During the week, we consume words in snackable, tweetable bites. But on the weekends, we have the time to take a dive into the murkier, lengthier depths of the Internet and expand our attention spans beyond 140 characters. We can brew a cup of coffee and lie back with our iPads, laptops, smartphones and Kindles.
Since you're bound to miss a few things during the daily grind, we present to you, in our weekly installation of Mashable Must Reads, a curated list of can't-miss stories from around the web to read and reflect on. (You can find last week's must reads here.)
This months-long investigation into the family of two accused marathon bombers examines the boys' roots and upbringing, and begs a "nurture versus nature" debate. Were the bombings more about mental health than their religious beliefs? Tamerlan Tsarnaev actually believed he was a victim of mind control, brainwashed to act on a trigger phrase.
Clark Walker, 26, just landed his dream job as a barber in New York City, simply by commenting on an Instagram picture.
Image: Clark Walker
For Mexicans in the U.S. sent "home" thanks to increased enforcement of American immigration laws, the country they’re returning to is far more dangerous than the one they initially escaped. They wind up in border towns like Tijuana, Nogales and Juárez, separated from their families, with no money, no identity and nowhere to go.
Two years ago, Netflix was all but written off as dead. But that perception has changed dramatically (just look at House of Cards). Here's how the video streaming company made a miraculous turnaround into a service that is encroaching on the likes of HBO, Amazon and even Google and Apple.
What happens when food is a terrorist target? In early 2002, Navy SEALs found hundreds of documents planning an attack on the food supply in the United States. A captivating look at how government agencies run exercises to prepare against agro-terrorism.
This year offered enough for every player to revel in: new consoles, Grand Theft Auto V, indie games that stole our hearts and big Kickstarter successes that moved into production. We present, for amateurs and hardcore gamers alike, a rundown of the biggest trends that rocked the boat and our expectations for 2014.
Image: Namco/Mashable Composite, Will Fenstermaker
Even if politics aren't your thing, this reporter’s scathing tale of sex and booze in the White House — and consequently, his disillusionment with Washington journalism — is enthralling. While there may be no cure for the politics-media bubble, he does a hell of a job taking it down: "In short, get out of Washington. It’s messing you up more than you know."
It's not all doom and gloom in the City of Champions. Despite the bankruptcy, crime, urban desolation and despair, a different story is becoming clear. Slowly, an emerging tech scene is helping to bring Detroit up from its ashes.
Don't have time to read them all now? In our Readlist below, export this week's must reads to your tablet to save for a time you have no distractions. Simply click the "read later" button alongside each story or or click "export" to send the entire list of articles to your preferred device.

Image: Netflix