Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Savage Ecstasy Author: Janelle Taylor ISBN: 9780821754535 Publisher: Zebra books Part of a Series: Gray Eagle series Type of book: 1776, inaccurate, cliffhanger, Native American male/English female, way of life, stereotypical, ultimate alpha male, romance, adult, savage, missing right and left hemispheres of the brain, animalistic Year it was published: 1981 Summary: It was like lightning striking, the first time they looked into each other's eyes: Gray Eagle, the captured Indian brave, and Alisha, the beautiful young settler. As the proud Oglala warrior was being tortured by his white captors, only Alisha seemed to notice that he was a human being-handsome and strong, and one who took her breath away. Characters: The only character that I did like for some odd reason was the half Native American-half white one. I personally wanted to kill both Alisha and Gray Eagle for their ridiculousness. Alisa is the epitome of being ridiculous; she's...

Fulfilling the requirement: The X letter for the title alphabetically. Summary: When Anna travels to Shanghai to study traditional Chinese painting, she's determined to immerse herself in the local culture- unlike her businessman father, who sticks to a community of Westerners. As an innocent new arrival, Anna spends time with Chenxi, the good-looking and aloof classmate who is her student guide, and is soon forced to recognize that it's much harder to escape being a wai guo ren- a foreigner- than she expected. WHen she unwittingly draws the attention of officials to Chenxi and his radical artist friends, she must face the terrible price of her actions. A deeply felt love story filled with raw emotion, cultural collisions, and memorable characters, Chenxi and the Foreigner offers an unrestrained look at hte limits on freedom in the repressive atmosphere of 1980s China. Lesson learned: Its possible to be independent. Link to review: click here

Fulfilling the requirement: The K letter for the author's last name alphabetically. Summary: Reared by wolves in the jungle, Mowgli sometimes hunts with the animals and sometimes is hunted by them! He must face unfriendly ones on his own- like the chattering army of monkeys who kidnap him to their tree-top home; the ever-hungry tiger, Shere Khan; even his own kind, Man- and learn to live by the law of the jungle. These wonderful stories, each one more exciting than the last, can be read time and again for thrills, adventure, and endless insight into people and animals and their relationship. Lesson learned: There's laws everywhere, even in jungle. Link to review: click here

Books I'm Reading: Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen 223/326 The Song of the Lark- Willa Cather 188/417 The Music of Dolphins- Karen Hesse 10/181 Prey- Lurlene McDaniel 14/194 Bridge of Scarlet Leaves- Kristina Yoshida McMorris 14/421 Witch- Christopher Pike 90/225 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them- Newt Scamander (JK Rowling) x/42 Heavy Sand- Anatoli Rybakov 121/381 Ivanhoe- Sir Walter Scott 85/405 Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy 136/807 Series: The Story of the Stone- Xueqin Cao 5. The Dreamer Wakes 96/376 People Series Quartet- W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear 3. People of the Earth 171/587 The Storyteller Trilogy- Sue Harrison 2. Cry of the Wind 184/474 The Angels Trilogy- Lurlene McDaniel 3. Until Angels Close My Eyes 383/552 Harry Potter- JK Rowling 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 31/309 Dragonlance Chronicles- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman 1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight 45/445 Millicent Min Trilogy- Lisa Yee 3. So Totally Emil...

For those who are celebrating Yom Kippur tonight. May you find what you are seeking for.

Name of Book: Vampire of the Mists Author: Christie Golden ISBN: 1-56076-155-5 Publisher: TSR Type of book: vampire, Barovia, Forgotten Realms, elf, betrayal, mystery, horror, fantasy, sun, future, gypsies, Gothic, castle Year it was published: 1991 Summary: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR --- THE DARK POWERS OF RAVENLOFT MIGHT HEAR YOU. Jander Sunstar is a gold elf, a native of magical Evermeet in the Forgotten Realms. He is also a five-hundred-year-old vampire. Torn by rage and grief, Jander is transported into the nightmare realm of Ravenloft, where he gains the attention of the demiplane's master, Count Strand Von Zarovich. But can Jander trust this elegant fellow vampire once he discovers that his own quest for revenge is linked to the dark heritage of the count's domain? Characters: The characters are well developed as well as rounded, despite them being two dimensional. The good characters are good while evil ones are evil and the passage of years d...

Name of Book: Traitors Author: Kristine Kathryn Rusch ISBN: 0-451-45415-4 Publisher: RoC Type of book: fantasy, revenge, persecution of creativity, Kingdom, Golga, police, rebellion, romance Year it was published: 1993 Summary: Emilio Diate has vowed vengeance on the Kingdom for the government's merciless execution of his entire family. Now forced to start over on the merchant island of Golga, where he knew  his dancing Talent would be forbidden, the handsome fugitive joins the secret police with only one dark intention- to stlak his family's killers and serve his own brand of justice. But when love intercedes, Diate may become the victim of his own revenge. For Sheba, the woman who has stolen his heart, also wears the crown of queen in the Kingdom, and is the very person Diate has schemed to have assassinated. A treacherous scheme that may end his one true chance at happiness- and spell the end of the universe. Characters: I want to say that the charact...

Name of Book: Wanted! Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson ISBN:  9780373795482 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Part of a Series: Sons of Chance Type of book: Romance, 1937, 2010, secrets, deception, photography, ranching life, cowboys, struggle, romance, adult Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Photographer Dominique Jeffries has come to Wyoming to find herself -- her creative self, her sexual self. After escaping the engagement from hell, she's dying to break loose and live a little. And seducing a shirtless, sweaty cowhand looks like just the place to start. Nick Chance isn't exactly a cowhand but, hey, he'll be whatever the lady wants! Only he soon realizes that this is more than just a quick roll in the hay. There's something about Dominique that calls to him, something about her that completes him. There's only one problem. Dominique wants a fling, not another relationship. Little does she guess how easily she'll be persuaded to take a Chance...

Name of Book: The Bungalow Mystery Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780448095035 Publisher: Gross and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew series Type of book: Mystery, death, guardians, 1900s, bank fraud, young adult, feminism, detective, River Heights Year it was published: 1930 Summary: While trying to help a friend out of a difficulty, Nancy has a perilous experience in and around a deserted bungalow, from which only her bravery and quick thinking save her. Characters: In goodreads reviews, there is a description of Laura being horrified by doing housework. Unfortunately I might have missed this scene in the book. The book is more of tell rather than show and tell variety. Multiple times I am told to hate a character simply because the woman had a terrible experience of having a flat tire and so forth. I actually sympathized with her instead of hating her. There is also a very negative attitude towards actors (oh how times change!) Nancy is very independent and tu...

Name of Book: Journey to Topaz Author: Yoshiko Uchida ISBN: 0-916870-85-5 Publisher: Creative Arts Book Company Part of a Series: Journey Home sequel Type of book: WW2, young adult, Topaz camp, Japanese-Americans, Issei, Nisei, camp conditions, desert, 1941-1942 or 1943? Year it was published: 1971 Summary: Like any eleven-year-old, Yuki Sakane is looking forward to christmas when her peaceful world is suddenly shattered by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Father is taken by the FBI, and she, her mother and older brother, Ken, are uprooted from their home and shipped with thousands of West Coast Japanese Americans to the horse stalls of Tanforan Racetrack and then to the bleak desert concentration camp called Topaz. There Yuki and her new friends, Emi and her grandparents, face terrifying dust storms, new hardships and finally a terrible tragedy that rocks the entire camp. Disillusioned, Ken must make a heart-wrenching decision, and Yuki faces another painful separati...

Name of Book: Great Illustrated Classics The Jungle Book Author: Rudyard Kipling ISBN: 978-0866119887 Publisher: Baronet Books Type of book: Jungle, feral children, India, laws, animals, 1800s, man vs animal Year it was published: 1895 Summary: Reared by wolves in the jungle, Mowgli sometimes hunts with the animals and sometimes is hunted by them! He must face unfriendly ones on his own- like the chattering army of monkeys who kidnap him to their tree-top home; the ever-hungry tiger, Shere Khan; even his own kind, Man- and learn to live by the law of the jungle. These wonderful stories, each one more exciting than the last, can be read time and again for thrills, adventure, and endless insight into people and animals and their relationship. Characters: In this version of Jungle Book the characters seemed to have very little depth although they did go through changes. Mowgli could be called as a God of the Jungle because with one mistake he seems to do no wrong ...

Oh, today's not January 1st 2013. But happy Rosh Hashanah for those who celebrate it! :D

Fulfilling the requirement: The letter Q for the title, alphabetically. Summary: If you have ever asked yourself where the Golden Snitch came from, how the Bludgers came into existence, or why the Wigtown Wanderers have pictures of meat cleavers on their robes, you need Quidditch Through the Ages. This limited edition is a copy of the volume in Hogwarts School Library, where it is consulted by young Quidditch fans on an almost daily basis. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to improving and saving the lives of children around the world- work that is even more important and astonishing than the three-and-a-half-second capture of the Golden Snitch by Roderick Plumpton in 1921. Albus Dumbledore Lesson learned: To make something modern, make use of many incidents. Link to review: click here

Fulfilling the requirement: The T letter for the title alphabetically. Summary: Violated by one man, forsaken by another, Tess Durbeyfield is the magnificent and spirited heroine of Thomas Hardy’s immortal work. Of all the great English novelists, no one writes more eloquently of tragic destiny than Hardy. With the innocent and powerless victim Tess, he creates profound sympathy for human frailty while passionately indicting the injustices of Victorian society. Scorned by outraged readers upon its publication in 1891, Tess of the d’Urbervilles is today one of the enduring classics of nineteenth-century literature. Lesson learned: There are double standards for men and women. Link to review: click here

Fulfilling the requirement: The R Letter for the title alphabetically. Summary: Handsome and ambitious, Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble peasant origins and make something of his life-by adopting the code of hypocrisy by which his society operates. Julien ultimately commits a crime-out of passion, principle, or insanity-that will bring about his downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical picture of French Restoration society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui. The complex, sympathetic portrayal of Julien, the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions, makes him Stendhal's most brilliant and human creation-and one of the greatest characters in European literature. Lesson learned: If you're on top, you're more likely to have enemies. Link to review: click here

Fulfilling the requirement: The T letter for the author's last name alphabetically. Summary: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." The hobbit-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a "little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves." He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, "looking for someone to share in an adventure," Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortu...

Name of Book: Sizzle in the City Author: Wendy Etherington ISBN: 9780373796892 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Part of a Series: Flirting with Justice Type of book: Romance, royalty, loyalty, obedience, family, New York, 2012, cooking, adult Year it was published: 2012 Summary: With the help of her friends, caterer Shelby Dixon is taking justice into her own hands—she's going after the sleazebag who swindled her parents out of their life savings. It's a little vigilante, but hey…no one's perfect.That is, except the sleazebag's half brother. Millionaire businessman Trevor Banfield is perfect. Perfect looks, perfect everything. And Shelby can't help herself from…well, helping herself. But mixing a sexy fling with revenge seems to be a recipe for disaster. Now she's torn between her taste for Trevor…and her thirst for righting wrongs! Characters: I found the characters to be real and genuine, although towards the end I didn't understand why...

Fulfilling the requirement: The C letter for the author's last name alphabetically. Summary: Highly acclaimed by critics, The Foreign Student is the story of a young Korean man, scarred by war, and the deeply troubled daughter of a wealthy Southern American family. In 1955, a new student arrives at a small college in the Tennessee mountains. Chuck is shy, speaks English haltingly, and on the subject of his earlier life in Korea he will not speak at all. Then he meets Katherine, a beautiful and solitary young woman who, like Chuck, is haunted by some dark episode in her past. Without quite knowing why, these two outsiders are drawn together, each sensing in the other the possibility of salvation. Moving between the American South and South Korea, between an adolescent girl's sexual awakening and a young man’s nightmarish memories of war, The Foreign Student is a powerful and emotionally gripping work of fiction. Lesson learned: The road to love is fraught with multiple...

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen SR: May 29th, 2012 FR: N/A The Song of the Lark-Willa Cather SR: June 2nd, 2012 FR: N/A The Foreign Student- Susan Choi SR: May 28th, 2012 FR: September 4th, 2012 Vampire of the Mists- Christie Golden SR: August 10th, 2012 FR: September 24th, 2012 The Music of Dolphins- Karen Hesse SR: September 1st, 2012 FR: N/A The Jungle Book (Great Illustrated Classics)- Rudyard Kipling SR: August 1st, 2012 FR: September 18th, 2012 Prey- Lurlene McDaniel SR: September 1st, 2012 FR: N/A Bridge of Scarlet Leaves- Kristina Yoshida McMorris SR: September 4th, 2012 FR: N/A Witch- Christopher Pike SR: September 1st, 2012 FR: September 30th, 2012 Chenxi and the Foreigner- Sally Rippin SR: August 1st, 2012 FR: September 24th, 2021 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them- JK Rowling (Newt Scamander) SR: September 1st, 2012 FR: N/A Traitors- Kristie Kathryn Rusch SR: August 1st, 2012 FR: September 19th, 2012 Heavy Sand- Anatoli Rybakov SR:...