Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America

"Picture a magical, sugar-fueled road trip with Willy Wonka behind the wheel and David Sedaris riding shotgun, complete with chocolate-stained roadmaps and the colorful confetti of spent candy wrappers flying in your cocoa powder dust."

I like ice cream more than I care to admit. My husband and I once traveled 3 hours for an all-you-can-eat ice cream fair. Is it just me, or should Ben and Jerry change the label on the back of their cartons from 4 to 1? For anybody else who loves something more than you should, find solace in Steve Almond.

Almond is an unabashed, aptly named candy freak. This guy loves candy more than I love ice cream. We accompany him on a trek across the country to discover what happened to some of his beloved candies of yesteryear (do Goo Goo Clusters or Idaho Spuds ring a bell?) Even though you may not all crave candy, you will admire and even relate to Almond's passion.

Compared to recent Book Worm Club selections, this is a lightweight. Perfect in time for some fun summer reading, right? I garauntee at least a few laughs and a craving for a piece of chocolate.

One more thing...

I hope you all got something from the book and had a good experience reading it. I had a hard time coming up with specific questions because there are so many specific moments and lines that warrant discussion. What did the key symbolize? What did digging up the coffin accomplish? What's the deal with all the something and nothing spaces that the grandparents have? Why is the story of the sixth borough in there? On page 324 Oskar is in bed and his mom is looking over him. It says, "I don't believe in God, but I believe that things are extremely complicated, and her looking over me was as complicated as anything ever could be. But it was also incredibly simple. In my only life, she was my mom, and I was her son." Wow. I feel like this book is full of moments like this. Please find them and point out the moments that mean a lot to you or were especially powerful. I hope you all loved this book as much as I love it...

Question #1--Extremely Loud...

What did you think of Foer's style? Did the pictures and other visual techniques affect your reading of the novel? How? Do you have a favorite technique or picture that he used? Why do you think the doorknob recurs?

Question #2--Extremely Loud...

How did you feel about the characters in the book? Were they relatable? Especially Oskar and his grandmother are very unique individuals (remember how Oskar only wears white and always has his tambourine?). How was this important to the story?

Question #3--Extremely Loud...

How did the grandparents' story complement Oskar's story, or did it? Did the stories fit together? Why do you think Foer chose to tell both stories and not just one? How did it contribute to the overall message and themes?

Question #4--Extremely Loud...

As readers we do not get a clear picture of most of the relationships in the book until the very end, primarily because we see nearly everything from either Oskar's or the grandfather's point of view. This seems especially true of Oskar's relationship with his mother. What do you think Foer was trying to say about relationships?

Question #5--Extremely Loud...

What is the overall message and feeling you took away from the book? What does it all mean?

Question #6--Extremely Loud...

This book impacted me pretty strongly--I felt really strange afterwards. Sad and happy and very thoughtful. How did you feel when you finished? Also feel free to use this space to share any other questions, thoughts, or feelings you have.

"Foer can place his reader's hand on the heart of human experienc, the transcendent beauty of human connections. Read, you can feel the life beating." --Philadelphia Inquirer

Jonathan Safran Foer's first novel, Everything Is Illuminated, won numerous awards and was made into a really great movie (if anyone wants to check it out). Since I'm struggling to know exactly what to say, I'm copying and pasting something from a different website.

"Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the attack on the World Trade Center. An inspired creation, Oskar is alternately endearing, exasperating, and hilarious as he careens from Central Park to Coney Island to Harlem on his search. Along the way he is always dreaming up inventions to keep those he loves safe from harm. What about a birdseed shirt to let you fly away? What if you could actually hear everyone's heartbeat? His goal is hopeful, but the past speaks a loud warning in stories of those who've lost loved ones before. As Oskar roams New York, he encounters a motley assortment of characters who are all survivors in their own way. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close boldly approaches history and tragedy with humor, tenderness, and awe."

Just a warning. Foer's style is contemporary post-modernism, which means it might take some getting used to. He employs unusual techniques to amplify the power of his story. If you flip through the pages of the book you'll see blank pages, pictures, uneven spacing, and different type settings that are intended to make the experience of reading the prose more interactive--to immerse the reader entirely. Foer is an incredible writer, so immerse yourselves and enjoy.

Silent Spring Question #1

While this book was written in 1962, it seems that we are still facing some of the issues it addresses in a real way. Sam found this article yesterday. What do you think about it?