Mystery novelist and Paris resident Sparkle Hayter recommends these three books about her beloved adopted city:

Seven Ages of Paris by Alistair Horne

Paris Babylon by Rupert Christiansen

This is Paris by Miroslav Sasek

I grew up in Jersey City during the 1970s, a somewhat bizarre, often hyper-insightful world where, amidst the urban blight and screwed-up politics, people were judged not by what they did for a living, or what they did to the rest of the world, or even for their larger "reputations," but rather by how they treated you directly. And so it was not uncommon to hear bluntly, within the same sentence, of a "kind" and "gentle" hit man or a "rotten, selfish" priest.

Creating Passionate Users is a remarkable blog written by the authors of the best-selling Head First computer book series. They're passionate about studying how the brain works -- and how to exploit it for better learning and memory. This entry appeared on 3/3/06.

The only thing standing between you-as-amateur and you-as-expert is dedication. All that talk about prodigies? We could all be prodigies (or nearly so) if we just put in the time and focused. At least that's what the brain guys are saying. Best of all--it's almost never too late.

When Sharon Simeon isn't teaching special ed at a Flint, Michigan, elementary school, she's working on her second masters at a local university. We asked her how Visual Thesaurus helps her in -- both -- of her classrooms.

Subscriber Ange Michelbach of Atlanta, GA -- that's her foot in the flipper -- contributed these blog and site picks:

I am frequent visitor to McSweeney's Internet Tendency. In particular, I adore the absurd lists.

BoingBoing , a Directory of Wonderful Things, never fails to provide something useful or whimsical.

Perpetual Kid sells Nihilist Gum; not surprisingly, it has no flavor.

Don't forget: Send us your top blogs -- and tell us why you like 'em. Email us.

Your editor here. I want to tell you about my old pal Clark Morgan. He's a playwright with six productions under his cummerbund and, by sunlight, a top creative at ad giant Ogilvy. He's an amazing writer who once taught composition at a major U. When I wanted to improve my work I asked Clark for help. We started meeting at a local bagel shop and between bites and schmears he fine-tuned my stuff. My writing soared. The bagels weren't bad, either.

I asked Clark if I could tape our "bagel summits" for you, our fine subscribers. He graciously agreed. Here's the kick-off installment of an occasional series that will help you -- and me -- get better. Today we're talking about dialogue, listening and writing like you're shooting a movie.

Subscriber Saul Gliserman recommends "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy:

I would think that most subscribers to VT would enjoy Blood Meridian immensely because of McCarthy's use of the English language. The book reads as an admixture of the Old Testament, Homer, Shakespeare and Melville. Although there is much gory realism, it is by no means gratuitous, and it conveys, in a profoundly realistic fashion, what life was like in the "Old West" of the mid-nineteenth century. The book left me with the utmost respect for McCarthy's talent, and I would rank him among this country's finest writers of any era.