When the paperback edition of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty came out in August 2006 I was working as a cashier for Borders Bookstore on Park Avenue in New York. When you work at the register for any retail company that sells anything that would be deemed entertainment the cashiers quickly notice patterns in customer buying habits and can easily influence what the customers buy by recommending the hottest selling title at the time, even without ever picking up the item themselves. So at the time even reading Smith’s book wasn’t going to be a priority to me. Fast Forward to 2013, the book has finally made it to the to-be read/read pile of massive books that have been put in front of me because I went back to school in the fall of 2012 a year after Borders closed due to bankruptcy. When I look back to when I was selling these books en mass to now when I have to read it for class I can now see why it would appeal to those who brought i...