I chose two articles by Anne Applebaum for this exercise: “Caramel Macchiato Conquers Mitteleuropa” and “The Talking Cure.” Applebaum writes casually, almost like she’s having a brief conversation with you. I love her style because it’s easier to appreciate what she’s talking about, and easier to read because they’re short, yet straightforward, pieces. In both articles, she begins as if she’s simply talking about her day: “After the new Starbucks opened, I walked by the place a couple of times just to see the crowds” and “Apparently, President Obama told some good jokes at a recent dinner… But swine flu? The world's media have moved on.”

Applebaum applies humor in both articles, which gets a laugh but also helps point out the real reason as to why she’s writing about Starbucks and the Swine Flu. “Looking at that line of 20-somethings, all waiting patiently for the chance to pay twice as much for a cup of coffee as they would across the street, one had to wonder what was up.” Her laid-back approach reflects her informal style, and her tight paragraph transitions make my eyes want to keep on reading.

Rather, Applebaum’s style allows me to read closer and with more interest. Reading about coffee or the Swine Flu seems mundane, it’s just that her self-interest in the subject makes me want to find out more. After reading, I’ve a better understanding of why opening a Starbucks in Warsaw is interesting/important to Europeans, or why the Swine Flu “panic” might be beneficial to our future. For example: “[The Starbucks] signifies a very real set of economic and psychological changes. After half a century of being told by their Communist governments that the future lay in factory jobs and mining, upwardly mobile Poles now aspire to different sorts of jobs… jobs that also leave them with enough leisure to hang out at Starbucks, doing deals.” And “So what? Before "that panic was ridiculous"…let's be frank about it: Where infectious diseases are concerned, panic is good…Without panic, nothing happens… So if the H1N1 virus mutates into something really dangerous, we'll all be in trouble. But not in as much trouble as we would be if it hadn't been for that brief…but nevertheless useful moment of mass hysteria that brought us such terrific headlines over the past couple of weeks.”

These articles spark a more, “I didn’t know that” or “that’s kind of interesting now that you mention it” feeling for me. It’s neat to see how Applebaum keeps it brief but also interesting without fussy vocabulary or jargon. “Keep it simple” is definitely her motto.

And, to answer the last question, I always find it easier to print something out rather than read it on my laptop. My eyesight’s horrible and it’s easier to make notes in the margin. :)