Sunday
7–7:15 A.M. Desk Guardian.co.uk, “The Uses of Invention,” “How the Penguin’s Life Story Inspired the US Religious Right,” “Bird Brains—US Christian Right Misfires Again,” “Blair Attacks BBC Over ‘Anti-US Bias,’ ” “Germans Set to Give Merkel Grudging Win,” “This Is a Mess of Our Own Making”
7:30–8:30 E-mail
12:15–12:19 P.M. Living-room sofa The New Yorker, “Turbulence,” by David Sedaris, 1 page
12:30–1 Voices From Chernobyl, by Svetlana Alexievich, 40 pages
1:15–1:45 Living-room sofa What Happened Here, by Eliot Weinberger, 2 chapters
4:30–4:31 SeattleTimes.com, Everything Is Illuminated movie review—“I represent Jonathan Safran Foer”
4:32–4:33 Tallahassee.com, “Dream On: Stories Feed the City of New Orleans”
11–11:30 In bed Bangkok Tattoo, 45 pages

(Photo: Donald Bowers)

The Skimmer
Zenny Sanchez, concierge, 46

Monday
12:30–1:10 P.M. Bus to work Log Home Design Ideas, 164 pages—“We were going to build a log home, but ended up buying a cedar chalet. I still subscribe to the magazines—the pictures are beautiful.”
5:45–6:15 Dinner break at work New York Daily News, 22 pages
9–9:15 Break at work amNew York, 28 pages—“My favorite. It summarizes all the important stories.”
11:30–11:33 Home Google.com, article on septic systems—“A friend in Woodstock had to dig up her front yard due to septic problems”

Tuesday
Noon–1 P.M. Bus amNew York, entire paper; Neiman Marcus catalogue
5:30–6 Work New York Post, 12 pages
9–9:15 The Epoch Times, 2 pages—“Companies bring in free papers for promo purposes”
Midnight–1 A.M. Home InStyle, 100 pages

Wednesday
11 A.M.–noon Bus New York Times, “Dining Out” and “Arts” sections
5–5:30 P.M. Work Us Weekly, 15 pages
9:15–9:30 New York Living, 8 pages
12:15–12:43 A.M. E-mails
12:45–1:20 New York Daily News, 40 pages

Thursday
noon–12:50 P.M. Bus New York Daily News, 50 pages
5:30–5:55 Work New York Post, 20 pages
11 P.M.–midnight Home Elle, entire magazine—“A lot of tenants at my building give me magazines. I never buy any.”
12:45–1:05 A.M. E-mails

Friday
10–11:45 A.M. Doctor’s office Vogue, entire magazine
9:50–11 P.M. Home New York Daily News, entire paper
11:05–11:20 P.M. Home E-mails

Saturday
11–11:45 A.M. Home Country’s Best Log Homes, 30 pages
12:30–1 P.M. Log Home Living, 20 pages
11–1:10 A.M. New York Daily News, entire paper

Sunday
4–5 P.M. Home The Catskill Mountain Region Guide, 40 pages
9:30–9:55 E-mails
10–11:35 Google.com, searching for vegetarian diets

(Photo: Donald Bowers)

The Student
David Gerson, English major at Columbia University, 20

Monday
8:30–11:25 A.M. Flight from Miami to La Guardia Airport The Republic, by Plato, Books 1–3, 96 pages—“It’s a Contemporary Lit requirement. Every sophomore is reading it now.”
2:33–2:35 P.M. English Department English-major requirements sheet
6:30–6:40 Dorm room 11 e-mails
10:52–10:58 Le hollandais sans peine, by Marie-Aude Murail, 4 pages— “French class. It’s a children’s story.”
12:35–12:45 A.M. 8 e-mails
12:45–12:55 Le hollandais sans peine, 8 pages

Tuesday
8:36–8:39 A.M. Dorm room 4 e-mails
12:46–12:51 P.M. Broadway between 113th and 116th Streets New York Times, front page of “Arts” section
3:52–5:17 Bench on 72nd Street Course packet, excerpts from Visions of Excess, On Nietzsche, The Unfinished System of Non-Knowledge, by Georges Bataille, 30 pages—“For my Extreme Literatures class. Bataille makes me tense.”
6:06–7:20 Dorm room Course packet, 26 pages

Wednesday
1:10–3:01 P.M. Nussbaum & Wu bakery, 113th Street at Broadway The Republic, Books 4–5, 50 pages
6:30–7:20 Dorm room X-Andra: Compelled to Speak, by Amit Gazit and Tal Itzhaki, 35 pages— “It’s a play I was thinking of acting in”
7:20–7:22 Sur le vif, French textbook, 1 page
7:30–7:45 Le hollandais sans peine, 12 pages

Thursday
9:15–9:25 A.M. Lerner Hall Skimmed New York Times

Friday
4:20–5:26 P.M. Dorm room Course packet, 30 pages

Saturday
4–4:36 P.M. Median at Broadway and 113th Street The Republic, Book 6, 15 pages
5:04–5:58 P.M. Riverside Park, 113th Street The Republic, Book 7, 30 pages

Sunday
11:40–11:50 A.M. Dorm room 10 e-mails
11:50–noon BADAonline.com and RADA.org—“English drama schools. I’m thinking about studying acting in London.”
2–3:37 P.M. Riverside Park, waterfront and 97th street The Republic, Books 8–9, 54 pages
5:15–5:20 Dorm room Sur le vif, 2 pages
5:30–5:35 Lobby of dorm New York Times, front page and “Arts” section
5:45–6:15 Dorm room The Republic, Book 10, 11 pages
7:24–7:57 The Republic, Book 10, 12 pages
11:20–11:30 Photocopied excerpts from Encyclopedia Acephalia: Comprising the Critical Dictionary, edited by Georges Bataille, 4 pages
11:40–11:50 New York Times, article on Everything Is Illuminated

(Photo: Donald Bowers)

The Entrepreneur
Laurence Martin, partner in a graphic-design firm, 24

Monday
9:05–9:55 A.M. In bed Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion, 63 pages— “A gift from my brother. Didion is a little too cool for me.”
11:15–11:20 Home office Yahoo News, “Business Owners May Return to New Orleans”
2:45–3:15 P.M. Phoebe’s Cafe Runner’s World, “The New Rules of Food,” 14 pages
12:30–1:20 A.M. In bed Play It As It Lays, 60 pages
1:25–1:37 The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, 10 pages—“Harrowing”