Svetlana's Reads and Views

Title of the book: Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking; a Memoir of Food and Longing Author: Anya von Bremzen Publisher: Broadway Books Publishing Date : 2014 ISBN:  978-0-307-88682-8 Summary: A James Beard Award-winning writer captures life under the Red socialist banner in this wildly inventive, tragicomic memoir of feasts, famines, and three generations          Born in 1963, in an era of bread shortages, Anya grew up in a communal Moscow apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen. She sang odes to Lenin, black-marketeered Juicy Fruit gum at school, watched her father brew moonshine, and, like most Soviet citizens, longed for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, naively joyous, and melancholy—and ultimately intolerable to her anti-Soviet mother, Larisa. When Anya was ten, she and Larisa fled the political repression of Brezhnev-era Russia, arriving in Philadelphia with no winter coats and no right o...

Name of Book: Kato and the Fountain of Wrinkles Author: Rhys Ella ISBN: 978-1-63268-875-0 Publisher: Tate Publishing Type of book: talking animals, Hollywood, brotherhood, human/animal bond, schedule, supernatural elements, dogs, wrinkly dogs Year it was published: 2014 Summary: For famous animal actor Kato Rhyan, being named "Cutest Pug Alive" by Pooch Magazine was cool (all right, really cool). But for him, acting isn't about fame, it's a part of him buried deep within his soul; and he's not about to let anything stand in his way of becoming the first animal to win an Oscar for Best Actor, even if it means taking on a role that requires a wrinkly dog's worst nightmare -- Botox injections. But before the injection process begins, it's discovered that the Fountain of Wrinkles -- located in his beautiful hometown of Callia Rugas -- has been contaminated by Botox, jeopardizing the lives of crinkly canines everywhere and setting off a cha...

The first in a captivating new series from bestselling author S.G. Redling, creator of Flowertown and Damocles OURSELVES S.G. Redling   **Named by io9 as a “fantasy you can’t afford to miss this January” 2015**     S.G. Redling burst onto the scene with Flowertown , a high-octane conspiracy thriller that earned her fans around the globe and was followed by bestsellers including the space adventure Damocles and techno-thrillers The Widow File and Redemption Key . In her latest novel, Redling charts new territory – and puts a fascinating new twist on vampire lore – in telling the story of the Nahan, a human race who live among, but are startlingly different from, “common” humans. OURSELVES (47North; January 27, 2015) is our first peek into this hidden world, a world the Nahan have protected by cultivating the myths of fanged, bloodsucking monsters that haunt legends. The Nahan hav...

Name of Book: I, James Author: Mike Hartner ISBN: 978-1-927867-31-0 Publisher: Eternity4Popsickle Part of a Series: Eternity Series Type of book: History, travels, boating, sea life, 1600s, family, nature vs nurture, improbable scenarios or characters, alternative universe Year it was published: 2014 Summary: James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? Characters: The characters really need to be more in depth than now. There is very little dialogue or quirks that would allow for the reader to remember them, and they seem to be two dimensional instead of multi dimensional. No inner lives are portrayed. For young adults it might be an enjoyable read, but I didn't enjoy it. Theme: To be honest, I'm not sure what the message should have been of the story Plot: The story is written ...

Title of the book: The Metabolism Solution; The NEW Way To Lose Weight! Author: Lisa Lynn Publisher: Xulon Press Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN:  978-1-62952-118-3 Summary: Fitness specialist Lisa Lynn, who has been the guest expert on television programs like the Dr. Oz Show, reveals the hidden reasons you are not succeeding in your quest for weight loss. If it feels like a mystery to you, that s because the mainstream media and fitness businesses are earning a profit from keeping you in the dark. Lisa Lynn shows you how to free your mind from fear-based attempts through the power of God, improving not just your body, but your entire life. The breakthrough health system Lisa Lynn has created gives you not only effective recipes and real techniques, but the true reasons why nothing else has worked. Discover the answers to questions you haven t even known to ask and the drive to finally push through to the turning point in your life."  Personal Opinion: To be ...

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Name of Book: The Tiger Queens; The Women of Genghis Khan Author: Stephanie Thornton ISBN: 978-0-451-41780-0 Publisher: New American Library Type of book: Genghis Khan, family, historical fiction, 1171-1248, conquerors, Mongolia, Asia, Europe, Muslim, friendship, relationships, romance, mother/daughter relationship Year it was published: 2014 Summary: In the late twelfth century, across the sweeping Mongolian grasslands, brilliant, charismatic Temujin ascends to power, declaring himself the Great, or Genghis, Khan. But it is the women who stand beside him who ensure his triumph.... After her mother foretells an ominous future for her, gifted Borte becomes an outsider within her clan. When she seeks comfort in the arms of aristocratic traveler Jamuka, she discovers he is the blood brother of Temujin, the man who agreed to marry her and then abandoned her long before they could wed. Temujin will return and make Borte his queen, yet it will take many women to saf...