Svetlana's Reads and Views

  Name of Book: An Enigma by the Sea  Author: Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucenini (trans Gregory Downing) ISBN: 978-1-916725-19-5 Publisher: Bitter Lemon Part of a Series: Italian Mysteries by Fruttero and Lucentini (stand-alone, but previous ones included LOVERS OF NO FIXED ABODE and RUNAWAY HORSES)  Type of book: Italy, 1990s, Tuscany, winter, christmas holiday, depression, mystery, literary elements, coastal town life, beach, travel, holiday homes, murder, disappearances, romance, tarot  Year it was published: 2026 (originally 1991) Summary: (From goodreads) On the wintry Tuscan coast, the wealthy elite retreat to their lavish holiday homes. But the season turns sinister when a couple vanishes from a locked villa, and the body of a dubious count washes ashore, bludgeoned to death. With echoes of Agatha Christie and the erudite suspense of Umberto Eco, a sly meditation on class, illusion, and desire, this literary mystery is both sharply observant and darkly en...

  Name of Book: For Human Use Author: Sarah. G Pierce ISBN: 9780316586535 Type of book: Humor, horror, financial issues, dating, 2020s, death, modern culture about influencers, hinted grooming  Year it was published: 2026 Summary: An unforgettable debut, For Human Use is a twisted tale of modern love that bends every genre, sears itself into your brain, and presents a horrific romantic comedy unlike anything you’ve ever read before. ★ “An utterly ingenious horror-romcom, darkly zeitgeisty, and unnervingly plausible—funny as hell, too. You will not forget this book.” ―Heather Aimee O’Neill, author of Read With Jenna book club pick The Irish Goodbye Modern dating is dead. Sarah G. Pierce’s debut, For Human Use, is a glossy, razor-cut spiral into algorithmic obsession and capitalist absurdity where the dread hits hardest because it reads like a headline you’ve already scrolled past. With darkly funny dialogue and a premise that shouldn’t feel this plausible, Pierce lures you in w...

  Name of Book: I hope you find what you're looking for Author: Bsrat Mezghebe  ISBN: 978-1-324-09249-0 Publisher: Liveright  Type of book: Eritrea, guerilla, independence, 1991 May to September, Ethiopia, history, choices, decisions,  secrets, war, relationships, USA Washington D.C.  Year it was published: 2026 Summary: A radiant, highly anticipated debut from the Well–Read Black Girl Books series, delving into the secret lives of three women on the eve of Eritrean independence. The year is 1991. Eritrea is on the verge of liberation from Ethiopian rule and in Washington, D.C.’s tight–knit Eritrean community, change is in the air. Thirteen–year–old Lydia and her family are grappling with what peace—after decades of war—might mean for their future, just as they welcome a new relative into their Berekhet, a cousin newly arrived from Ethiopia to attend medical school. Berekhet encourages Lydia to confront a barrage of new ideas for the first time, about nationhood...

  Title of the book: Salt Lakes; An Unnatural History  Author: Caroline Tracey  Publisher: W.W. Norton Publishing Date: 2026 ISBN: 978-1-324-08902-5 Summary: An acclaimed young nature writer’s intimate exploration into the history and imperiled future of these neglected–but–crucial ecosystems. Salt lakes are some of the world’s most extraordinary ecosystems, but nearly all of them—from the Great Salt Lake to the Aral Sea—are drying up, a harbinger of dust storms, rising sea levels, and worsening human health. In this dazzling love letter to strange and delicate waters and a moving odyssey into her own identity, Caroline Tracey takes readers across the American West and to Mexico, Argentina, and Kazakhstan to document salt lakes, their loss, and the efforts underway to save them. She explores how the lakes have reflected the fast–changing natural world through Mormon diaries, Soviet realist novels, and Australian Aboriginal paintings. And she unravels the lakes’ less...

  Name of Book: The Silent Period ( original: Il periodo del silenzio)  Author: Francesca Manfredi (trans Ekin Oklap) ISBN: 978-1-324-10609-8 Publisher: W.W. Norton Type of book: Italy, social media detox, silence, no talking, invisible, erasure, city, noise, 2020s?, relationships, friendships, projections  Year it was published: 2026 (original 2024)  Summary: A world–weary, disillusioned young woman grapples with the complexities of communication in this arresting novel from Italy’s “new Sally Rooney” (Corriere della Sera). Cristina Martino is 28 and adrift. Underemployed at a university library, she still lives at home with her parents in Turin, in the shadow of her married, affable older sister Elena. One night, as she listlessly scrolls through Instagram, Cristina decides to delete her social media profiles. What is at first a digital detox becomes an act of self– Cristina ceases to speak. While continuing her daily life, she deprives herself of words and ge...

  Name of Book: The Slain Divine Author: David Dalglish  ISBN: 978-0-7595-5716-1 Publisher: Orbit  Part of a Series: Vagrant Gods (THE BLADED FAITH and THE SAPPHIRE ALTAR are prequels)  Type of book: Fantasy, religion, faith, gods, conclusion, secrets, history, destruction, fights, conquer, righting wrongs  Year it was published: 2024 Summary: In the thrilling conclusion to USA Today bestselling author David Dalglish's new epic fantasy trilogy, a usurped prince must master the magic of shadows in order to reclaim his kingdom and his people. The Everlorn Empire's grip on Thanet is tighter than ever. The God-Incarnate himself has arrived on its shores to crush the struggling rebellion and carry out his final, sinister he will sacrifice the entire island in order to rise, reincarnated from its ashes.  The rebellion is struggling to separate allies from enemies, and to figure out a way to stop the slow destruction of everything and everyone they care for. Meanw...