Ellie@Home by Nicole Kapise-Perkins

         You know that question “If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be and why?” The answer is pretty easy for me. Aside from my grandmother whom I miss every single day, it is Louisa May Alcott. She is my absolute favorite author. (But, you say, none of her books are on your recommended list. This is true. I adore all of Louisa’s books, but those three from Wednesday’s post have hit me in the heart, hard. They have made me cry, contemplate my life, and have changed me. Louisa inspires my writing; those books inspire me.)             So why would I so desperately love to sit down with Louisa May Alcott?             To begin with, she had a biting sense of humor, the kind I appreciate the most. Biographers all cite her wit, and if you have ever read Transcendental Wild Oats you have seen that satire and sarcasm were an especial talent of hers. I can imagine sitting at a sidewalk café with her, listening to the running commentary on passersby. I have a feelin

      Seeing as how I have assembled this summer's reading list, I thought I would comment on some other books, namely the three books I absolutely recommend. There are numerous books I love and enjoy and encourage people to check out, but hands-down the three that I will forever recommend to people are Jane Eyre , Ahab's Wife , and The Dovekeepers . Why? Well, to begin with, they are beautiful stories. They are written by master storytellers (Charlotte Bronte, Sena Jeter Naslund, and Alice Hoffman) who not only know how to write (or knew how to write) but know how to pull their readers in, immersing them in another place and time. Readers explore the mystery of Thornfield Hall, walk the wharves of Nantucket, and survey the desert of Israel. They feel the characters' emotions, understand Jane's determination and anguish, Una's devotion and strength of spirit, and experience faith, hope, despair, and triumph alongside Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah on the mountaintop

   Hello, hello, hello! I hope everyone is having a lovely May thus far; I am absolutely looking forward to sunnier days. Here in western Massachusetts Nature has apparently forgotten that April is over: it's been raining off and on for days! Blaa. I realized yesterday that Memorial Day is almost upon us (okay, we have ten days to go, but when you work in scheduling days go by quickly. Case in point, I'm already looking for coverage for people's August vacations) and that means it's time to curate this summer's reading list. I scoured my Goodreads "To Read" list (all 51 pages of it) and pulled a bunch of titles I've got my eye on. I have fourteen weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and even though I am taking a class this summer and there are Red Sox games to watch, I *should* be able to get through 20 books. If I really want to push it I could try for 28 books, but some of these are biggies; I don't know if I could actually manage two books