Yum...I KNEW I liked this guy

...He's from Piscataway and his book is about New Jersey
...The cover of said book, I Shudder, features marshmallow peeps.
...And now...he lives on candy!

In the NY Times interview, Living for Candy, and Sugar-Coated Goblins, Paul Rudnick "reveals a horrible truth no parent wants published: It is possible, it seems, to live on candy."

"Mr. Rudnick is the living proof. At 51, 5-foot-10 and an enviably lean 150 pounds, Mr. Rudnick does not square with the inevitable mental image of a man who has barely touched a vegetable other than candy corn in nearly a half-century."

The Recipe Club:  A Tale of Food and Friendship by Nancy Garfinkel, Andrea Israel

“I’ve been to many combat zones, so I kn ow a real fight when I see one—and the characters in this book pull no punches. But what surprised me is how their conflict is just as engaging as their crazy humor and deep affection for each other. This book perfectly combines my two favorite things in the world: fiction and food. It's a great read.”—Bob Woodruff, ABC News anchor and journalist

Couldn't be more different

but in their own way, the reviews for these books captured my attention.

Washington Post reviewer, Carolyn See grabbed me with the word "stunned" and "high quality of the prose" in the first paragraph of her review of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nichaolas D. Kritoff and Sheryl WuDunn.

From See's Sept 11, 2009 review: "...this book is not a sermon about victims. Its range is wide, and sometimes it's even funny. In a wonderful, mordantly amusing chapter about big groups trying to impose their views on cultures they don't understand, the authors describe fundamentalist Christians trying as hard as they can to prevent contraception, and secular elites trying as hard as they can to advance it. But, as Kristof and WuDunn remind us, if you're down-and-out in a Congolese jungle, the Christian missionaries will be the ones there to provide you with food and medication."

On a totally different note,I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey by Paul Rudnick...
1) The cover - peeps! 2) NJ. (in fact, the author was born in Piscataway - Rutgers, my alma mater).
From Harper Collins: "...a side-splittingly funny collection of essays from Paul Rudnick, one of America’s preeminent humorists. Rudnick, who writes for The New Yorker and has written the screenplays for the films In and Out, Sister Act, and Addams Family Values, shares his hilarious observations on life in New York City and New Jersey, the perils of show business, and dealing with one’s family, however crazy they may be."
Featured September 12, 2009 on Studio 360