Jessica Lee Jernigan: Work

The Business of Books

Bestsellers are important. Hits like The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code generate the profits that make it possible for Borders stores to carry more eclectic titles that might sit on the shelf awhile before finding a home. But bookstores aren't the only place to buy bestsellers. Books are becoming a hot commodity for a variety of retailers: The latest John Grisham book can generally be found in big stacks at Sam's Club or at the checkout at Meijer.

And then there's the Internet. In 1999, I was working for Borders.com. Back then, the company got hammered by the press and by Wall Street for being late to enter the virtual bookselling game—an enterprise then regarded as a license to print money. Five years later, everyone has learned that turning a profit on the Web is easier said than done. I still work for Borders in an electronic capacity—I manage the company's e-mail newsletters—but Borders.com is no longer an independent entity. It is, instead, a partnership with Amazon.com.

That doesn't mean that Borders has no virtual presence (there are the aforementioned e-mail newsletters, and customers can search the stacks and check out in-store events at www.BordersStores.com). But there's a magic to bookselling that can't be digitized or quantified. The best bookstores don't just deliver products to customers. Instead, they fulfill cultural needs both personal and communal. This is why the hometown of one of the world's biggest bookstore chains continues to boast a vital and varied array of independent booksellers. Read more…

New Food for a New Year

While the extent of my fast-food patronage may be slight, it's not so much because I'm a foodie snob; it's more that I would rather be standing at my stove with a glass of wine than fighting traffic or waiting in line at the drive-thru. I may, however, be making an exception for Qdoba Mexican Grill. The fact that the first Ann Arbor outlet of this national chain is on my way home from work (2252 S. Main Street, a couple doors down from Blockbuster) had a lot to do with my decision to give them a try.

The menu is what you would expect from a Mexican chain—burritos, quesadillas, taco salads—but the difference is in the details. Qdoba's pico de gallo is a tasty mix of chopped onions, tomatoes and fresh cilantro. Their guacamole is good and chunky, with a discernible kick of garlic. I ordered a cheese quesadilla and a pinto bean burrito, which turned out to be entirely too much food for one person. I am happy to report, though, that the leftover burrito was just as good on day two, reheated in the microwave. Read more…

A New Year, A New You

While New Year's Eve might be a time for champagne and abandon—a last hurrah before we wipe the slate clean and start over—come January 1, we get serious. We resolve to make the year ahead better than the one just past. This edition of Biz Buzz highlights local businesses that can help you on your way to a improved you in 2004. Read more…

Local Art

Krabbe scours fabric stores and secondhand shops for distinctive fabrics—her latest collection includes lively patchwork and fantastic brocades, reminiscent of recent Prada lines—and she's always on the lookout for intriguing odds and ends to incorporate into her designs. Raw edges and loose threads give these bags a deconstructed immediacy. Some bags sport clear plastic packets filled with fascinating findings, from milagro charms to Scrabble tiles to dried berries. These bags evoke the playful spirit of Marcel Duchamp's Boîte-en-valise (a suitcase filled with miniature versions of his most famous works); but, while Duchamp is best known for turning functional objects into art, Krabbe adds unique artistic elements to her imminently functional—and, at prices starting at $35, surprisingly affordable—totes and backpacks. Read more...

Things That Smell Nice

While at Whole Foods, I also spent a lot of time on their subcontinent of bodycare products. I found a fresh, fruity shaving cream in a fragrance called "pearberry" from Alba Botanica. There's a whole wall of "Asian botanical" Bathology soaps in inventive scent combinations—melon/black sesame and kaffir lime with ginger are just two—and hand-milled soaps from Provence infused with scents like vervain and honeysuckle. The Nature's Gate neroli orange and chocolate mint lip balm smells like ice cream—delicious ice cream. Read more...

Eat Slowly: The Slow Food Movement Seeks to Reverse Fast Food Culture

Once upon a time, fast food seemed like a good idea. When Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers first turned a chain of restaurants into assembly line-driven factories of food, their vision was in perfect harmony with a faster, more mobile, more streamlined America. Teens cruising in tail-finned cars could stop by McDonald's for something cheap and tasty. Suburban families could drop in and get a treat for the kids, freeing mom from a night in the kitchen. Travelers from Indiana passing through Ohio could rest assured that the burgers and fries there were the same as back home. And the era that spawned McDonald's also gave us such miracles of convenience as the TV dinner and the boxed cake mix.

While we've been re-engineering our food to better fit our increasingly hectic lifestyles, our food has been changing us. Fast food has altered the way we think about eating, as well as the social, familial rituals of dining together. It's transformed the environment and farming practices. It's modified our bodies—maybe even our brain chemistry. Read more...

I Feel Pretty

The skin is, by definition, superficial. But when, after much gentle scrutiny, Bicky Phan declares, "You have combination skin," I felt like she had seen not just my surface, but my very self—sensitive, confused, eager for perfection. It's deeply satisfying to be in the hands of someone who takes my enlarged pores as seriously as I do. Read more...