Almond, Steve - Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America

Steve Almond is a self-professed candy freak—he longs for the discontinued candies of his past and admits to stashing who knows how much candy in various nooks of his house. And so, he decides to write a book about candy, all the better to get access to various candymakers.

I'm not actually the biggest candy fan (give me plain dark chocolate any time of the day), but Almond makes these bars sound so good that I'm almost tempted to mail order them. He reminisces about candy from his childhood, rails against the Big Three of the candy world, and wishes there were more independent candy makers still around. However, thanks to prohibitively high stocking fees, it's nearly impossible for independent candy makers to get their products on chain store shelves, so many of them are stuck with a very limited regional audience.

Almond doesn't focus on the economics of candy making, nor of the colonialist implications some candy has (cacao), but it does appear in the book (the economics more than colonialist implications, though). Instead, he's incredibly good at describing various candy bars and how they're manufactured, from the very weird Twin Bing and Idaho Spud to the amazingly tasty-sounding Five Star Bar.

Also, it helps that he too dislikes dried coconut as much as me!

This isn't a particularly deep book, but Almond has a very distinctive and funny narrative voice (read a sample in Rachel's post, link below). It cheered me up reading it, which is really all I was asking for.

Links:
- rachelmanija's review

Triple, ep. 01-04

Lee Ha Ru is a high school girl who used to competitively skate before an accident five years ago. But now she wants to try again, and to get a good coach, she needs to move to Seoul. The problem is, the only person she knows there is the 30-some stepbrother who wants nothing to do with her.

Despite the premise, the story isn't actually about Ha Ru. She narrates the beginning and ending, but much of the focus is on her brother Shin Hwal and his two friends/housemates, Jo Hae Yoon (played by Lee Seon Gyun!) and Kang Hyun Tae.

I've been looking forward to this drama ever since I heard about it—figure skating! Lee Seon Gyun! Coffee Prince's PD!—but sadly, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep watching thanks to a specific character.

The show starts out as low-key and charming, and I very much love Ha Ru's developing relationship with her brother (platonic siblings, people, no incest!). I also love the focus on Ha Ru's skating and the guys' work creating ads. However, the non-Ha Ru female characters aren't faring particularly well. I keep wanting to whap Choi Su In, and I tend to be very forgiving of the "mean" female character! It's just that she has about as much backbone as a wet dish rag when it comes to men, and little personality to boot. She's best when she's coaching Ha Ru. Kang Sang Hee has a lot of quirks, but also very little personality. Like Hae Yoon, we never know what she's thinking, and so far, she seems extremely peripheral to the plot.

As such, all my favorite sequences happen in the house with Ha Ru goofing off and all three guys acting as gruff, vaguely amused, and/or pampering older brothers.

( Spoilers are annoyed )

So... does this get better? Or will I keep wanting to throw things? (Potential spoilers in comments!)

Oh, also! I am in the mood for fluffy romantic comedy dramas, preferably without gender politics that make me want to spork someone. Any recs? I liked Dal Ja's Spring, Coffee Prince, Fantasy Couple; I thought Kim Sam Soon was ok; and so far am liking My Fair Lady. Bonus points if it's available on Drama Fever! (Also, I don't really want to watch Goong, but if enough people are convincing, I will consider it.)