Beetlebung Reads - Caleb's Crossing

Are you starting to miss those days when you could browse the coffee shop to see what hot reads were propped between two hands?  The Kindle/Nook craze has deprived us of our cover-peeping.  I decided to grab a *rainy day* latte from Beetlebung, and found a paperbook-lover indulging in Geraldine Brooks' latest - Caleb's Crossing.  It is set on Martha's Vineyard during the 1600's and narrated by Bethia Mayfield - a girl who yearns for an education that is closed to her, for being female.  She introduces us to the first Wampanoag Native American (Caleb) to graduate from Harvard.   Having found Brooks previous works of historical fiction to be beautifully written (Year of Wonders and March); I am decidedly compelled to lose myself in this one.

Photos: Anthropologie 2009

Around Town - Vineyard Haven

A bagel in New York is something to be coveted by, and for a good bagel people will travel miles.  Luckily this quintessential neighborhood bagelry is only a short drive from anywhere on the island.  The MV Bagel Authority (under new ownership this year - so ignore old reviews on Yelp) grinds out Italian-brew espressos and hand-rolls, kettle-boils and bakes it's bagels to old-fashioned standard.  You can't walk by without resisting temptation.  Island New Yorkers will attest, "They're the best around...rivaling the best that can be had in NYC"...now that's a pretty strong statement.  On any given day, you will usually find owner, Anthony Capelli, pulling a paddle of bagels out of the oven...or handing out samples of his latest recipe (French Toast Bagel, or Spinach Pumpernickle anyone?).  My kids love him...and the French Toast Bagels.