Svetlana's Reads and Views

Hey everybody, As I'm sure for many readers and fans of my blog, 2017 was a year of highs and lows. This is the time of year that many bloggers put up the best books they have read throughout the year. Since my blog is mostly focused on historical fiction and while there are good reads from contemporary, thriller and mysteries, I feel as if I should make one post wrapping up all awesome books I've read in 2017. Some of the books were published earlier than 2017, and that's okay; some reads are indies; and many others are from the big 5 publishers. Anyways, whatever you might be seeking, I hope you'll discover it in my post and enjoy. And yes, I will have honorable mentions in the next post. Without further ado, here are  my top 21 reads for 2017 from youngest to oldest publishing date:  By Love Divided by Elizabeth St John (Indie historical fiction) Why I chose it: Normally sequels tend to lag or are not as good as the first books in the series; however in t...

Title of the book: The Slave Author: Anand Dilvar Publisher: Shelter Harbor Press Publishing Date: 2005 (translated in 2017) ISBN: 978-1-=62795-104-3 Summary: "The Slave is a compact self-help book with exceptional accessibility and a profundity that encourages repeat reads." - Foreword Reviews A profound and paradigm-challenging book that guides readers through a transformative journey to personal freedom. Trapped in a vegetative state, following a terrible accident that has paralyzed his whole body, the narrator is unable to communicate with those around him. Cut off from family and friends so begins an inner conversation with his spiritual guide, a conversation which takes him on a journey of self-realization, bringing him eventually to a new state of consciousness, and an understanding of his deepest self. Written with an engaging simplicity, this is a truly profound book which can change your life. In fact to use the authors own words, it is desi...

Title of the book: How to build a piano bench; Lessons for Success from a Red-Dirt Road in Alabama Author:  Ruthi Postow Birch Publisher: River Grove Books Publishing Date: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-63299-108-9 Summary: A Humble Philosophy for Great Success “Get an education, get off Petain Street, and amount to something.” These are the words that Ruthi Postow Birch’s father said to her when she was a little girl living on a red-dirt road in Pritchard, Alabama, a town that straddled the poverty line. And that is exactly what she did. How to Build a Piano Bench is Ruthi’s humorous and heart-warming story about growing up in southern Alabama, the life lessons she learned there, and how she applied that knowledge to build a successful business in Washington, DC. Full of anecdotes and advice on how to use both your strengths and weaknesses to work to your advantage, this wonderful story will inspire and delight anyone who has ever had a dream to be something bigger than what ...

I'm probably doing this a little too early, but its never too early for hopes, goals and dreams. Few years ago I've began a few reading projects and goals: to read Dear America/My Name is America/Royal Diary series, at least to try to read all of them (about 34 left of Dear America; 19 left of My Name is America, and 16 left of Royal diaries), and, of course, read the first 56 Nancy Drew Mysteries (I've read 10 out of 56!) Some of the books have been with me for a very long time, I'm embarrassed to say, therefore here are a few books that I'm hoping to read in 2018. Can I do it? Will I make it? Stay tuned! Also, any of you have books/projects that you want to finish this year?   This is for my 7 Books around the World Project and its about Antarctica. It also doesn't help that the book sounds very intriguing... This was a gift from my beautiful sister (I requested it) I also am a sucker for complicated relationships between family members that are ver...

In my last 5 Books that might appear on my blog in 2017 , while I was lucky enough to have gotten all 5 of those books and more, I only managed to review 3 of them: Namely Enemies of Versailles by Sally Christie, Human Acts by Han Kang, and The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George. While the sequel to Nero might come out in October of 2018, and another book will come out late in summer. here are some books I'm hoping I might get and might review.  In no particular order: Brass by Xhenet Aliu Summary: A waitress at the Betsy Ross Diner, Elsie hopes her nickel and dime tips will add up to a new life. Then she meets Bashkim, who is at once both worldly and naïve, a married man who left Albania to chase his dreams—and wound up working as a line cook in Waterbury, Connecticut. Back when the brass mills were still open, this bustling factory town drew one wave of immigrants after another. Now, it’s the place they can’t seem to leave. Elsie, herself the granddaughter of...

Name of Book: Slightly South of Simple Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey ISBN: 978-1-5011-5805-6 Publisher: Gallery Books Part of a Series: Peachtree Bluff Type of book: Sisters, mothers, first love, secrets, debts, 9/11, widowhood, single parenting, pregnancy, relationships, bonds, Georgia, South, New York, summer/spring, season Year it was published: 2017 Summary: From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family. Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of hi...

Diverse Reads on my Blog #12 Whether you love or hate the current POTUS, this has been one long and extremely controversial year of real-life reality TV. While I'm relieved that the first year is over, one does wonder what will happen next year? Let's hope the worst case scenario doesn't occur and that I will still be able to blog about my reads. To 2018, may it be a better year than 2017 and 2016. Now without further ado, here are some diverse reads for December of 2017 Blast from the Past By the shores of silver lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Ingalls family had fared badly in Plum Creek, Minnesota. They were in debt. Mary was blind now. So Pa went West to work at a railroad camp in Dakota Territory where he could make as much as fifty dollars a month! Then he sent for his wife and four children, and they became the first settlers in the new town of De Smet. But the railroad brought hordes of land-hungry people from the East. Had Pa waited too long to file h...