Slog - Comments on Starbooks http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks I ran across this nice story in the LA Times about Ishmael Beah, a young writer whose memoir of being a child soldier in the Sierra Leone civil war has become the second book Starbucks had decided to sell: And now, with Starbucks' decision to promote and sell his book in more than 6,000 stores, the 26-year-old author has been thrust into the role of spokesman for child soldiers worldwide. He's become an overnight celebrity, with a 10-city book tour scheduled for the coffee chain. In a life filled with some truly shocking reversals, this new chapter may be just... Copyright 2008 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:05:45 -0800 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:01:13 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by StrangerDanger I am a recent Boston transplant from Seattle. There are more Dunkin Donuts locations here than people. Brand loyalty does not begin to describe people's connection to this chain. It borders on Jihad.

]]> StrangerDanger http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650341 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650341 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:37:38 -0800 Comment by Farley So when can I get "brown-brown" at Starbucks?

]]> Farley http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650346 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650346 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:44:19 -0800 Comment by PHENICS "Bourgeois bohemian" pretty much sums up Starbucks... not that there is anything wrong with that… to each their own. The book sounds like it tells an important story. A book that would be lost in a bookstore “Feature” display. Bourgeois and proletariat alike would maybe look at, amongst perhaps a dozen or two. At least it has visibility of being the only book on display. But it is Starbucks, so the cynicism behind the motives is pretty much part and parcel for the course. Thanks for letting me know of its existence, it does sound like an interesting read.

]]> PHENICS http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650350 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650350 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:47:49 -0800 Comment by Jarvis Ladro Hey Stranger -- A bit off-topic, but funny when juxtaposed to your post.

I used to be able to pick up The Stranger at the 5th and Pine Starbucks forever until I was told that they were no longer carrying free papers any more. I'm not really a Weekly fan, but and them and you have been missing from their customary spots in the front window there for a month now. Cookie cutter? Corporate? Edgy? Pshaw.

Are you going to guess? Yes, I actually am one of those people who drop my dollars where I can get my free rag on Wednesdays.

Ladro at 8th & Pine. They're local, too.

]]> Jarvis Ladro http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650357 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650357 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:53:01 -0800 Comment by gfish Hey, better to promote a book like this than a lot of things corporations do when they start losing customers.

]]> gfish http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650371 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650371 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:59:38 -0800 Comment by laterite A lot of DD's marketing hinges on portraying itself as the anti-Starbucks. No fancy-pants macchiato, just plain "coffee".

]]> laterite http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650390 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650390 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:46:47 -0800 Comment by Some Jerk Yeah, DD's commercials are awesome. They Might Be Giants songs are the soundtrack, and John Goodman does the voiceovers.


My favorite is the one that directly takes a shot at starbux: "i don't understand these words, is it french or is it italian? perhaps fritalian?"

]]> Some Jerk http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650421 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650421 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:38:58 -0800 Comment by Jamey As a former employee of SBUX, I was amused by this post. You never know what that company is going to do.

]]> Jamey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650426 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650426 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:51:22 -0800 Comment by lisa R. I think it's lame you can't pick up a local free paper at Starbucks. That's exactly the reason people think they have nothing to do with their community cause the don't. I want me some "Eat the State" and "Stranger" too.

]]> lisa R. http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650432 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650432 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:58:29 -0800 Comment by genevieve I grew up on the east coast, and I miss Dunkin Donuts terribly out here. There used to be a DD downtown on 3rd when I moved here, but no more. Yay for Dunkin' Donuts!!

]]> genevieve http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650438 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650438 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:16:11 -0800 Comment by Joan Rivers Yeah, "I'll have the Venti Iced brown-brown Macchiato, no whip."

]]> Joan Rivers http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650439 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650439 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:18:10 -0800 Comment by mrobvious The only reason people like DD coffee so much is that they're downing it with a half-dozen doughnuts. It's a silly comparison anyway, since drip coffee is a minor part of SB business nowadays.

]]> mrobvious http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650456 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650456 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:26:59 -0800 Comment by Coffee Snob Dunkin Donuts' drip coffee is also, surprisingly enough (or not), of a much higher quality than what you're served at Starbucks.

]]> Coffee Snob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650460 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650460 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:34:12 -0800 Comment by GoodGrief Unless you drown your DD coffee in tons of sweetener and milk/cream it tastes like CRAP.

]]> GoodGrief http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650490 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650490 Arts Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:27:39 -0800 Comment by eric ah, the coffee wars - I like it cold and three days old - from the pot where brewed

nice strong taste - back to the basic coffee thing - saves energy ( hey all you Stranger greenies, beat that) and at my office it is all mine, no sharing

start with the cheapest thing on sale at the cheap of cheaps, Grocery Outlet

this is not a joke, go ahead and puke

love it - gets me perky and ready to eat my gruel for lunch

]]> eric http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650564 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650564 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:19:51 -0800 Comment by eric forgot - that bluish redish shinnyish sheen is an added bonus when unbroken while pouring

and I reuse grounds many times - just adding some new - you learn how much and when to start over with brewing experience

how do I frqanchise?

]]> eric http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650565 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650565 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:25:27 -0800 Comment by bob Sir GoodyGrief....."and it tastes like CRAP"

have heard this all my life, now here at Slog, please, oh please, all adults - what does CRAP taste like?

And is it registered with the Bureau of Measures and Standards?

]]> bob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650566 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650566 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:36:20 -0800 Comment by Lloyd Clydesdale Good Grief -- that's why everyone orders a Regular Coffee. It's 2 sugars and 2 measures of milk. Classic DD.

]]> Lloyd Clydesdale http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650777 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650777 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:59:23 -0800 Comment by Simon We could use some Tim Hortons around here. Are there any?

Most of the time the only starbux coffee that I get are the free bags that are sometimes handed out or friends give me. Otherwise I buy whats pretty much the cheapest and brew like eric does.

]]> Simon http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650787 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650787 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:09:59 -0800 Comment by Fnarf I try to use half-decent coffee -- no better, no worse -- and brew it fairly weak, and drink a ton of it. I'm not averse to the cold three-day stuff either. Every time I go to a Starbucks I can't taste the coffee flavor, and I get the stupid jitters.

That's with drip; anyone who drinks espresso any other way than straight up (after 10 AM at least) deserves to be sent to a labor camp.

But I don't understand the premise of this post, which seems to be that the corporate soullessness of Starbucks is an acceptable reason to blow off a serious attempt to get people to read an important book.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650812 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650812 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:34:39 -0800 Comment by Erika i don't care if they attach a $100 bill to the inside of the book. There is no way I'm going to be book shopping at Starbucks.

]]> Erika http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650873 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/starbooks#c650873 Arts Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:01:13 -0800