Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
by Steve Almond
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+ An affectionate romp through candy nostalgia, not omitting biting commentary on the politics of big corporations vs. independent manufacturers
- Frequent forced humor
Not the easiest book to read on the treadmill, filled as it is with virtually pornographic paeans to a variety of candies. Motivated by his great love of candy, Almond tours several independent candy companies still hanging on in the U.S. If you like Americana or still bore your friends with tales of a local candy you enjoye...more
- Frequent forced humor
Not the easiest book to read on the treadmill, filled as it is with virtually pornographic paeans to a variety of candies. Motivated by his great love of candy, Almond tours several independent candy companies still hanging on in the U.S. If you like Americana or still bore your friends with tales of a local candy you enjoye...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone
This book is sweet. The author explores why sugar makes him shallow. The redeeming fact to this sweet and shallow book is the author apologizes for this in the preface and then goes deep to find the history, facts, industry, theories and thoughts surrounding sugar. Some of my favorite quotes from the this exploration:
" So, the question: Given all this moral knowledge, how can I lead the life of a unbridled candyfreak?"
"I hate most vegetable.................I realize t...more
" So, the question: Given all this moral knowledge, how can I lead the life of a unbridled candyfreak?"
"I hate most vegetable.................I realize t...more
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Read in March, 2008
What to say about Candy Freak? It's a quick read, for sure; easy prose that doesn't make you think too hard. The subject--the rise and fall and continual fight for survival by small-time candy makers--is inherently interesting, for a couple of reasons.
First, it's a weird and underappreciated history. Today, candy bars are just candy. But back in the day, the candy bar was a widespread, regional and diversified animal. Each area had it's own versions of candy bars, none the same, though all b...more
First, it's a weird and underappreciated history. Today, candy bars are just candy. But back in the day, the candy bar was a widespread, regional and diversified animal. Each area had it's own versions of candy bars, none the same, though all b...more
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Read in August, 2004
Checked out from the library & munched my way through it in a weekend.
If you're looking for a history of candymaking, this isn't the book for you. It's equally a memoir, and a paean to an obsession. Even though I'm not a candy bar aficionado (preferring my chocolate pure & dark), I found this exploration of the author's fascination with candy, complete with visits to regional candy makers very entertaining.
Almond (who comments on the irony of his last name) writes wryly of usin...more
If you're looking for a history of candymaking, this isn't the book for you. It's equally a memoir, and a paean to an obsession. Even though I'm not a candy bar aficionado (preferring my chocolate pure & dark), I found this exploration of the author's fascination with candy, complete with visits to regional candy makers very entertaining.
Almond (who comments on the irony of his last name) writes wryly of usin...more
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recommends it for:
humans
My review, 3.0:
First I would like to quote MC Pee Pants.
"I want candy, bubblegum and taffy.
Skip to the sweet shop with my girlfriend, Sandy.
Got my pennies saved. so I'm a sugar daddy.
I'm her Hume Cronyn, she my Jessica Tandy.
I want candy!
I need candy, any kind will do
Don't care if it's nutritious or FDA approved.
It's gonna make me spaz like bobcats on booze..."
etc, as the song stops being about candy.
The cover blurb calls the author "the Dave Eg...more
First I would like to quote MC Pee Pants.
"I want candy, bubblegum and taffy.
Skip to the sweet shop with my girlfriend, Sandy.
Got my pennies saved. so I'm a sugar daddy.
I'm her Hume Cronyn, she my Jessica Tandy.
I want candy!
I need candy, any kind will do
Don't care if it's nutritious or FDA approved.
It's gonna make me spaz like bobcats on booze..."
etc, as the song stops being about candy.
The cover blurb calls the author "the Dave Eg...more
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83 comments
Read in February, 2005
From a blog post in 2005:
What a fun and interesting read! The full title is Candyfreak - A Journey Through The Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond The author is a self-avowed candy addict and traces his addiction back to a childhood need for affection. His anecdotes about his childhood candy habits (hording, sorting and classifying candy as well as his Halloween strategy) and bonding with his Father (The Enabler) via candy bars are hilarious, touching and sometimes a bit sad.
T...more
What a fun and interesting read! The full title is Candyfreak - A Journey Through The Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond The author is a self-avowed candy addict and traces his addiction back to a childhood need for affection. His anecdotes about his childhood candy habits (hording, sorting and classifying candy as well as his Halloween strategy) and bonding with his Father (The Enabler) via candy bars are hilarious, touching and sometimes a bit sad.
T...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of BIG HUNK! , diabetics-to-be
I like candy. Not just chocolate, but ridiculous sugary goo, like Jolly Ranchers and Big Hunk. Most kids seem to grow out of their candy obsessions, but not me. So I was looking forward to reading this book by Steve Almond, a man whose candy mania dwarfs my own.
Candy Freak has the tone of a really enthusiastic zine, and if viewed as such it comes across better than if you judge it as a professional book. The writing style is gabby and confessional, which means the somewhat interes...more
Candy Freak has the tone of a really enthusiastic zine, and if viewed as such it comes across better than if you judge it as a professional book. The writing style is gabby and confessional, which means the somewhat interes...more
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2 comments
Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
those looking for a laugh or those who can't get enough chocolate into their diets.
I am most likely a sucker for this kind of memoir (see Word Freak for further confirmation) but I gobbled up Candy Freak faster than the basket of candy that accompanied it in the package a great pal presented to me as a birthday gift. Perfect for those who buy obscure candy bars simply because they haven't tasted them before and can't help but linger before candy displays wondering why chocolate's restorative powers aren't considered great enough to render it a reputable health food in the eye...more
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Read in December, 2007
I learned a lot from this book about the candy industry and how the Big Three (Mars, Hershey and Nestle) are pushing smaller, regional companies out of business -- and may succeed entirely if they start a price war. I also learned about some candy bars I really want to try.
My beef with Steve Almond, which applies to this book and to (Not That You Asked), is that he will suddenly switch from an interesting and funny, sometimes serio...more
My beef with Steve Almond, which applies to this book and to (Not That You Asked), is that he will suddenly switch from an interesting and funny, sometimes serio...more
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This book is about...well, a Candyfreak. Almond is obsessed with candy -- eating it, talking about it, thinking about it, keeping it around the house, finding new types. So he undertakes a trip cross-country to the few candy factories that will let him watch the process of making the stuff (the processes are highly proprietary, it seems).
Almond comes across a scarily neurotic and utterly likable, and who can't be happy reading about someone who loves candy? Sometimes he was trying a bit too...more
Almond comes across a scarily neurotic and utterly likable, and who can't be happy reading about someone who loves candy? Sometimes he was trying a bit too...more
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This was a fun little book. I, too, am a candy freak, so I couldn't resist. It was fun reading about all the chocolate bars I remember from my childhood, including the uniquely Southern, yummy-delicious, Goo Goo Cluster, and the Marathon bar, which was another favorite. (After I mentioned the bit about the Marathon bar to him, my husband spent about an hour reminiscing about this candy bar in rapturous terms usually reserved for swimsuit models and big-budget comic book movies). After finishing ...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Camilla by:
Adam Gollnerrecommends it for: people who care about candy
This book really surprised me. I was expecting an exploration of the dark obsessivity of the people who stash cases of their favorite limited edition candybars in their climate-controlled basements. And it is. But it's also much more than that. Most importantly, he champions the small regional candymakers still fighting it out in a world that has almost totally succumbed to the Big Three (Mars, Nestle, and Hershey's). It is essentially heritage food and should be protected lest we become a cultu...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
candy lovers
This book is pretty interesting, it explores how small regional candies are made. Mostly because the big chocolate companies, Mars, Nestle and Hershey's won't let anyone in to see their facilities. The process is really fascinating and I discovered some really interesting candies while reading this book, one being the GooGoo Cluster which is a southern treat so sweet it will make your teeth hurt (Southerners eat it with a can of Dr. Pepper to wash it down, ick). The other major discovery is ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
candy lovers and people who want to understand them
From this book, I learned that I am not much of a candyfreak. Although I go through occasional candyspasms (see the Carnival Skittles debacle of 2007), I'm perfectly happy with the occasional candy bar, Swedish fish, or Sour Patch Kids.
That said, I liked reading about Almond's obsession with candy and his search for obscure candy bars. I enjoyed reading about his visits with various chocolate companies and his childhood experiences with candy.
Also, I want to try those Five Star Bars now. H...more
That said, I liked reading about Almond's obsession with candy and his search for obscure candy bars. I enjoyed reading about his visits with various chocolate companies and his childhood experiences with candy.
Also, I want to try those Five Star Bars now. H...more
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What I learned: I am not a true candyfreak after all. There are those much more obsessed with chocolate. I did learn, however, that according to true candyfreaks, Lake Champlain Chocolates, made here in Burlington, are considered the cream of the crop, and i felt an obscene pride in that. It had a lot of information on how the big three candy companies have made it impossible for these little guys to make it, but somehow, it wasn't quite the expose i had anticipated. i did learn however, that ...more
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Almond tries to be too clever and pithy. He goes on about being too lazy to work and trying to get free candy by writing this book. It veers from memoir to awful journalism and back. He should read Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation to see how it's done.
Almond didn't delve deep enough to be a well-researched book about small candymakers. Simple google searches answered the questions that his book raised but did not resolve.
There wasn't much chocolate despite the subtitle.
There...more
Almond didn't delve deep enough to be a well-researched book about small candymakers. Simple google searches answered the questions that his book raised but did not resolve.
There wasn't much chocolate despite the subtitle.
There...more
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Read in October, 2007
It's a quick and mostly engaging read; my main complaint was that I tended to get bored when the author discussed his life without relating it to food. My favorite parts of the book were Almond's histories and descriptions of various candy bars, from the familiar (Snickers, Baby Ruth), to the unrecognizable (Twin Bing? Cherry Mash?). But the most intriguing and craving-inducing descriptions were of Lake Champlain chocolates' Five Star Bars. Almond's chapter about tasting these candies and visi...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book really got my sweet tooth aching! I loved reading about and remembering defunct candy bars, such as the Caravelle, the Marathon and the Powerhouse. It made me sad that so many smaller candy manufacturers have been forced out of business or bought up by predatory practices of the "big 3" (Hersheys, Mars and Nestle). I am very eager to buy candy from the few smaller companies that are still in business: Standard Candy Company (Googoo clusters), Idaho Candy Company (Idaho Spud),...more
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I finished this book this week, and I have two things to say about it.
First, today I was compelled to seek out an online candy retailer, and I bought 1 bag of Coffee Rios, 4 Goo Goo Clusters, 1 bag of Root Beer Barrels, 12 Slo Pokes suckers, 1 bag of Squirrel Nut Chocolate Caramels, 1 bag of Squirrel Nut Zippers, 4 Toffifays, and 4 Valomilks. I know you probably don't know how awesome that is, so you should read the book and find out.
Second, my teeth, pancreas, and waistline would like ...more
First, today I was compelled to seek out an online candy retailer, and I bought 1 bag of Coffee Rios, 4 Goo Goo Clusters, 1 bag of Root Beer Barrels, 12 Slo Pokes suckers, 1 bag of Squirrel Nut Chocolate Caramels, 1 bag of Squirrel Nut Zippers, 4 Toffifays, and 4 Valomilks. I know you probably don't know how awesome that is, so you should read the book and find out.
Second, my teeth, pancreas, and waistline would like ...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
The candy obsessed, like myself
This book has my name written all over it, and I loved it!! Now if only they would come out with a book called Cupcake Freak...Even if you haven't eaten a piece of candy every day of your entire life (like the author, Steve Almond, has), you can still appreaciate how funny this book and the author are. Also for those of you who like to read books about large coorporations taking out small local shops, consider this the candy version of that story.
Lastly, be prepared after reading this book ...more
Lastly, be prepared after reading this book ...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.88 (723 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.87 (565 ratings) number of reviews: 172popular shelves
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quote
"The answer is that we don't choose our freaks, they choose us."
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