for this one. Firstly – The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane,.I am in awe of this man, I have always loved folk takes, mythology and the idea that magic was lost in the depths of time! Everything he writes fascinates me and I am jealous of his writing, imagination and travels!

In The Old Ways Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast network of routes criss-crossing the British landscape and its waters, and connecting them to the continents beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, of pilgrimage and ritual, and of songlines and their singers. Above all this is a book about people and place: about walking as a reconnoitre inwards, and the subtle ways in which we are shaped by the landscapes through which we move.

My second choice is Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham. I have read every other Chernobyl account that I can get my hands on and this is one that I haven’t read yet and I am sure that it will be one I enjoy. Again – I didn’t choose these two because the covers looked good together!

 

Stephanie.