Diatribe by Dawn

People go on about places like Starbucks being unpersonal and all that, but what if that’s what you want? I’d be lost if J.J. and people like that got their way, and there was nothing impersonal in the world. I like to know that there are big places with no windows where no one gives a shit. You need confidence to go into those small places with regular customers—small bookshops and small music shops and small restaurants and cafes. I’m happiest in the Virgin Megastore and Borders and Starbucks and PizzaExpress, where no one gives a shit, and no one knows who you are. My mum and dad are always going on about how soulless those places are, and I’m like, Der. That’s the point.

A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby