First, if you're interested in reading about people who have made cooking their life's work, we have a couple of biographies that might interest you. There are short biographies about Bobby Flay and Paula Deen, and we have a longer biography called Yes, Chef about Marcus Samuelsson. His story is very interesting as he grew up in Sweden, having been adopted from Ethiopia. It's an inspiring story to see what a young person can do when they develop a talent and pursue a dream.
We also have books about lifestyle eating. Two books that offer different perspectives are The Smart Girl's Guide to Going Vegetarian by Rachel Meltzer Warren and Paleo Girl by Leslie Klenke. Both offer advice for the young person who wants to make informed choices about eating. While many people are familiar with vegetarian diets, The Smart Girl's Guide offers advise for maintaining proper nutrition, shopping, eating out, and recipes to get you started. Paleo Girl is about more than just the food. It is a lifestyle based on natural, unprocessed foods. This style tends to go the opposite way of vegetarianism and encourages meats and whole grains. Again, there are recipes included to get you started.
If you are interested in world cuisine, you might enjoy What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio. This book travels the world and offers a visual story of what families buy as a weeks worth of groceries. It is very interesting to compare what a typical family in an African village might eat with an average American family in Texas. It's also very interesting to see the different products that are considered staples in different parts of the world.
So, those are some thoughts on food. I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate some good food during Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season.