Svetlana's Reads and Views

Title of the book: White Fragility; Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Author: Robin Diangelo  Publisher: Beacon Press Publishing Date: 2018 ISBN: B07638ZFN1 Summary: The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, anti-racist educator Robin DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what can be done to engage more constructively. Author Info:  (From goodreads/wikipedia) Robin J. DiAngelo is...

Name of Book : A Reason for Living Author: Julian Jingles ISBN: 978-1-64367-865-8 Publisher: urlink Type of book: Jamaica, 1960s, incest, Rasta, drugs, corruption, parties, students, art, gratuitous sex, violence, Gary Stu, relationships, poor, country, activity Year it was published: 2020 Summary: It is the mid-1960s in Kingston, Jamaica, and the country is steeped in social, political, and economic inequities. Howard Baxter, the heir to a real estate empire, has no interest in seeking or managing wealth. Painting and deflowering Jamaican maidens are his passions. As he combs the streets looking for greater meaning in his pathetic life, it soon becomes apparent that Howard's journey will not be easy. Bernaldo Lloyd, a member of the Baxter clan, is a medical student who is sensitive to the hopelessness of the Jamaican masses. Inspired by his close friend and Howard's cousin, Ras Robin Pone, and their ties with the Rastafari movement that calls for social and ...

Name of Book: A Gentleman in Moscow Author: Amor Towles ISBN: 978-0-670-02619-7 Publisher: Viking Type of book: Moscow, Russia, 1922-1954, wealth, breeding, culture, class, Metropol, trapped, claustrophobia, reading, literature, friendship Year it was published: 2016 Summary: The mega-bestseller with more than 1.5 million readers that is soon to be a major television series He can't leave his hotel. You won't want to. From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility--a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are ...

Name of Book:  Speak no evil Author:  Uzodinma Iweala ISBN:  9780061284922 Publisher:  Harper Year it was published: 2018 Summary: In the long-anticipated novel from the author of the critically acclaimed Beasts of No Nation, a revelation shared between two privileged teenagers from very different backgrounds sets off a chain of events with devastating consequences. On the surface, Niru leads a charmed life. Raised by two attentive parents in Washington, D.C., he’s a top student and a track star at his prestigious private high school. Bound for Harvard in the fall, his prospects are bright. But Niru has a painful secret: he is queer—an abominable sin to his conservative Nigerian parents. No one knows except Meredith, his best friend, the daughter of prominent Washington insiders—and the one person who seems not to judge him. When his father accidentally discovers Niru is gay, the fallout is brutal and swift. Coping with troubles of her own, howeve...

Name of Book: The Carrion BIrds Author: Urban Waite ISBN: 978-0-06-221688-5 Publisher: William Morrow Type of book: 1990s, New Mexico, pointless, violent, bloodbath, mystery, cartel, drugs, family, chase, action Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Set in a small town in the Southwest, a soulful work of literary noir rife with violence, vengeance, and contrition from a fresh voice in fiction-the author of the highly acclaimed The Terror of Living Life hasn't worked out the way Ray Lamar planned. A widower and father who has made some tragic mistakes, he's got one good thing going for him: he's calm, cool, and efficient under pressure, usually with a gun in his hand. A useful skill to have when you're paid to hurt people who stand in your boss's way. But Ray isn't sure he wants to be that man anymore. He wants to go home to Coronado, New Mexico, to see the twelve-year-old son he hopes will recognize him. He wants to make a new life far from...

Name of Book: Boy on the Beach Author: R.D. Maddux ISBN: 9781978448162 Publisher: Self-published Type of book: Revenge, karma, free-love, relationships, past and present, California, architecture, mysterious companies Year it was published: 2017 Summary: Andrew Foster, a real estate developer in San Diego, is a man suddenly haunted by his past. Memories, like specters from his former life of sex, drugs and rock and roll have come crashing into his current world of business in this sunny coastal city. The ominous, repeated appearance of a black SUV at the beach where he meets his sister each week, has triggered fears that it’s payback time for a bad choice he made years ago. To add to his frustrations, his hopes of a big breakthrough in the San Diego real estate market haven’t come to pass. He’s starting to wonder if his visions of success will ever come true when an investor offers to finance his dream project. Soon things start to fall into place for Andrew in bu...

Name of Book: Landline Author: Rainbow Rowell ISBN: 978-1-250-04937-7 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Type of book: 2013, christmas, juvenile, marriage, "adult" family, LGBT supporting character, relationships, career, love Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn't expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her. When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally ...

Name of Book: Shylock Is My Name Author: Howard Jacobson ISBN: 978-0-8041-4132-1 Publisher: Hogarth Publishing Type of book: Incest, Oedipal alert between father and daughters, based on a Shakespeare play Merchant of Venice, Shylock, modern times, anti-Judaism and its relation to others, reality shows, control, relationships Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Man Booker Prize-winner Howard Jacobson brings his singular brilliance to this modern re-imagining of one of Shakespeare’s most unforgettable characters: Shylock Winter, a cemetery, Shylock. In this provocative and profound interpretation of “The Merchant of Venice,” Shylock is juxtaposed against his present-day counterpart in the character of art dealer and conflicted father Simon Strulovitch. With characteristic irony, Jacobson presents Shylock as a man of incisive wit and passion, concerned still with questions of identity, parenthood, anti-Semitism and revenge. While Strulovich struggles to reconcile him...

Name of Book: The Fault In Our Stars Author: John Green ISBN: 978-0-14-242417-9 Publisher: Penguin Type of book: Teenage cancer, pretentiousness, "Ooh look, aren't I cool by stretching out so many metaphors?" offensive, frustrating, "romance," "true love", death, pointless metaphors, Indiana, overseas travel Year it was published: 2012 Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. Characters: Oh god, the characters!...

Title of the book:  Brunette Ambition Author:  Lea Michele Publisher: Crown books Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN: 978-0-8041-3907-6 Summary: The star of the hit show Glee shares her experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide. Lea Michele is one of the hardest working performers in show business. Whether she’s starring as Rachel Berry on Glee, rocking a glamorous look on the red carpet, recording her solo album, or acting as the spokesperson for L’Oreal, Lea is the ultimate multi-tasker. She knows better than anyone that it is difficult to be your best self and keep things in perspective when your to-do list is overflowing and you are faced with challenges, so she’s developed a foolproof system for remaining healthy and centered. In Brunette Ambition, she reveals the lessons and advice that have worked for her--from beauty and fashion secrets to fitness t...

Name of Book : Tokyo to Tijuana: Gabriele Departing America Author: Steven David Justin Sills ISBN:  9781475116243 Publisher: Alcibiades Press Type of book: Homosexuality, discovery of self, secrets, too intelligent Year it was published: Originally 2003 Summary: This story contrasts the lives of two people: Gabriele and Sang Huin in their search for finding their place in society without sacrificing individual liberty. Opinion: I hate being mean; yes I do, believe it or not, but for some odd reason the story angered me. I tried to read it, but there was something detestable about Gabrielle and Sang Huin that I merely skimmed through the whole book, and even that was more than enough. From skimming the author's previous works, one can tell that he's an extremely well-read and intelligent man, but his style is not for me, unless you enjoy running to a dictionary every minute trying to translate words such as lugubrious and so forth. Somehow the story is rem...

Name of Book: Dirtball: The Diaries of a Worthless Somebody Author: Eric Olsen ISBN/ASIN:   B00EOYLTYY Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Inc Type of book: Diaries, pessimism, Milwaukee, bad relationships Year it was published: 2013 Summary: Dirtball is an intriguing tale of one man’s pessimistic journey to see the glass half full. Discover EO, as he struggles to break through the negative walls in life and find the level of happiness that he so desperately desires. Explore his life of heartache, deception, and triumph. In this captivating autobiographical novel that only mature audiences can truly embrace. For my take on the book click here 0 out of 5 (0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)

Oprah Book Club® Selection, May 1999: Astrid Magnussen, the teenage narrator of Janet Fitch's engrossing first novel, White Oleander, has a mother who is as sharp as a new knife. An uncompromising poet, Ingrid despises weakness and self-pity, telling her daughter that they are descendants of Vikings, savages who fought fiercely to survive. And when one of Ingrid's boyfriends abandons her, she illustrates her point, killing the man with the poison of oleander flowers. This leads to a life sentence in prison, leaving Astrid to teach herself the art of survival in a string of Los Angeles foster homes. As Astrid bumps from trailer park to tract house to Hollywood bungalow,White Oleander uncoils her existential anxieties. "Who was I, really?" she asks. "I was the sole occupant of my mother's totalitarian state, my own personal history rewritten to fit the story she was telling that day. There were so many missing pieces." Fitch adroitly leads Astrid down ...

Name of Book: Fifty Shades Freed Author: EL James ISBN: 9780345803504 Publisher: Vintage Part of a Series: Fifty Shades Type of book: abuse, fanfiction, plagiarism, fifty shades of grey, bdsm, America Washington, British slang, insult to injury, milking the cow, book about nothing Year it was published: 2011 Summary: When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees. Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s op...

Name of Book: Fifty Shades Darker Author: EL James ISBN: 9781612130583 Publisher: Vintage Part of a Series: Fifty Shades Type of book: abuse, fanfiction, plagiarism, fifty shades of grey, bdsm, America Washington, British slang, insult to injury, milking the cow, book about nothing Year it was published: 2011 Summary:  Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most importan...