Candy Freak by Steve Almond

Mallo-Cups, 5th Avenue, Turtle Bar, Necco Wafers, Original Bubble Yum, Harry London's Mint Bar..just getting started. I am a freak. There are certainly many of us, but perhaps Steve Almond is a bit more freakish than most. The guy has a serious affinity for candy, and a sensual attachment to the ultimate sweet. The way he describes a chocolate enrober is positively poetic, and a bit too intimate for comfort- but no doubt you start thinking about the waves on top of your bar a bit more. This book is not for kids. Toooooo bad, as candy freakdom starts in childhood, and kids understand candy. Now, certainly you'll be able to share parts of the book, or at least knowledge gleaned from the book with your children- but don't hand this one over, okay? If you are a foodie, this book will appeal to you. If you like candy, this book will appeal to you, and if you are a freak, what are you waiting for??? I have started looking at the candy aisle in a much friendlier way, and with a detective's nose, looking for the obscure small candy companies with the kahunas to duke it out on the same shelves with the big three (that being, Hershey's, Nestle and Mars). And you need kahunas, as well as the bucks to shelve out "shelving fees", which is what you pay the store to put the product on their shelves, and it is in the multi thousands. Just look at Walmart, or your grocery store, and see how many candy products are not from the big three that you can put your hands on.... pretty sparse. Candy used to be very regional. Each area of the country, each state, had their bars and they were fresh and local. Not so any longer. With my new found knowledge, I am looking for a Idaho friend to send me an "Idaho Spud" and a Iowa friend to ship me a "Twin Bing", and a California friend to post me a "Aba-Zaba". Also accepting Five-Star Bars, Valomilk and Goo Goo Clusters- my mouth is as open as my curiosity. And I am frantically sharing all these tastes with my children before the little candy companies melt and go the way of the Caravelle Bar...extinct.