White sand and warm sun'what's missing from this perfect spring break? FOOD. But sandy potato chips hardly fit this heavenly vignette. For the food-fanatic spring breaker, food literature can entice both the mind and the palate. Here are a few suggestions for your sunbathing enjoyment.
Many of us have forsaken sweets as part of our futile two-week weight loss plans. For a calorie-free candy fix, try Steven Almond's 'Candyfreak.'
Almond details his truly freakish obsession with candy, which leads him on a cross-country tour of small candy factories. But it's Almond's sweet enthusiasm which draws you in. His childish Halloween-route planning is hilariously quirky, but we all remember our neighborhoods'from the houses that gave out King Sizes to those that stiffed you with raisins.
The tropical sun will wreak havoc on a chocolate bar, but did you know M&M's candy shell was created to sell chocolate in warm climates? Tidbits like this fill Joel Brenner's 'The Emperors of Chocolate,' a look inside the secret worlds of Mars and Hershey.
Milton Hershey and Frank Mars, the real-life Willy Wonkas, brought the United States its love for chocolate and made a fortune in the process. The book details the philanthropic efforts of Hershey and the surprising humility of the Mars family'they still work 60-hour weeks in the factory'showing the family side of chocolate. Now you can proclaim that chocolate boasts antioxidants and family values.
If your exotic locale leaves you yearning for a greasy American burger, David Hogan's 'Selling 'Em By the Sack' is the answer. Hogan follows the history of White Castle, the creator of modern fast food.
White Castle founder Walt Anderson overcame cultural aversion to ground beef to create the first truly American cuisine, the hamburger. Hogan follows the rise and fall of White Castle as giants like McDonald's came to dominate the market.
To add intellectual flair to your bikini-clad appeal, nothing says 'I'm a thinker' like social critiques. Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation' reveals the corruption of the fast food industry.
Beyond claims of inadequate wages and poor food quality, Schlosser examines the fast food giants' control of all aspects of food production in the world and criticizes government regulation of this industry. Ultimately, Schlosser proves the greasy burger drips down throughout society.
If time away from campus makes your heart ache for a textbook, Alexandra Logue's 'The Psychology of Eating and Drinking' may offer the most practical knowledge.
Logue seeks to explain eating and drinking through psychology and genetics. She explains the biology behind appetite, as well how genes and experience meld in determining food favorites. Logue's explanations have a deliciously simple flow, allowing anyone to understand their subliminal attraction to Ian's Pizza.
Whether you choose a childish ode to candy or a psychoanalysis of your Qdoba obsession, a food book can be both entertaining and indulging. And (gasp!) you might actually learn something.
