You may have noticed how cool we think Escazu handmade chocolate is; not only does it make our list in the Guide to Cool, it even shows up in the editor's letter, along with a mention of a book called Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America.
When the temperatures are blazing this summer, we recommend staying inside and devouring this fantastic book, published by Chapel Hill's Algonquin Books and written by Steve Almond — no kidding on that last name — who received his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
The book chronicles Almond's quest to discover the origins of candy in America, to uncover the old-fashioned candy companies that are devoted to keeping the candy dream alive, and to discover for himself the most perfect bite of sweetness.
280 pages
Hardback
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
P.O. Box 2225, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27515
(919) 967-0108
www.algonquin.com
And for more cool reading, check out Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill's latest offerings, including Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek (debuts in August), the story of a young girl emotional maturation into adulthood; A Dangerous Age, by Ellen Gilchrist, in which three Southern womens' lives connect against the backdrop of war; and The Widows of Eden by George Shaffner, a novel that draws on a heat wave and a drought to set the stage for a dramatic turn of events when a mysterious stranger comes to town.
