14 days!

It's been 14 days since I've stopped in to say hello. Two weeks! A fortnight! Sort of ridiculous if you really think about it. What have I been up to? Hm, I think I'll employ a bullet point summary:

• Cruise: I jumped on a ship and twirled around the Caribbean. It was just as wonderful as it sounds. I read and slept and took full advantage of the 24-hour soft serve.
• Work: This week I logged 32 nanny hours and 13 hours with my other odd jobs. Conclusion: Max for President by Jarrett Krosoczka (Knopf Books for Young Readers 2004) is pretty great. 4 hours of sleep a night? Not so much. 
• Illness: A byproduct of nannying is that I am constantly sort of under the weather. I am currently suffering from what may or may not be an ear infection/throat thing/ something resembling the black death. 
• Reading: I returned home to find an inbox in the 100s and Google Reader that left the 1,000 mark around two Tuesdays ago. Well, this morning I plopped down with a pot of coffee and sifted through all of my articles. No, I did not read all 3,238 of them, but I am nothing if not a grade-A skimmer (hat tip, liberal arts education). 

Since I've been gone for 14 days, here are my favorite 14 articles (from the last 14 days):

1. The coolest way to read undercover. Sa-weet book jackets. (via Book Bench)
2. "30 PR Experts You Should Follow on Twitter" (via E.Releases)
3. "Gen Y, Stop Doubting Yourself and Start Taking Action" (via AdAge by Adrienne Waldo, one of my favorite marketing bloggers)
4. "Meeting Blog Friends" (via MarianLibrarian) I had an abso-effing-lutely lovely meet and tea with Marian. So great!
5. "How Writers and Publishers Can Use Formspring.me" (via GalleyCat) Personally, I've found this tool to be annoying but I do recognize the potential. 
6. "Where Digital Marketing is Heading in 2010: Part 1" (via AdAge)
7. "Where Digital Marketing is Heading in 2010: Part 2" (via AdAge)
8. "Top 10 Librarian Blogs to read in 2010" (via LISNews via Fuse #8)
9. "Top 10 Publishers of 2009" (via Michael Hyatt) 
10. "Best Picture Books of the Last 10 Years" (via Omnivoracious) 
11. "Publishers: boost your viral marketing with digital galleys" (via Follow the Reader)
12. Stuff Hipsters Hate scores a book deal and the blogger's agent Jason Ashlock explains why this blog-to-book might be different. (via GalleyCat)
13. "Werner Herzog Reads Curious George" (via eBookNewser) Hi-larious. "Don't get into trouble said ze man."
14. A new to-read that I wasn't expecting: "The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right" by Atul Gawande (Reviews: NYT, New Yorker, NPR)

Alright, I'm off to more coffee and a stab at my e-mail inbox. This evening I'll be spending time with a sweet 9-month-old and a Curious George-loving 3.5-year-old. I know, I know, please try to contain your jealousy. 

(Photo via)