Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Cry of the Wind Author: Sue Harrison ISBN: 0-380-72604-1 Publisher: Avon Fiction Part of a Series: Storyteller Trilogy Type of book: Alaska, Near River, Cousin River, war, effects, evil, healing, daily life, mysteries, murders, forbidden love. 610 Pre-Modern Era, 6458-6456? PME Year it was published: 1998 Summary: Winter looms in this place of icy splendor near the top of the world-chilling a heart already frozen by hatred and cold dreams of revenge? Experience and adversity have made the storyteller Chakliux a wise and powerful hunter and a man of great respect. But a tender heart is his weakness. In his village lives the beautiful Aqamdax for whom he yearns, though she is mated to a cruel and dangerous tribesman she does not love. It is Chakliux she runs to under a clear, moonlit sky while the village sleeps. But there can be no future for them together until a curse upon their people has been transcended. And then there is K'os, the healing woman...

Name of Book: Ambushed! Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson ISBN: 978-1-4268-6000-3 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Part of a Series: Sons of Chance Type of book: Cowboy, relationships, adult, belonging, friendship, family, to have kids/not to have kids Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Morgan O'Connelli hated the restless lifestyle she'd had as a child. All she wants now is to create a real home in small-town Wyoming. So first she hangs up her real-estate agent shingle...then she promptly borrows the horse of the hottest cowboy in town Cutting-horse champion Gabe Chance is blown away by the feisty redhead who unexpectedly lands right in his bed...and, soon enough, his heart Morgan's perfect for him in every way. Until he realizes that while she's turned out to be everything he never knew he wanted, he's "got" everything someone in her profession has ever wanted...his family's ranch. And that's a legacy he's just not willing to give...

Fulfilling the requirement: The U letter for the first letter or title of the book alphabetically Summary: Be sure to read this summer's highly anticipated companion to Angels Watching Over Me and Lifted Up by Angels: Until Angels Close My Eyes When Neil, Leah's warm and loving step-father, reveals that his cancer is no longer in remission, Leah finds comfort in a visit to Amish country to see her true love, Ethan. When Ethan chooses to leave his life on the farm, he moves in with Leah and her family. But once Ethan arrives, they realize that his Amish values are quite different from those of Leah's complex "English" world. Will their love help, or hurt, Leah as she faces the complex hurdles that await her? Lesson learned: Home and family are vital for survival. Link to review: click here

Name of Book: A christmas home Author: Greg Kincaid ISBN: 978-0-307-95197-7 Publisher: Random House Part of a Series: christmas series Type of book: dogs, shelters, disabilities both physical and mental, problems, close-downs, ideas, hope, miracles, independence, growing up, 2012, December Year it was published: 2012 Summary: Todd McCray, hero of A Dog Named Christmas, is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Laura, a young volunteer. Laura, like Todd, has disabilities of her own, but her struggles are more physical than developmental. Their friendship is sealed when Todd—with the help of his trusted companion, the tenacious Labrador retriever named Christmas—trains a beautiful dog named Gracie to help Laura with the day-to-day life tasks that are difficult for her. Life seems good for Todd, but all is not well in his hometown. Struggling families unable to make ends meet are abandonin...

Name of Book: Forbidden Ecstasy Author: Janelle Taylor ISBN: 9780821752784 Publisher: Zebra Kensington Part of a Series: Gray Eagle/ Ecstasy Series Type of book: Inaccurate, ridiculous, sadistic love, fear, racist, adult, 1776?-1777?, repititious, implausible endings Year it was published: 1982 Summary: Never before did the possession of a man fill Alisha with such excitement as when she held her handsome Indian lover in her arms. That she was a white woman living in the red man's world did not matter. They had promised each other their hearts forever - nothing could keep them apart. But when Alisha awoke to dawn's first light her bronze-skinned warrior was gone. Her lips were tender from his fiery kisses; her body throbbed from his fierce passion - and still she longed for him. Lost between two worlds, she was desperate and alone. Betrayed by her savage lover, she hungered for their forbidden love! Characters: Boring idiotic characters, aside from Jeffr...

Name of Book: Defiant Ecstasy Author: Janelle Taylor ISBN: 9780821754474 Publisher: Zebra/ Kensington Publishing Corp. Part of a Series: Ecstasy Series Type of book: Inaccurate, secrets, confusing, improbable, laughable, 1776, Native American male/ white female, Mary Sue, America Year it was published: 1982 Summary: The longer Alisha Williams remained at Fort Pierre, the more she hoped her redskinned lover would rescue her from the taunts and tirades of the white pioneers. They would never let her forget she had been the mistress of the infamous savage warrior, Gray Eagle. As if the auburn-haired beauty could forget! Each night, Alisha sweetly remembered Gray Eagle's bold caresses, burning kisses, his blazing passion. Each day, she scanned the vast horizon in hopes her Oglala brave would recapture her. Then one day, Alish saw hundreds of Indian warriors riding to the gates of Fort Pierre--and at their head was the fierce Gray Eagle. Though her most fervent pr...

Name of Book: You are the love of my life Author: Susan Richards Shreve ISBN: 978-0-393-08280-7 Publisher: Norton Type of book: Secrets, lies, family, 1951, 1973, Washington, New York, Nixon, Watergate, Year it was published: 2012 Summary: For fans of Sue Miller, a finely wrought novel of family secrets and the desire for sustaining love. It is 1973 and the scandal of Watergate is on everyone's lips. Lucy Painter, children's book writer and single mother of two, is leaving New York and the married father of her children to return to the house in the tightly knit Washington, DC, neighborhood where she grew up and where she discovered her father's suicide. Lucy hopes for a fresh start, but her life is full of secrets: her children know nothing of the circumstances surrounding her father's death or the identity of their own father. And as new neighbors enter their insular lives, the safety and stability of her family are in jeopardy. Lucy knows how to ...

Name of Book: Dracula Author: Bram Stoker ISBN: 0-88029-901-0 Publisher: Barnes and Noble Books Type of book: Vampires, supernatural, epistolary, horror, Harker, Dracula, Britain, 1890s, friendship, Eastern Europe Year it was published: 1897 (version I have 1992) Summary: "The girl went on her knees, and bent over me, simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal... I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there." Johnathan Harker, a solicitor's clerk from London, travels to Transylvania to settle some business with the mysterious Count Dracula. In England, Harker's fiancee, Mina, receives a visit from the Count as does her friend Lucy. Harker returns from his traumatic journey and joins Dr. Van Helsing on a "vampire hunt" in an atte...

Name of Book: The Mystery at Lilac Inn Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9781557091581 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Mysteries Type of book: Mystery, lilacs, codes, skin diving, 1900s, young adult, children, revised 1960s edition Year it was published: 1930 Summary: Teenage detective Nancy Drew finds herself in danger when she sets out to track a jewel thief. Characters: Nancy still remains herself, and in this book its revealed that she can skin-dive. (What does that mean by the way?) The other characters are flat and aren't very interesting unfortunately. Helen Corning is still engaged to someone and she doesn't play an interesting part. I have to admit that very little of the book seems interesting to me. Theme: Actors tend to be bad people. Plot: This is written in third person narrative from Nancy's point of view. I have to admit that the story wasn't interesting and it didn't grab me. The only plot twists ...

Fulfilling the requirement: The S letter for the beginning of the title alphabetically. Summary: In this celebrated story of a young woman's awakening as an artist, Thea Kronborg struggles to escape the confines of her small Colorado town without losing the strength and courage she derives from her pioneering heritage. Lesson learned: Fame requires a lot of sacrifices. Link to review: click here

Name of Book: Until Angels Close My Eyes Author: Lurlene McDaniel ISBN: 0-553-57098-6 Publisher: Laurel Leaf Books Part of a Series: The Angels Trilogy Type of book: Cancer, Amish, 1990s, relationship, choices, belonging, home, family, young adult Year it was published: 1998 Summary: Be sure to read this summer's highly anticipated companion to Angels Watching Over Me and Lifted Up by Angels: Until Angels Close My Eyes When Neil, Leah's warm and loving step-father, reveals that his cancer is no longer in remission, Leah finds comfort in a visit to Amish country to see her true love, Ethan. When Ethan chooses to leave his life on the farm, he moves in with Leah and her family. But once Ethan arrives, they realize that his Amish values are quite different from those of Leah's complex "English" world. Will their love help, or hurt, Leah as she faces the complex hurdles that await her? Characters: The characters felt flat and somehow pr...

Title of the Book: The Artist's Way; A spiritual Path to Higher Creativity Author: Julia Cameron Name of Publisher: Tarcher/Putnam Publishing Date: original 1992 (version I have 2012) Other Works: The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal, The Artist's Date Book, The Vein of Gold, The Right to Write, God is no laughing matter, Finding Water, Walking in This World Author Background: (from the back-flap)Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She is the author of over thirty books, fiction and nonfiction, including her bestselling works on the creative process: Walking in this world and Finding Water. A novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and telivision. Visit the author's website at www.theartistsway.com ISBN: 978-1-58542-146-6 Theme: (from page XIII)"Art is a spiritual transaction. Artists are visionaries. We routinely practice a form of faith, seeing clearly and m...

Fulfilling the requirement: The A letter of the alphabet for the author's last name alphabetically. Summary: The romantic clash of two opinionated young people provides the sustaining theme of Pride and Prejudice. Vivacious Elizabeth Bennet is fascinated and repelled by the arrogant Mr. Darcy, whose condescending airs and acrid tongue have alienated her entire family. Their spirited courtship is conducted against a background of assembly-ball flirtations and drawing-room intrigues. Jane Austen's famous novel captures the affections of class-conscious 18th century English families with matrimonial aims and rivalries. Her people are universal; they live a truth beyond time, change, or caricature. George Eliot called Jane Austen "the greatest artist that has ever written," and Sir Walter Scott wrote of her work, "There is a truth of painting in her writings which always delights me." Lesson learned: Love can happen unexpectedly. Link to review: c...

Books I'm Reading: Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen 31/237 My Antonia- Willa Cather 67/289 The Music of Dolphins- Karen Hesse 13/181 Prey- Lurlene McDaniel 55/196 Bridge of Scarlet Leaves- Kristina Yoshida McMorris 19/420 You are the love of my life- Susan Richards Shreve 56/298 Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy 165/807 Series: The Story of the Stone- Xueqin Cao 5. The Dreamer Wakes 112/376 Flirting with Justice- Wendy Etherington 2. Breathless on the Beach 29/218 People Series Quartet- W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear 3. People of the Earth 186/587 The Storyteller Trilogy- Sue Harrison 3. Call Down the Stars 32/503 The Angels Trilogy- Lurlene McDaniel 3. Until Angels Close My Eyes 418/552 Harry Potter Series- JK Rowling 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 46/309 Dragonlance Chronicles- Margaret Weis Tracy Hickman 1. Dragons of Autumn Twilight 120/445 Millicent Min Trilogy- Lisa Yee 3. So Totally Emily Ebers 9/280 E-Reading: Nancy Drew Mysteri...

Name of Book: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Author: Newt Scamander (J.K Rowling) ISBN: 0-439-29501-7 Publisher: Scholastic Part of a Series: Harry Potter Type of book: animals, guide, reference, magic, children, wizards Year it was published: 2001 Summary: A copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now, for a limited period only, Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats, and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to improving and saving the lives of children around the world, which means that the dollars and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that tis insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope most sincerely that passing wizards feel more charitable if they ever see you being attacked by a Manticore. Albus Dumbled...

Name of Book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Author: Stephen Chbosky ISBN: 978-0-671-02734-6 Publisher: Gallery Books Type of book: rape, molestation, young adult, 1991-1992, college, mental hospital, first love, first kiss, music, letters, epistolary novel, sibling relationship, friendship, homosexuality Year it was published: 1999 Summary: Standing on the fringes of life... offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying...

Title of the Book: The Meaning of Your Life: Secular HELP for the Puzzled, Disappointed or Depressed Author: Marius Croeser Publishing Company: Board of Mediators Publishing Date: 2011 Other Works: None. This is the author's first book ISBN: 978-0-9869530-0-2 Theme:  (From page 11 of the book): "My intention was to write in order to meet the need, that I and others have felt, for a guide towards understanding personal meaning and to do so specifically wtihin a secular context. For those with whom I have dialogued, I sensed that life could be enriched by having, not an academic textbook, but rather (to use a metaphor my partner would appreciate) the necessary gardening tools to help meaning grow and flourish. The goal of this work then, is to give to you some of these important tools that may assist you with your meaning. This work is intended to be hopeful and helpful and it has been written primarily for the person who is asking questions about meaning. I exp...

Name of Book: The Song of the Lark Author: Willa Cather ISBN: 0-395-34530-8 Publisher: Mariner Books Type of book: Singing, art, Colorado Moonstone, New York, fame, past, nature, 1880s?-1909, training, sacrifice, second generation, talent, people, isolation, loneliness Year it was published: 1915 Summary: In this celebrated story of a young woman's awakening as an artist, Thea Kronborg struggles to escape the confines of her small Colorado town without losing the strength and courage she derives from her pioneering heritage. Characters: The book completely centers on Thea, the same as characters who talk about Thea all the time. Yet despite all that, Thea remains very mysterious and is best described as pragmatic, dedicated and somewhat selfish. She is also kind of stunted when it comes to having relationships or how to relate to people outside of music, or to even recognize their foibles and talents. There are other characters such as Dr. Archie, the music te...

Name of Book: White Eagle's Touch Author: Karen Kay ISBN: 978-1-60928-975-1 Publisher: Samhain Publishing Part of a Series: Blackfoot Warriors Type of book: West, inheritance, wars, revenge, coup, White female/Native American male relationship, interracial, promises, Pikuni, Blackfoot 1832-1833, romance, adult, nature Year it was published: 1998 Summary: Katrina Wellington is vexed. She must marry to obtain the rest of her inheritance. But her uncle, who left her in New York with a governess to make his fortune out West, has suddenly decided he must approve of her fiance before he will loosen the purse strings to her dowry. Swallowing her outrage, the socialite treks to the same wilderness that claimed her parents' lives years ago. Some small part of her is crestfallen that her uncle is not waiting with open arms. Only three guides, Indian guides, await her, and one of them is far too handsome for his own good. At first, White Eagle does not like the spo...

Name of Book: The Fiddler on Pantico Run: An African Warrior, His White Descendants, Our Search for Family Author: Joe Mozingo ISBN: 978-1-4516-2748-0 Publisher: Free Press Year it was published: 2012 Summary: Growing up, Joe Mozingo heard many stories about where his father's family was from- Italy, Hungary, the Basque Country. Then one day, a colleague told him his name came from the African Congo, and that sent Joe, a blue-eyed, brown-haired white man, on a journey to find the truth of his family roots. He discovered that he was descended from a slave brought to the Jamestown colony in 1644, Edward Mozingo, likely an African prince, who was one of the only slaves to keep his African surname. Edward had sued for his freedom, becoming a tobacco farmer on Pantico Run in Northern Virginia and marrying a white woman from a landowning family, fathering one of the country's first mixed race family lines. Research also showed he was a fiddler. Joe plunged deep into...