When Work Takes Over (A Week in Reading)

Hoooo boy. Is it Sunday already? Damn. That means I have to go back to work tomorrow. Luckily I'll have a dozen bagels from Brooklyn Bagel in tow after my fly-by trip to NYC. If you have never had a Brooklyn Bagel, drop everything you are doing and start traveling. These are the best bagels in New York City, and everyone knows NYC has the best bagels in the world. We're talking bacon scallion cream cheese, bookworms. HELLO.

There's a distinct lack of bagel offerings down in suburban Maryland. It's not even that they aren't good bagels (because I am a bagel snob); there just aren't bagels (except the ones at the grocery store, but screw that). I'd like to try making my own someday - anyone know how? Any good recipes? Tips? Thoughts? Must start planning before the next round of severe bagel withdrawal.

It's been a crazy week for me with work again (still?), so my apologies for being scarce out there. I'm looking forward to taking some time today to catch up on comments and other posts and some general bookish news. I'm also hoping to have at least a few minutes to get further into The Memory Palace. It's taken the place of Homer and Langley on my shelf - as much as I love Doctorow and want to read this one, it just wasn't working at the moment. Presto! New book selected. I'm also listening to The Help during my commutes, which is excellent thus far. Remind me again why I've waited so long to finally get to this one?

Despite the chaos, I did manage to catch up on a few reviews: Great House (which had been lingering on the shelf, waiting to be reviewed since I read it in November) and The Great Typo Hunt. Sadly, I found neither to be great, per se, although I wasn't completely against either, either.

Monday sparked quite the debate on whether or not it is acceptable or even encouraged to write in books. Me? I write in them. All the time. I open a book with pen in hand, and start the trend by writing my name and the date on the first page. Join the discussion and let us know what your thoughts are. And if you're interested in marginalia (or avidly against it), this New York Times article on the decline of margin notes is well worth the read (thanks to Ellen at Fat Books & Thin Women and Steph at Bella's Bookshelves for pointing out the link).

Here's to another great week of reading and writing. Happy almost-March!