Ellie@Home by Nicole Kapise-Perkins

   Tuesday was a very difficult day. Everything that could go wrong at work did: people called out, people changed their hours without notice and left gaping holes in the schedule, shifts for the end of the week were understaffed and coverage couldn't be found. Data for care tracking was missing and the director and I couldn't find it anywhere. The whole building just felt off: residents were cranky, staff was snarky. I got home feeling battered in soul. I questioned my decisions, my ability, and my purpose. It was absolutely a night to crawl into bed and pull the blankets up over my head, never to emerge.     I didn't do that. I have a family to tend to. And I had homework to do. Instead I made a pot of tea and had a hearty cry. Then I made soup. Three Bean Pasta e Fagioli Soup   By Rachael Ray  •  September 19, 2009 Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 3-4 ribs celery from the heart, chopped

     I have yet to figure out how to balance work, school, family care, and my writing vocation. Inevitably writing takes a back burner, which hurts my heart. :( I have three weeks left of this semester, a six week winter intersession class, and two 12 week spring classes, and then I will be DONE! and the proud owner of a BA in Creative Writing. (And oh, the irony of being a Creative Writing major: you don't have any time to do any creative writing...) In the meantime I must satisfy myself with hastily-written snippets of stories and poetry, and the occasional essay.      I tend to be more productive during the fall; it's my absolute favorite season (so much so that I got married November 1, 2009!). I love the colors, the scent of wood smoke and spice, the crisp edge to the mornings and the early twilights. I'm a homebody at heart, and cozying up at home with candles lit and something simmering on the stove is my idea of paradise. On that note, my husband and I celebrated

     I do not need another copy of Jane Eyre. I already own four. I really, really did not need a fifth copy. It's not as if the story changes; I only buy unabridged books, so there aren't missing pieces that need to be made up with another edition. Didn't need to buy the gorgeous gothicy new paperback edition that Penguin Classics had to offer.      Look at these covers, illustrated by Ruben Toledo. I didn't need this. I tried to tell myself that, but myself wouldn't listen. It came in Tuesday.      Things may get worse.... Look at this one! And then there's this beauty: and let's not neglect this elegant edition:                    My husband may be banning me from Amazon soon..... 

   Because I've been on a book kick lately (when am I not?) I've decided to share a post on the best book I read this summer. I read quite a few books this summer, 27 to be exact. Hands down, the absolute best of them was In the Night Garden and it's sequel In the Cities of Coin and Spice. These two books make up The Orphan's Tale duology by Catherynne M. Valente, and they are OUTSTANDING.    Valente begins with a story, which leads to a story, which leads to a story, then circles back in labyrinthine twists and turns to take readers back to the first story. The books are made up of multiple stories-within-stories that all eventually link together. The ending was not what I expected; it wasn't a complete shock, but I had expected a different reconciliation. (Trying really hard not to give any spoilers here!)    I loved the multiple story method that Valente uses, and all of them are fantastic in the truest sense: utterly unfathomable, magical, mysterious, sometim

Here's a short alternate universe piece I wrote for my creative writing class last night. It's kind of fun, so I thought I'd share. I don't normally write alternate universe stories; I prefer to make up worlds completely. This is something new for me, so let me know what you think in your comments below! Jury Duty Dreams by Nicole Kapise Perkins She was gone. Somewhere else completely. She could feel herself: the hard wooden bench beneath her, the knit material of the jacket she wore, the glasses on her face, the headache that had been plaguing her since she woke up. Despite all this, she realized she wasn’t here anymore. A wind stirred her hair (air conditioning, of course) and before her eyes a rich green sward edged against a dark stone castle’s foundation. You’re looking out the courthouse window , her mind told her. But the courthouse lawn wasn’t ever this luxurious, and Hope Street in all its cracked, frost-heaved, exhaust-ripping, horrible-drivi

  My local library had a sale yesterday. They've been holding one the first Saturday of every month this year, and I missed all of them except last month's, where I arrived with about fifteen minutes to browse (came home with five books), and this one, at which I arrived half an hour after it began, had a gleeful time browsing and grabbing, and went home with THIRTY books, all for the charming sum of $20. My total actually came to $15.50, but I didn't ask for change back. I have had a card for the Carnegie Public Library in Turners Falls since I was six years old (that's 36 years; wow...I feel old now); I am more than happy to support my library in any way that I can.    So, what did I take home from this sale? (I didn't realize exactly how many I bought until after I got home. Finding a home for all of these was interesting to say the least)    Let me include a disclaimer here that says not all of these are for me. Some are Liam's. Okay, five.  For Liam:

    I used to be a very punctual person. Then I had children. I never seem to get anywhere on time any more, and I do things like post my monthly TBR a week into the month in question. I suppose I should be glad I'm posting it at all. I have the unfair habit of ignoring my blog when I get tied up with other things.     So here are my planned books for the month of September. I kept my ambitions REALLY low, only ordering four titles from the library. I have reading I will have to do for my classes, and I am still working on one I started at the beginning of the week. Current read: The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization by Martin Puchner I am a word nerd. I love words, stories, and the power they hold. I'm only about 36 pages in so far, but it looks to be an engrossing read. Martin Puchner leads us on a remarkable journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creatin

    It is all over. My fourteen weeks of freedom, all of that glorious book reading time has come to an end. My classes begin Tuesday. I would be greatly saddened by this if not for the fact that my two classes are both writing classes: Creative Writing and Creative Writing Nonfiction. So while I will no longer be able to spend my evenings reading (things that I chose, that is) I will get to work on all kinds of writing projects, some of which might actually turn into larger professional pieces. Who knows.    Because it's the beginning of my school semester, I naturally have beginnings on my mind. I decided it would be fun to share a list of beginning lines from some of my favorite reads. Here is a collecetion of beginning lines from books that I own and go back to again and again. These first lines are excluding Introductions, unless the Introduction was written by the author. If these beginning lines catch your interest, give the book a chance, and let me know what you think!

    Summer is inching to a close; my classes at UMass open on September 3. Like Liam, I'm beginning to have a case of the back-to-school blues. Puttering around on Goodreads doesn't help: my 'Want to Read' list on Goodreads is 52 pages long. 52! (That's 1038 books, in case you're wondering.) I doubt it will ever get much smaller. For every book I read I add at least two more to my TBR. And now I'm running out of homework-free time! In fact, because I'm an online student, my classes may actually open this Saturday. Boo. (We're usually given a ten day window so that we can access our classes and turn our first homework assignment in on the first official day of class. How does that make sense??) Actually, I can't complain too much. My classes for this fall are Creative Writing and Creative Writing Nonfiction, and I'm almost done with school altogether. One winter intersession class should do it. But let's not count our degree until it's