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Steam punk and magic abound! I wasn’t sure I would be able to get into this continuation of the original Mistborn trilogy, but I’m very glad I gave it a try. The original three Mistborn novels took place in a traditional fantasy setting and end with a definitive conclusion. This book picks up three hundred years after those events in a kind of western/Victorian era. This setting isn’t typically something I seek out, but the degree to which I enjoyed Sanderson’s previous novels encouraged me to give it a chance. The characters are fun, the pacing is quick, and the mysteries and intrigue are as entertaining as ever. Sanderson has continued to innovate his world’s magic system, which leads to creative problem solving in the story. You could start here or with the original trilogy, and I highly recommend both. |
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Fairy Tale: A Novel by Stephen King Stephen King takes inspiration from Arthurian legend, the Grimm brothers, and J. R. R. Tolkien to craft this fantasy adventure. A seventeen-year-old boy inherits the keys to a parallel world with monsters, giants, a castle with a hoard of treasure, and other magical things. Like a knight on a quest, he must battle hideous creatures, save the realm, and win the love of a princess. I’m a sucker for Stephen King, and his books are always entertaining. Fairy Tale may not be his best work, but it’s still a good read. Interestingly enough, Stephen King wrote Fairy Tale during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, perhaps he wanted to give his readers an escape from reality and forget the crazy events of 2020-2021. King is 75 years old, which makes me wonder how many more novels he has in him. So, enjoy Uncle Stephen’s stories as much as you can. As long as he keeps crafting stories, I’ll always read them.
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Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss I don't know about you, but I've never considered Life Savers a breakfast food. But Kraft General Foods apparently did, because in 1999 it introduced a breakfast version of its popular Lunchables product that included pancakes, syrup, icing, Tang, and Life Savers. This high-octane breakfast for children boasted 76 grams of sugar. Nutritionists and health advocacy groups criticized this breakfast and other Lunchables products, claiming the healthiest part of these meals was the paper napkin. Kraft General Foods, owned at that time by Phillip Morris, eventually dropped the product from the highly profitable Lunchables line. The development of Lunchables and the ensuing debate over their ingredients and marketing is just one of the incredible stories Michael Moss investigates in Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, a highly readable exposé of the processed food industry. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, Moss may be best known for uncovering the use of "pink slime" hamburger in public schools. He chose salt, sugar, and fat as his focal points because they comprise "the foundation of processed food," and food scientists alter the structure of these ingredients "to achieve the greatest allure for the lowest possible cost." Did you know Nestlé has figured out how to redistribute fat droplets in ice cream to make consumers think the ice cream is fattier than it really is? On top of such fine-tuned manipulation, processed food manufacturers wield considerable political clout and employ marketing strategies borrowed from the tobacco industry. Are you aware that food manufacturers play upon the difficulty children have in distinguishing between "the editorial content of TV and the persuasive intent of the advertisements”? If you read Salt Sugar Far, you’ll learn how the U.S. government has helped boost cheese intake by 3 pounds per person per year since 2001 while simultaneously advising citizens to limit their intake of saturated fats. Moss shares tales from the trenches at General Foods, Unilever, Kellogg's, and other companies, but his even-handed book also includes stories of executives who quit the game out of a sense of social responsibility. Jeffrey Dunn, a former Coca-Cola executive, had his epiphany while walking through a Rio de Janeiro barrio, one of the company's prime target areas. As Dunn looked around at people living in shacks, he said to himself, "These people need a lot of things, but they don't need a Coke." What's the hapless consumer--pressed for time, bargain-seeking, and "hard-wired for sweets"--to do? Salt Sugar Fat is lean on practical advice, but Moss never intended it to be a dietary guide. (For that type of book, check out Gary Taube’s The End of Sugar, David Kesler's The End of Overeating, and Marion Nestle's What to Eat.) Instead, Salt Sugar Fat is the smoking gun and clarion call rolled into one. Moss insists, "They may have salt, sugar, and fat on their side, but we, ultimately have the power to make choices." After reading Salt Sugar Fat you will also have the power to make informed choices.
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