It’s 10:18 p.m. on a weeknight as I stay up doing everything except homework, when my friend in New York sends me a link.
He’s doing exactly what I am (which is absolutely nothing) three hours in the future. I glance at the link, reluctant to click on it because 1. It’s on Tumblr, and God knows that all productivity would end right then and there (not that it was happening in the first place) and 2. The name included Starbucks, a place I had always felt miffed about. Living frugally meant that I couldn’t blow many $5 bills on 16 oz. mocha-flavored caffeinated beverages, leaving me out of the ever-expanding coffee hype.
Shrugging, I clicked on the link anyway (knowing that the work was never going to get done) as my friend rambled on about how he thought that it was “literally the funniest thing ever.”
Looking at the plain, off- white home screen, I decided not to expect much, that his quote — much like all his other musings —was probably just another exaggeration. But looks, or lack thereof, can be very deceiving. Clicking that link was like walking into a Starbucks, where endless delectable choices lay waiting to be ordered.
The blog, which was created by “two English majors and one History major who [had] WAY too much time on their hands,” features famous authors and characters (both from classical and contemporary works) in a fictional Starbucks setting. They are made to order drinks that reflect their original writing style, as well as make nuances about the text. Some are simply hilarious, such as the parody written on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
“Romeo goes up to the counter and orders a white chocolate mocha. As he’s waiting for it, the barista sets down a hazelnut macchiato for someone else. Romeo is struck by the realization that this is the perfect drink for him, and takes it, forgetting that he and everyone in his family is allergic to nuts.” This of course is making a play on the central conflict of Romeo and Juliet; in choosing the Hazelnut Macchiato, aka Juliet, (note: which wasn’t his to begin with), he sparks a disagreement that ends in carnage.
Many of the passages vary in length, but still contain the same amount of ingenuity and genius, such as the one written about Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
“Atticus Finch goes up to the counter and orders the one drink on the menu that no one else was brave enough to get. As he walks out, everyone else stands up in solidarity.”
This one’s pretty self- explanatory, so I’ll spare the explanation.
For all those bookworms out there or those who want a good laugh, make sure to check it out; there are a multitude of names left to explore, such as Gatsby, Achilles, and e.e. cummings, to name a few. Take a sip and soon you’ll be scrolling through all the pages.
Read more excerpts on http://literarystarbucks.tumblr.com.
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