I LOVE that quote from The Simpsons!

Booooooo!

You have to be a lunch buddy to have a lunch buddy. You can't just sit there and hope someone asks you -- you're going to have to ask people or be satisfied with your books.

someone that i don't remember once said " books are your best friend "!

So what? My lunch buddies are books too! Better than some people

If you sit alone with your nose buried in a book every day at lunch then you are likely giving off the impression that that is how you wish to spend your lunches. The others are likely just trying to be respectful by not disturbing you. Maybe you should try putting down the books and striking up a conversation.

It's lunch at work not a social event.

Constantly having your nose in a book makes you really hard to approach. People don't want to disturb you since you are already doing something (even if you are just doing it because you're lonely, they don't know that). This is exactly why I don't bring books to school any more to read between classes. So leave the book at home from now on.

So why don't you walk up and ask to go get lunch together?? Boom, lunch buddies.

More than half the time, I actually wish I were in your shoes. But wearing even my "Books are like people. But interesting." shirt doesn't seem to give the idea to my coworkers that I rather eat alone on the days I actually wear it and have a book wide open and in plain sight.