Diverse and fun reading

We’ve mentioned before that one of the great joys of being involved with Eat Your Books is the pretense that we need to stay up-to-date with food writing as part of our job. And another joy is the ability this blog offers to share some of our more under-the-radar finds with our readers. This morning we offer two books and two blogs that may be below that radar but merit attention:

According to Bloomberg, in China  Kentucky Fried Chicken has achieved such dominance over McDonald’s and local rivals that Colonel Harland Sanders’s image is a far more common sight in many Chinese cities than that of Mao. This fact gives a new book about the history of Kentucky Fried Chicken more than just national interest The book, Colonel Sanders and the American Dream  by Josh Ozersky, “details the rise to fame of the fried chicken chain and its incredibly recognizable white-suited icon.” Serious Eats has a review – check it out here.

Notice of our second book, Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley, comes  courtesy of Northwest Edible Life.  It’s not a book about bee-keeping; the site review notes that “The reason for this book’s broad appeal is simple: Seeley does an excellent job describing the how and why of honeybee group decision-making, and weaves a fascinating narrative of science along the way. Honeybee enthusiasts, sociologists, politicians and computer scientists will all find much to love, as will anyone who just enjoys a good tale of discovery.”

We also wanted to bring attention to a couple of new blogs we’ve run across. Turmeric and Saffron is an excellent source of information and recipes about Persian food. It has beautiful photography and well-tested recipes and delivers accurate and doable dishes from a not-well-understood cuisine. 

Finally, on the opposite spectrum, Parmesan cheese is certainly well-understood and has numerous admirers. If you consider yourself to be a member of the Parmesan fan club, you’ll enjoy Everyday Parmesan, which has pretty much everything you’ll ever need to use, enjoy, and savor Parmesan cheese.