What are you reading?

The book I just finished was "In Defense of Food," by Michael Pollan, but the one I really liked was his one before that, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which made me read his second one. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" is a work of art. It's an incredible book because it's so carefully researched about where our food comes from, but it's written in this beautiful way. What I like is it doesn't preach but lays out the facts, like in good journalism. ... But "In Defense of Food" is preachy, and starts out the first half more factual and explains nutritionism, which is actually phony reductionist science. ...

What do you like most about "The Omnivore's Dilemma"?

I like books that just give you a lot of information and then assume you're smart enough to make up your own mind. They are very polite to the reader, and readers like that — not being treated like you're an idiot and need to be told what to do. I like it, too, because it takes you places that you couldn't go on your own, like following a cow up to the moment it's killed in the stockyard. ... Kind of like journalism, you can get to places and see things that are hidden and off limits.

Are you drawn to books like this because as a journalist you give viewers the story they can't acquire themselves?

Most people who are journalists are inherently curious, so I'm drawn to any type of book that takes me somewhere and makes me interested in something. ...