Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Cry to Heaven Author: Anne Rice ISBN: 0-345-39693-6 Publisher: Ballantine Books Type of book: Castrati, Italy, Venice, homosexuality, 1715-1740s, Opera, Upper class, adult, homo-erotic scenes Year it was published: 1982 Summary: In this mesmerizing novel, the acclaimed author of THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES and LIVES OF THE MAYFAIR WITCHES makes real for us the exquisite and otherworldly society of the 18th century castrati, the delicate and alluring male sopranoes whose graceful bodies and glorious voices brought them the adulation of the royal courts and grand opera houses of Europe, men who lived as idols, concealing their pain as they were adored as angels, yet shunned as half-men. As we are drawn into their dark and luminous story, as the crowds of Venetians, Neopolitans, and Romans, noblemen and peasants, musicians, prelates, princes, saints, and intriguers swirl around them, Anne Rice brings us into the sweep of eighteenth-century Italian life, into...

Name of Book: Titanic The Long Night Author: Diane Hoh ISBN: 0-590-33123-X Publisher: Scholastic Part of a Series: Titanic Duology: Remembering the Titanic next Type of book: Titanic, first class, third class, April 1912, young adult Year it was published: 1998 Summary: Who will survive the long night? Everyone thought the RMS Titanic could never sink. But when it struck a huge iceberg just before midnight on April 14th, 1912, the helpless passengers found out they were wrong. Beautiful Elizabeth Farr and dashing Max Whittaker in the first class...Brian and Patrick Kelleher and pretty red-haired Kathleen Hanrahan in steerage...Everyone is faced with biting cold and chruning black waters, tilting lifeboats and pathetic screams. Some will live, but more than fifteen hundred will die on that disastrous night. Will Elizabeth, Max, and Kathleen be among the survivors? Characters: The characters are painted vividly and aren't easily forgettable, although I ...

Name of Book: Don't die, my love Author: Lurlene McDaniel ISBN: 0-553-56715-2 Publisher: Bantam Type of book: 1990s, cancer, young adult, true love Year it was published: 1995 Summary: "Meant for each other." That's how both Julie Ellis and Luke Muldenhower have always felt. In sixth grade Luke actually asked Julie to marry him, and she just laughed. In eighth grade they began dating. Now in high school, they are deeply in love. Luke, a talented football player, is almost certain to receive an athletic scholarship to a top college. And no matter what her parents say, wherever Luke goes, Julie intends to follow. When Luke can't shake what he thinks is a virus, Julie persuades him to see a doctor. Luke's test results are alarming, but Julie believes their love is stronger than anything. Can love survive, now and forever? Characters: The characters do not have a lot of depth to them in my opinion. They seem to be a bit on the simplisti...

Name of Book: The Man in the iron mask Author: Alexandre Dumas ISBN: 0-812-56499-5 Publisher: TOR Part of a Series: D'Artagnan Romances Type of book: France, 1660s-1670s, Louis XIV, friendship, Year it was published: Version I have 1998 (Original version in France 1847-1850) Summary: "You are about to hear," said Aramis, "an account which few could now give; for it refers to a secret which they buried with the dead..." So begins the magnificent concluding story of the swashbuckling Musketeers, Aramis, Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnant. Aramis- plotting against the King of France-bribes his way into the jail cells of the Bastille where a certain prisoner has been entombed for eight long years. The prisoner knows neither his real name nor the crime he has committed. But Aramis knows the secret of the prisoner's identity...a secret so dangerous that its revelation could topple the King from his throne! Aramis...plotting against t...

Unfortunately I cannot stomach reading Great Expectations. I lasted until page 224  out of 523 and decided to drop it. I doubt I will read it again anytime soon. Previously I have read A Tale of Two Cities which was my first Dickens book, and again I wonder why the heck is he so popular and well liked? He uses too many words to express a simple idea or actions, his characters aren't memorable and are pointless, the plots are very contrived, and the books themselves are boring. Sometimes I wonder if this is the case of the Emperor's clothes, with everyone too afraid to admit the truth; that Dickens is a bad writer and they're only saying he's good because they don't understand the writing themselves. I wanted to like Charles Dickens' novels, I wanted to be blown away by their genius and all, but alas that's not my fate. I wish that other authors such as Ann Radcliffe or Wilkie Collins would be more well known than Dickens. From what I saw, both are amazing ...

Name of Book: The Age of Innocence Author: Edith Wharton ISBN: 0-02-026478-x Publisher: Scribner Type of book: 1870s, 1890s, New York, old New York, high society, infidelity, adult, romance,  standards, hierarchy Year it was published: 1920 Summary: Winer of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton's portrait of desire and betrayal in Old New York. As Newland Archer preparers to marry the docile May Welland, his world is forever changed by the return of the mysterious Countess Ellen Olenska. "Wharton's characters...become very real. You know their hearts, souls and yearnings, and the price they pay for those yearnings." (San Francisco Examiner.) This authoritative text is reprinted from the Library of America edition of Novels by Edith Wharton. Characters: Newland Archer, Countess Olenska, and May Welland could be said to represent the future of New York; May Welland could be seen as the old structured and familiar New York...

Name of Book: Farmer Boy Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder ISBN: 0-06-440003-4 Publisher: Harper Trophy Book Part of a Series: Little house in the big woods, Little house on the prairie prequels; on the banks of plum creek Type of book: pioneer, New York, 1866-1867, kid to adult, 19th century America, farming cycle Year it was published: 1933 Summary: Ten years in the future, Laura Ingalls will marry Almanzo in the town of De Smet, South Dakota. But now, Almanzo is miles away, growing up with his brother and sisters on his father's farm in New York. Almanzo's chores get him up at dawn and keep him working till dinner-summer and winter. But it is fun, and it builds character. And was there ever a boy who loved horses more? Was there ever a boy with a bigger appetite? Characters: It has been awhile since I read the latter Little House books, so I can't remember if Almanzo's obsession with horses remained constant or changed. There is strength and d...

Name of Book: The Qualinesti Author: Paul Thompson, Tonya Carter ISBN: 1-56076-114-8 Publisher: TSR Part of a Series: Elven Nations trilogy; Firstborn, Kinslayer Wars prequels Type of book: Fantasy, young adult- adult. Year it was published: 1991 Summary: Kith-Kanan becomes the first speaker of the Suns. His reign can claim many triumphs, including a pact with thre reclusive dwarves of Thorbadin that results in the great monument of Pax-Tharkas. But Kith-Kanan is haunted by his failures: acrimony between the elven factions and the mysterious behavior of his son, his future successor. Characters: The characters seemed to be flat and little motivations were revealed. I would have really liked to know Ulvian's deeper psychology and motivations instead of what I was given. Other than that the characters didn't seem to satisfy me. Theme: Have faith that everything will be okay. Plot: This was written from omniscient third person point of view. I pers...

Name of Book: Sea and Sky Author: Adrienne Leslie ISBN: 978-1-4392-4097-7 Publisher: BookSurge publishing Part of a Series: Bird and fish prequel Type of book: Korean dramas, adult, romance, 2007, interracial relationship asian male/white female Year it was published: 2008 Summary: Cancer survivor Wendy Dale has been busy healing others; her alcoholic husband, her chronically ill daughter and cantankerous mother. No wonder she took a Korean lover. But Hyun Jae Won returned to Korea leaving Wendy unable to heal herself. After discovering her good friend Libby Spring abandoned a baby in Taegu, Korea years earlier, Wendy offers to make the six thousand mile journey to locate Libby's now-grown son. Finally, she has an excuse to find her soul mate. Now, if she can only find out why she's trhowing-up every morning. The eye opening, jaw dropping second book in Adrienne Leslie's Bird and Fish Duology, is finally out. Only this time, in Sea and Sky, t...

Books I'm Reading The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 210/434 Great Expectations-Charles Dickens 44/523 The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas 11/531 Under his spell-Kathy Lyons 38/216 Don't Die my love-Lurlene McDaniel 20/250 Cry to heaven-Anne Rice 58/564 The Tale of Genji-Murasaki Shikibu 409/1090 Come toy with me-Cara Summers 65/214 Tailspin-Cara Summers 120/216 The Age of Innocence- Edith Wharton 100/362 The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 3. The Warning Voice 66/613 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 5. The Man in the iron mask-342/574 Lydia Saga-Kate Furnivall 3. The Girl from Junchow 29/488 The Ivory Carver Trilogy-Sue Harrison 2. My Sister the moon 66/400 Titanic Duology- Diane Hoh 1. Titanic: The Long Night 30/371 Tigress Quartet- Jade Lee 2. Hungry Tigress 246/353 Bird and Fish Duology-Adrienne Leslie 2. Sea and Sky 51/286 Japanese Duology- Takashi Matsuoka  1. Cloud of Sparrows 91/560 Sweet Valley Twins Super Chillers-Francine Pascal 2....

Well, the last Harry Potter has come out on Blu-Ray and perhaps DVD. The conclusion to the movies is over, and soon the mania will ebb perhaps, the wave no longer strong as before. I wonder if anyone remembers the Harry Potter books? I have only seen movies 1 and 2 perhaps and due to my nit pickiness and comparing them with the books, didn't enjoy the movies. However, I became huge fan of the books, at least up until Book 7. Just for fun, I will talk about my life involving Harry Potter. For me it started in middle school in 1999. I recall I was in 7th grade and everybody was constantly talking about Harry Potter all the time. What I remember is during a book club or something like that we could check out Harry Potter book from the library, which I did. The book I checked out was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third one in the series. I don't recall how long it took me to read that book, but I remember falling in love with the magical world that the author ha...

Name of Book: Once upon the river love Author: Andrei Makine ISBN: 0-14-028362-5 Publisher: Penguin Type of book: Russia, Siberia, love story, Belmondo, 1970s, 1990s, Western World Year it was published: 1994 (version I have 1998) Summary: Set in the 1970s in the vast, remote forests of eastern Siberia, Andrei Makine's brilliant novel tells the story of Mitya, Utkin, and Samurai, three boys on the verge of manhood. Isolated by history as well as geography, with only the passing lights of the Transsiberian train to assure them of an outside world, these friends yearn for experiences their small village cannot provide. But an afternoon at the cinema-a day's trek by snowshoe-changes their lives forever. The boys are captivated by a film staring French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and a cast of beautiful women (all of whom Belmondo manages to seduce with consummate ease.) Over the next several months they travel seventeen more times to see their hero, and when that ...

Name of Book: The christmas ghost Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-15767-1 Publisher: Bantam Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Twins and Friends Super Chillers; The ghost in the graveyard, the carnival ghost, next. Type of book: Sweet valley twins, kid to young adult, Dickens' christmas carol parody, moral, 1985 Year it was published: December 1989 Summary: Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are looking forward to the most glorious christmas ever. The tree is trimmed, the presents are wrapped, and movie star Beau Dilon is coming to town! THe actor, who'll be in Sweet Valley to publicize his new movie, has agreed to help Elizabeth raise money for the children's wing of hte local hospital. BUt when the teen star arrives at the Wakefields' house, it's Jessica, not Elizabeth, he meets. What's the harm in pretending to be your twin? No harm, Jessica thinks-until strange things start happening and three ghostly visitors appear. Is Jessica's i...

Name of Book: The Silver Kiss Author: Annette Curtis Klause ISBN: 0-440-21346-0 Publisher: Laurel Leaf Books Type of book: Vampires, coming of age, death, love story, 1980s, young adult Year it was published: 1990 Summary: Zoe is wary when, in the dead of the night, the beautiful but frightening Simon comes to her house. Simon seems to understand the pain of loneliness and death and Zoe's brooding thoughts about her dying mother. Simon is one of the undead, a vampire, seeking revenge for the gruesome death of his mother three hundred years ago. Does Simon dare ask Zoe to hlep free him from this lifeless chase and its intolerable solitude? Characters: The characters are three dimensional and one can see them change throughout the book; that is they don't stay the same. The villain in this book is one dimensional and seems to be excused from change because he is only a child. I enjoy reading about Zoe's journey from angry teenager to someone who tries...

The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins SR: December 7th, 2010 FR: N/A Great Expectations-Charles Dickens SR: November 1st, 2011 FR: Stopped reading on November 21st, 2011 Chapter 26 pg.224 The Count of Monte Cristo-Alexandre Dumas SR: November 1st, 2011 FR: N/A The Silver Kiss-Annette Curtis Klause SR: October 1st, 2011 FR: November 3rd, 2011 Under his spell-Kathy Lyons SR: October 1st, 2011 FR: N/A Once Upon the river love-Andrei Makine SR: August 22nd, 2011 FR: November 7th, 2011 Don't die my love-Lurlene McDaniel SR: November 1st, 2011 FR: November 27th, 2011 Cry to heaven-Anne Rice SR: November 1st, 2011 FR: November 29th, 2011 The Tale of Genji-Murasaki Shikibu SR: May 17th, 2011 FR: N/A Come toy with me-Cara Summers SR: August 22nd, 2011 FR: N/A Tailspin-Cara Summers SR: July 1st, 2011 FR: N/A The Age of Innocence-Edith Wharton SR: November 1st, 2011 FR: November 21st, 2011 The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 3. The Warning Voice SR: November 1st, 2...