Each week, members of the WFPL news team spotlight interesting stories we've read and enjoyed, for your weekend reading pleasure:Gabe Bullard:I've been a little distracted over the last year waiting for Arrested Development to return to TV. Well, to the Internet. The show is coming back on Netflix this spring. And Netflix has already launched two new shows. GQ has an interesting story on Netflix's strategy. They're playing the long game, here, trying to become the HBO of the Internet. Read And the Award for the Next HBO Goes to...Bonus: You can listen to Kevin Spacey and David Fincher talk about their Netflix original show House of Cards on Fresh Air. Read (and listen to) Spacey And Fincher Make A 'House Of Cards.'Laura Ellis: Truthfully, I don't usually have much of a sweet tooth. But my band is getting ready to play a Mardi Gras gig, so this week, my mind is wrapped up in all things Fat Tuesday. This story explains doberges, calas, torroncino ice cream (which contains sugared almonds & cinnamon and sounds delicious), pink squirrel shaved ice, griddled pie, and, of course, the king cake. A king cake is topped with green gold and purple sugar and contains a tiny plastic baby. The eater who gets the piece with the figurine inside has the honor of hosting next year's king cake party, and buying next year's cake. Laissez les bons temps rouler! Read A City Drenched in Sugar.Devin Katayama: Alobar, Kudra and the Bandaloops. If you already know what I'm reading you can stop here. For the rest who are searching for indefinite youth, uncontrollable urges and perfume, this is your journey. I'm not quite sure I'd recommend Jitterbug Perfume just yet—in fact the book was handed off to me half-read—but Tom Robbins has long been on my to-read author list. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but half-way through I can honestly say I have no idea where the story is headed. But the cover shows a woman's hand lifting the lid of a perfume bottle and there are men and women dancing in white clothes on a checkered floor. I have to assume all that happens at some point.Joseph Lord:It's rare when a political leader is viewed as embodying a community. Much of what's been written about Ed Koch, the former New York City mayor who died Thursday, argues that he did just that. Koch led an interesting life, and The New York Times' lengthy obit is worth a read. Read Edward I. Koch, Mayor as Brash as His City, Dies at 88.
