By HOLLY WEILEDER

Staff Writer

British Literature has proven to affect more than just students' GPAs. In Ruston, it has influenced a local coffee shop called The Inklings CafŽ.

The unfamiliar name comes from familiar creative writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, who dubbed themselves as "The Inklings." Equivalently, the Ruston coffee shop provides a very suiting atmosphere for the name's origin.

"There are books filling the shop by all the British authors that made up the group," Michelle Rubben, a sophomore kinesiology major, said. "I learned about all that when I went there."

The new-age coffee shop semblance is overtaken by interesting random items that would make one believe the owner is well-traveled and well-educated.

The cafŽ is filled with different types of seating including benches and over-sized chairs. A chess game, a game of Scrabble and a deck of cards wait to be played.

A patio for the customers to use is cornered off by the building so it blocks the busy life of Tech's campus. A radio keeps the silence from burning a hole in the wall during those times when conversation is not ringing.

Being just a hop, skip and a jump away from the east side of campus helps compensate for the not-so-great parking found directly in front of the cafŽ.

The menu is great for the indecisive, on-the-go college student. Basic coffee shop foods are available, and an eye-catching fresh juice menu causes a double take and an inquiry as to how it might taste. Customers can get a cup of fresh spinach, carrot, and grape-mixed juice for only $2. The juice is completely fresh with nothing else added to it, a rarity among distributors nowadays.

"I like the juice they have," Rubben said. "It is different and refreshing. You can't find anything like it around here."

Nimo Anand, a senior mechanical engineering major, said, "I live next door to the coffee shop, so I have been coming here since it opened last May," Anand said. "I like the fresh juice menu, you just can't beat that."

The menu has a nice selection of coffee, with three different cup sizes to choose from.

Nick Norwood, a sophomore communications major, likes the atmosphere and says it is a very inviting place. "I always get the Americano when I go," Norwood said.

The Inklings CafŽ is great for a morning boost or a break between classes. It is also a good place to go solo or with a group of friends, whether the purpose is to simply hang out or brush up on your British Literature.