I have had an awful cold since Monday. When I’m this sick I can barely function as a human—or at least that’s how I feel. My healthy eating habits are replaced with soup that’s high in sodium and grilled cheese sandwiches. And although I try to get in my daily exercise, instead I end up sleeping curdled up in a ball  and calling that exercise. Habits and routines fall to the wayside. As much as I dislike that this happens, I have to allow myself to accept that when I am sick, that this is okay. All of this peaked my curiosity as to what all of you do, as avid daily writers, in a similar situation. Do you still sit and write even when your head is pounding—when you are sick and nothing but sleep sounds appealing? Or, do you allow yourself to rest and be okay with not moving your writing forward for those few days? If you are able to still write on those days, I admire and applaud you. But, if you are like me and allow yourself time to rest, remember: soon enough you’ll be back on track and ready to tackle your writing with renewed motivation—or at least without a pounding headache.

Happy writing!

Kings and queens
Textbook supplements have come a long way in recent years. Could video be the next “big thing”?

Open Access Without Tears
Barbara Fister asks, and answers, this question: “Is there a way to do good, respected research and still make it available to anyone in the world who wants to read it?” After reading her piece, do you agree with her?

Suit Against Pearson Education Over Royalties Moves Ahead
Consider this your industry news update for the week. If you published with Pearson Education, this may be of particular interest to you.

Color-coding your highlighting when reading articles and book chapters
Whether you have a method for highlighting important information in journal articles and books or not, you may benefit from learning Raul Pacheco-Vega’s method. In his post, Pacheco-Vega illustrates how he color-codes his highlighting and note taking to clarify his own thinking.

Non-Required Reading
Siobhan O’Dwyer created a list of “non-required reading” for PhD students. This list is meant as both a way to improve one’s writing and also to promote work-life balance in academia. What book(s) would you add to this list?