That butter block trick saved my danish dough last winter, a 60 degree kitchen and cold butter is a nightmare. I picked up a cheap marble pin at a yard sale for five bucks and it stays in the fridge next to the butter so nothing ever shocks the dough. Two taps and a fold and the layers finally look like they should.

Forty books. One at a time. Muttering about color theory. I would have just stood there frozen, honestly, because what do you even say to that? The part that gets me is the spine-in thing, because that means she wanted people to see blank paper and cardboard instead of actual covers, which is like the weirdest form of control I can imagine in a bookstore. Twenty minutes of that and nobody stopped her? I feel like a manager would have walked by at some point and asked what was happening. You buying the mystery novel to fill the silence is the funniest part, like you had to pay a toll just to escape the vibe.