I got a galley copy of Steve Almond’s new book Candyfreak earlier this week; it’s due out in May and it’s genuinely excellent. I think what I like about him is that he’s smart and self-conscious and funny without being pretentious or annoying like Dave Eggers. Anyway, when it comes out I’m buying like three copies to give to friends.
It’s quite a good piece to pair with Fat Land, which is about how this country got so… well… fat. Fat Land isn’t as good as Candyfreak or Fast Food Nation, my other relatively recent food-related read. But read it in tandem with Candyfreak and you’ll see the parallels. Add in Schlosser’s other book, Reefer Madness, and Michael The Botany of Desire, and you’ve got quite a collection of books about the way we consume, live, and grow today.
Secretly Ironic 