Gooseberry Leaves in fall

When I eat out on my own, I usually buy a newspaper so I can read during my meal. I have no idea if this is proper etiquette but I am pretty sure that women aren't suppose to dine solo in restaurants anyway so I'm already breaking some body's rules. My ritual is to read the first section of the paper only until my meal arrives. After that, it's the comics. I can handle hard news on an empty stomach but it sometimes leaves me nauseated, furious, or wanting to cry. For my digestion's sake, it's the likes of Red and Rover, The Wizard of Id, Sherman's Lagoon, Hagar the Horrible, and Pluggers (which I totally identify w/).