Posts tagged with Wicked Plants

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July 20, 2010

Ask Dr. Bleedingheart

Bleeding Heart BlossomsDear Dr. Bleedingheart,

I’ve leaving in a few weeks for a vacation with extended family at a beach house that we’ve rented for a week. Do you have any tips for surviving the week with family while still having fun?

Thanks,

Beach Mom

Dear Beach Mom,

What you need is a project.  Fathers, fathers-in-law, and grandfathers in particular need some handy little project they can complete together over a case of beer.  They’ll be out there for hours and they won’t speak, except to ask whether there’s an extra charger for the cordless drill, but somehow they’ll have a great time and feel like they’ve bonded like never before.

Pick something non-essential so it doesn’t feel like too much of a chore.  For instance, can you pour concrete paving stones and have the kids embed seashells in them?  That’ll get the guys working on mixing concrete and the kids collecting shells.  (This assumes, of course, that you’re not going home by train and could actually bring some heavy paving stones back with you.)

Or get everyone involved in building a sculpture of found art.  There’s something about driftwood that brings out the sculptor in all of us.  Somebody will have to be handy with a glue gun, a drill, or rolls of wire. A spot of bright sea-green paint might be in order. Be sure to incorporate “found” garbage into it, so that you’re leaving the beach cleaner than you found it.   (Here’s a hint:  Start one of these projects by yourself, and take the Tom Sawyer/Aunt Polly approach of being highly skeptical about whether anyone else is really qualified to help. That’ll get them begging to participate.)

If you can’t bring your sculpture home with you, perhaps the owners of the beach cottage would appreciate a piece of yard art.  Failing that, take inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy and create an art project out of natural materials that will simply wash away with the next high tide.

Amy StewartAmy Stewart is the author of From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and the New York Times bestsellers Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Find more from her at Garden Rant.

Submit your own horticultural question to Dr. Bleedingheart by emailing it to: katie [at] algonquin [dot] com

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June 28, 2010

Ask Dr. Bleedingheart

Bleeding Heart BlossomsDear Dr. Bleedingheart,

I’m attending a housewarming party for a young couple who love good food and outdoor entertaining. I want to get them something useful and enduring–maybe to help with their garden or to use in the kitchen. What’s new in the world of DIY home and garden products? Or would it be best to go with an old standby?

Thank you,

Giftless

Dear Giftless,

Ah, yes, the socially awkward housewarming gift.  You bring a nice bottle of wine to someone who has a giant wine cellar, and it’s like delivering a truckload of manure to a dairy farm.  Bring the same nice bottle to somebody who drinks their wine out of a box, usually over ice and sometimes with a splash of Sprite on top, and—well—it’s like delivering a truckload of manure to a studio apartment.  Either way, it’s unappreciated.

But the phrase “outdoor entertaining” is encouraging.  It’s not quite the same as “gardening,” is it?   “Outdoor entertaining,” like “outdoor living,” is one of those trendy phrases that suggests that a person might have a garden, even if they don’t actually do any gardening.

And for those people for whom “garden” is a noun, not a verb, the solution is easy.  This time of year, one simply cannot have too many herbs in one’s outdoor entertaining space.  Go down to the garden center and pick up as many interesting varieties of basil as you can find.  A good garden center will have Thai basil, purple basil, lemon basil, a small-leafed Greek basil, and the regular broad-leafed basil you see everywhere.  Buy a simple clay pot for five to ten bucks, cram all the varieties of basil into one pot, and you’re done. Don’t worry if they’ve already got a herb garden—no one can have too much basil.

Amy StewartAmy Stewart is the author of From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and the New York Times bestsellers Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Find more from her at Garden Rant.

Submit your own horticultural question to Dr. Bleedingheart by emailing it to: katie [at] algonquin [dot] com

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May 21, 2010

Ask Dr. Bleedingheart

Bleeding Heart BlossomsDear Dr. Bleedingheart,

I have recently adopted some pet snails.  Now they are having snail babies! The soil in the terrarium has little tiny bugs in it; I think they might have come from a medium-sized stick I put in there. I want to replace the soil to get rid of the bugs, but am a little concerned about moving around or touching the snail eggs. Do you think it would be okay if I took them out really quickly to clean out the terrarium?

Signed,

Living with Snails

Dear Living,

Wow.  And I thought it was weird to keep earthworms as pets.  Are you sure that these snails were, in fact, really up for adoption?  I’d hate to think of their snail families searching for them all night long, leaving “Missing Snail” slime trails on the sidewalk in hopes that someone will see their cry for help and bring their loved ones back.

But let’s assume that your snails are happy in their new environment.  After all, they’ve started a family.  Most snails, as you may know, are hermaphrodites, so as the eggs hatch you’ll get to witness a glorious experiment in communal, gender-free child-rearing.  Sounds like a good topic for a book.

As for the tiny bugs and the cleanliness issue:  These are snails!  They don’t want you to clean up after them. They want to live among dirt and muck and rotting leaves.  The presence of bugs, spiders, worms, and other living creatures will only make them feel more at home.  Will the bugs eat their eggs?  Maybe.  But that’s nature, and snails, after all, are part of nature.  For all we know, the snails are going to eat the eggs.  Let it go.

If you want to clean up after a pet, get a puppy.  But if you’re raising snails, make their environment as earthy as possible.  Embrace the mess.  Sure, the French place snails in sterile containers filled with nothing but cornmeal to clean out the snails’ digestive systems.  But then they eat them!  And that’s no way to treat a pet.

Amy StewartAmy Stewart is the author of From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms, and the New York Times bestsellers Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers and Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. Find more from her at Garden Rant.

Submit your own horticultural question to Dr. Bleedingheart by emailing it to: katie [at] algonquin [dot] com

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December 8, 2009

Our Fruitcake-Free Holiday Gift Guide

Don’t want to give Dad a pair of GoldToe socks again this year? We don’t blame you. That’s why no matter who’s on your list, Algonquin has the perfect gift…

For Her

Going Away Shoes

Dinner DiariesLast BiteGoing Away Shoes
By Jill McCorkle

Eleven short stories, full of longing and laughter, from the “guardian angel of short fiction.”

The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World
By Betsy Block

A humorous, life-changing book on mom’s mission to achieve the ultimate of all makeovers: improving the family meal. Complete with helpful charts, food lists, recipes, tips, and suggested culinary and farm programs for kids.

Last Bite: A Novel of Culinary Romance
By Nancy Verde Barr

Casey Costello, an executive chef at morning television show, is too busy for men…that is until she’s unexpectedly whisked off her feet by the adorable Danny O’Shea, a rising chef from Ireland who seems like he may be more trouble than he’s worth.

For Him

Hard Work Boone

Far Bright StarHard Work: A Life On and Off the Court
By Roy Williams with Tim Crothers

An inspiring memoir from the head coach of the UNC Tar Heels Men’s Basketball team.

Boone: A Biography
By Robert Morgan

This rich, authoritative biography offers a wholly new perspective on a man who has been an American icon for more than two hundred years.

Far Bright Star: A Novel
By Robert Olmstead

Napoleon Childs, an aging cavalryman,  leads an expedition of inexperienced soldiers into the mountains of Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa and bring him to justice.

For the Gardener

Wicked PlantsA Rose by Any NameThe $64 TomatoWicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities
By Amy Stewart

An A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend.

A Rose by Any Name: The Little-Known Lore and Deep-Rooted History of Rose Names
By Douglas Brenner and Stephen Scanniello

With full-color art throughout, this eclectic little volume is a marvelous miscellany starring what is arguably the world’s most popular flower.

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
By William Alexander

Part humor tale and part garden memoir, The $64 Tomato follows Bill Alexander on his journey from organic idealist to pragmatic food producer, and from eager backyard gardener to tired gentleman farmer–taking time along the way to reflect on ecology, nature, and the meaning of it all.

For the Foodie

The Feasting SeasonSouthern BellySeasoned in the SouthThe Feasting Season
By Nancy Coons

Meg Parker is a harried mom in a lackluster marriage until she lands a dream assignment: to write a guidebook about French history. Follow her adventures as lamb daube, paella and rosé, bull steak and anchioade, Brebis and strawberries awaken her senses.

Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover’s Companion to the South
By John T. Edge

Spark a delicious road-trip with this guide to savory, Southern restaurants!

Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook’s Corner and from Home
By Bill Smith

Structured around the seasons and the freshest seasonal foods, this cookbook offers up marvelously uncomplicated recipes— Tomato and Watermelon Salad, Fried Green Tomatoes with Sweet Corn and Lemon Beurre Blanc, Pork Roast with Artichoke Stuffing, and his signature dish, Honeysuckle Sorbet—the new bistro food of the South.

For the 20-Something

Our NoiseHemingway & Bailey's Bartending GuideRock OnOur Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small
By John Cook with Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance

The exuberant story–in words and pictures–of a much-loved indie record label that, despite the odds, has become a major success story.

Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers
Illustrated by Edward Hemingway; Text by Mark Bailey

The perfect blend of classic cocktail recipes, literary history, and tales of the good old days of extravagant Martini lunches and delicious excess.

Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
By Dan Kennedy

Kennedy chronicles his misadventures at a major record label. Whether he’s directing a gangsta rapper’s commercial or battling his punk roots to create an ad campaign celebrating the love songs of Phil Collins, Kennedy’s in way over his head in this power-ballad to office life and rock and roll.

For the Travel Enthusiast

A Thousand Days in TuscanyVery Washington DCNew Orleans, Mon AmourA  Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure
By Marlena de Blasi

In search of the rhythms of country living, Marlena and her husband move to a barely renovated former stable in Tuscany with no phone, no central heating, and something resembling a playhouse kitchen. They dwell among two hundred villagers, ancient olive groves, and hot Etruscan springs. Together, they discover the soul of Tuscany and explore all the land has to offer.

Very Washington DC: A Celebration of the History and Culture of  America’s Capital City
By Diana Hollingsworth Gessler

A travel guide with character, this fact-filled keepsake offers all the history, beauty, charm, and culture of our nation’s capital city. Also included are an index of sites and a useful appendix of addresses, Web sites, Metro stops, and phone numbers.

New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City
By Andrei Codrescu

New Orleans has been author Andrei Codrescu’s hometown for over twenty years. This collection of essays is an epic love song , a clear-eyed elegy, a cultural celebration, and a thank-you note to New Orleans in its Golden Age.

For the Pet Lover

My Therapist's DogFirst DogsEnslaved by DucksMy Therapist’s Dog: Lessons in Unconditional Love
By Diana Wells

An intriguing exploration into the rewards of relationships–both the canine and human varieties–begins when the author agrees to dog-sit for her therapist. What follows is an exploration of our canine connection: what we name our dogs, how we breed them, how we’ve explored the wilderness with them, the kinds of literature we write about them, why we love them, and, most important, what we can learn from them.

First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Best Friends
By Roy Rowan and Brooke Janis

A lighthearted romp through American history, packed with drawings and paintings from early America, plus photographs, starting with Abraham Lincoln’s Fido all the way to Obama’s Bo.

Enslaved by Ducks
By Bob Tarte

Bob gets more than he bargains for when he marries Linda and moves to rural Michigan: there’s Binky, a belligerent rabbit who craves high voltage wires; Ollie, a tyrannical parakeet who brutally attacks the Tartes; and Stanely Sue, the gender-bending parrot; and more. This hilarious account gives us the other side of animal ownership: the complicated logistics of blending species under one roof, the intricate routines that evolve before you realize it, and ultimately, the distinct and insistent personalities of every animal inside—and outside—the house.

-christina

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December 3, 2009

Algonquin Loving from the AHS Book Awards Committee

Scott Calhoun, who sits on the American Horticultural Society’s Book Award Committee, recently announced his top three picks for the 2010 prize — and two of them are published by yours truly! Says Calhoun, “This year, the quality of the writing and depth of the research is shining through.”

Read below for his Algonquin picks and praise, and check out the full article on his site here. -christina

Calhoun's PicksLucinda Fleeson’s Waking Up in Eden: In Pursuit of an Impassioned Life on an Imperiled Island is vastly different from The Brother Gardeners, but no less compelling. As the print newspaper business enters an uncertain and depressing twilight, Fleeson leaves her successful career as a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter for a job at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai. Her firsthand personal accounts of garden politics, seemingly doomed native plant conservation efforts,  horseback riding, and outrigger canoeing are all top-notch, but perhaps what Fleeson does best is articulate her own emotional terrain.  The way she chronicles her transformation from cultured urbanite to a woman who realizes that there is “no enjoyment difference between attending the opera in London or a potluck with friends on Kauai” is fun to witness. For anyone hoping to go fearlessly into  middle-age, or boldly navigate a path out it, Fleeson’s memoir could easily serve as a template.

And lastly, we come to the prolific Amy Stewart’s latest work, her smarting little tome of pain and suffering by horticulture: Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. The book is organized reference style, and each plant’s deadly, toxic, or inflammatory qualities are relayed like a well-told campfire ghost story. Consider the way Stewart begins her description of Mala Mujer (bad woman): “A group of teenagers went hiking in the Mexican desert and came back with a mysterious rash. The next day, one girl went to the doctor complaining of red itchy spots on her hand…” Each time I looked up a plant that I knew well in Wicked Plants, Stewart’s research was spot-on and presented in a lively (or should I say deadly?) manner. Such was the case with sacred datura, or jimson weed, a plant whose white flowers Georgia O’Keefe choose as the subject for some of her most sensuous paintings. Because it is so pretty, I sometimes specify this plant for use in clients’ gardens, but every once in a while a story appears in the local paper about some teenagers who were hospitalized after eating its seeds. In the garden outside my office, I have bushel loads of sacred datura growing, but after reading Stewart’s description of the effects of ingesting tropane alkaloids, I lost my desire to experiment. The American colonists fed jimson weed to the British soldiers who were there to put down colonial unrest; Stewart coyly remarks, “The British soldiers did not die, but they did go crazy for eleven days, temporarily giving the Americans the upper hand.” Although the fact-filled writing is the main focus of Wicked Plants, the wonderful etchings and morbid drawings make the package complete.

From Scott Calhoun’s Desert

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November 17, 2009

Wicked Plants Exhibit at Vander Veer Botanic Garden

Wicked PlantsVander Veer Botanic Garden, in Davenport, Iowa, recently hosted a “Wicked Plants” exhibit, inspired by Amy Stewart‘s book.

Check out the photos!

This spider spells out the danger that is to come!

This spider has woven a welcome to the Wicked Plants exhibit!

The leaves of the Rubber Tree, native to the Amazon jungle, produce the sticky latex used in pencil erasers and tires. But in the wild, its ripe fruits explode with a loud crack, sending cyanide laden seeds several yards in every direction. Watch out!

The leaves of the Rubber Tree, native to the Amazon jungle, produce the sticky latex used in pencil erasers and tires. But in the wild, its ripe fruits explode with a loud crack, sending cyanide laden seeds several yards in every direction. Watch out!

Oleander is popular in gardens, prized for its red, pink, yellow, or white blossoms. But this highly toxic shrub contains oleandrin, a cardiac glycoside that brings on nausea and vomiting, severe weakness, irregular pulse, and a decreased heart rate that leads quickly to death.

Oleander is popular in gardens, prized for its red, pink, yellow, or white blossoms. But this highly toxic shrub contains oleandrin, a cardiac glycoside that brings on nausea and vomiting, severe weakness, irregular pulse, and a decreased heart rate that leads quickly to death.

Chrysanthemums are very popular in gardens, and their blossoms have been used in teas and for medicinal purposes. But, the plants can cause a severe allergic reaction. Some people may develop skin rashes, swollen eyes, and other symptoms.

Chrysanthemums are very popular in gardens, and their blossoms have been used in teas and for medicinal purposes. But, the plants can cause a severe allergic reaction. Some people may develop skin rashes, swollen eyes, and other symptoms.

So consider yourself warned, and now, go warn others!

So consider yourself warned, and now, go warn others!

-Katie

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October 28, 2009

The Cake Boss Takes on Our Wicked Plants

On Monday, October 26, our very own Amy Stewart appeared on TLC’s popular new reality show, Cake Boss. Back in July, the Cake Boss team was so inspired by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden “Wicked Plants” exhibit–based on Stewart’s hit book, Wicked Plants–they whipped up a sinister Venus Flytrap cake that was unveiled at BBG.

Amy is amazed to see her book interpreted as cake!

Amy is amazed to see her book interpreted as cake!

Can you believe this thing? It’s like a fondant-covered tribute to Little Shop of Horrors!

The entire cake, with the exception of the neck made from PVC piping, was edible. The head was a giant Rice Krispies treat wrapped in green modeling chocolate! The planter was made of vanilla and chocolate cake with mocha filling. Yum! And an added bonus: all of the crafted garden flowers (poisonous and otherwise malicious, as Wicked Plants will tell you) were 100 percent safe for munching!

The full episode, “Plants, Pranks, and a Proposal,” is available at TLC’s website, and you should definitely check it out. The process–from planning to execution–is amazing! You can see a snapshot of the evolution below. I don’t know about you, but this has me hungry for cake. FEED ME!

-christina

P.S. Remember, you can enter to win a copy of this book (and two other equally awesome titles!) all this week. Each comment you leave counts as an entry (but one comment per post, please)!

Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart--the centerpiece of the Cake Boss consultation!

Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart--the centerpiece of the Cake Boss consultation!

Buddy Valastro

The Boss, Buddy, investigates Stewart's Wicked Plants. Get a load of his reaction!

Buddy works to bring the blueprint model (left) to life!

Buddy works to bring the blueprint (left) to life!

Buddy crafts and hand-paints the Hydrangea clusters; Amy finds them delicious!

Buddy crafts and hand-paints the hydrangea clusters; Amy finds them delicious! (Real hydrangeas have cyanide. Yikes!)

The transport was perilous, but everyone made it one piece!

The transport was perilous, but everyone made it in one piece!

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Consider Yourself Warned…

Castor BeanCastor bean (Ricinus communis)

One autumn morning in 1978, communist defector and BBC journalist Georgi Markov walked across London’s Waterloo Bridge and stood waiting at a bus stop.  He felt a painful jab in the back of his thigh and turned around in time to see a man pick up an umbrella, mumble an apology, and run away.  Over the next few days, he developed a fever, had trouble speaking, began throwing up blood, and finally went to the hospital, where he died.

The pathologist found hemorrhages in almost every organ in his body.  He also found a small puncture mark on Markov’s thigh and a tiny metal pellet in his leg.  The pellet contained ricin, the poisonous extract of the castor bean plant. Although KGB agents were suspected of the crime, no one has ever been charged with the infamous “umbrella murder.”

Castor bean is a dramatic annual or tender perennial shrub with deeply lobed leaves, prickly seed pods, and large, speckled seeds.  Some of the more popular garden varieties sport red stems and splashes of burgundy on the leaves.  The plant can reach over ten feet tall in a single growing season, and will grow into a substantial bush if it is not killed by a winter freeze. Only the seeds are poisonous. Three or four of them can kill a person, although people do survive castor seed poisoning, either because the seeds aren’t well chewed, or because they purge them quickly.

Castor oil has been a popular home remedy for a variety of ailments for centuries. (The ricin is removed during the manufacturing process.)  A spoonful of the oil is an effective laxative. Castor oil packs are used externally to soothe sore muscles and inflammation. It’s also used as an industrial lubricant and in cosmetics and other products.

But even this natural vegetable oil is not entirely benign — in the 1920s, Mussolini’s thugs used to round up dissidents and pour castor oil down their throats, inflicting a nasty case of diarrhea on them.  Sherwood Anderson described the castor oil torture this way: “It was amusing to see Fascisti, wearing black shirts and looking very earnest, bottles sticking out of their hip pockets, chasing wildly down the street after a shrieking Communist.  Then the capture, the terrible assault, hurling the luckless Red to the sidewalk, injecting the bottle into his mouth to the muffled accompaniment of blasphemy of all the gods and devils in the universe.”

Family:  Euphorbiaceae

Habitat:  Warm, mild-winter climates, rich soil, sunny areas

Native to:  Eastern Africa, parts of western Asia

Common names:  Castor bean, palma Christi, ricin

Meet the relatives: The garden spurge called euphorbia, known for its irritating sap; the poinsettia, also mildly irritating but, contrary to rumor, not dangerous; and the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, source of natural rubber.

Excerpted from the New York Times bestseller Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart. For more example of plants behaving badly, check out the author video below. And stay tuned tomorrow for the very first installment of Amy Stewart’s delicious new column, Dr. Bleedingheart! Plus, don’t forget you can enter to win a copy of this book along with two other Halloween-spirited titles all this week; details here.

-christina

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October 26, 2009

Your Required Halloween Reading

No matter what you have planned for Halloween, these books from the Workman Family have got you covered. (Click on the book covers below to learn more.)

Curling up with a spooky read while you wait for the trick-or-treaters?

Doctor Olan van Schuler's Brain

Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain

Or maybe curling up with a spooky read hoping to ward off those trick-or-treaters with your own Wicked Garden?

Wicked Plants

Wicked Plants

In need of a creative and last-minute Halloween costume?

The Halloween Handbook

The Halloween Handbook

In need of a creative and last-minute Halloween Costume . . . made out of duct tape?

The Original Duct Tape Halloween

The Original Duct Tape Halloween

Trick-or-treating and missing the candy of your youth? (Whatever happened to Caramelle bars and Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Mint, anyway?)

Candyfreak

Candyfreak

Serving creepy treats at your Halloween party, like Monster Eyeballs,
Spidery Cupcakes, or Ladies’ Fingers?

Ghoulish Goodies

Ghoulish Goodies

Whatever your plans are, we recommend these titles to help you make the most of the season. You can thank us later, after a fun-filled evening sipping Screaming Red Punch and nibbling a Goo Goo Cluster while dressed as a Batty-Chia Pet: (cover yourself in duct tape–sticky side out–and roll around on freshly mown grass).

-Katie

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Wickedly Good Book Booty Giveaway!

To celebrate Halloween, we have a new Book Booty giveaway to announce! One lucky commenter will win copies of THREE of our favorite books for the holiday! To enter, just add a (thoughtful) comment to ANY of the posts that you read all this week. EACH comment you leave from now until noon (eastern) Friday, October 30, will count as an eligible entry–but please, only one comment per post. We’ll announce the winner on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Good luck!

This week’s Book Booty bundle includes:

ghoulish goodies Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers

Brought to you courtesy of our fellow imprint, Storey. Add a ghoulish thrill to Halloween, birthdays, and any event that might call for creepy treats like Cheddar Eyeballs, Ladies’ Fingers, or Choco-Bats. These recipes are sure to delight partygoers of all ages!

Wicked Plants by Amy StewartWicked Plants

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. In Wicked Plants, Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend.

CandyfreakCandyfreak by Steve Almond

Big Hunks, Abba-Zabas, Goo Goo Clusters, Valomilks, Twin Bings, Idaho Spuds, and more . . . Steve Almond takes a hilarious, sugar-high tour through America’s forgotten candy companies. Part social history and part stand-up comedy, Candyfreak offers us the bittersweet story of how America grew up on candy and how, for better or worse, candy has grown up, too.

Keep those comments coming!

-Katie

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