Trader Joe’s, circa 1877: “It’s always the same complaint: ‘Joe, you don’t have any of the essential items that every other trading post has. Why don’t you have saddles? Or gunpowder? Or basic tools?’ Because I have soy chorizo, that’s why! Because I have chocolate-covered peanut-butter-filled pretzels!”
Cash, Credit, or Barter?
Burrito Lit Vol. 2
Attention literature-lovers and burrito-consumers: Chipotle has announced the second batch of writers, including Barbara Kingsolver, Amy Tan, and Neil Gaiman, for its Cultivating Thought series, which places short pieces of writing on soda cups and paper bags (we covered the first series here).
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The Young Girl Grows Old
In honor of Lolita’s 60th anniversary, Alexandra Kleeman, Josephine Livingstone, Anna Wiener, and seven other writers reread Nabokov’s magnum opus. Pair with this Millions essay about designing the book cover.
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Pricey Pads
A real estate blog has calculated the approximate value of Hogwarts, and you might be surprised to learn that it’s worth only a fraction of a real life abode in Mumbai, and only about three times more than one in Orlando.
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“A testament to the ‘borderless world'”
Year In Reading contributor Scott Esposito interviewed László Krasznahorkai’s translator Ottilie Mulzet. Among the topics they discuss is Seiobo There Below, Krasznahorkai’s most recent novel. It will be published this spring.
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The American Salander: Rooney Mara
At W, a first look at American actress Rooney Mara in character as Lisbeth Salander. The relatively unknown Mara, recently of David Fincher's The Social Network, has been cast as Salander to Daniel Craig's Mikael Blomkvist in Fincher's American film version of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The obvious question: does Mara have the chops to outshine Noomi Rapace's Salander?