Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book:    No One Writes Back (Original title: Amudop'yonji haji ant'a) Author: Jang Eun-Jin, translated by Jung Yewon ISBN: 978-1-56478-960-0 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, travels, vagabond existence, communication, family issues, blind dog, friendships, relationships, letter writing, old fashioned phone calling, unresolved issues, 2009, quirky characters, fascinating hotels. Year it was published: 2009 (translated in 2013) Summary: Communication–or the lack thereof–is the subject of this sly update of the picaresque. No One Writes Back is the story of a young man who leaves home with only his blind dog, an MP3 player, and a book, traveling aimlessly for three years, from motel to motel, meeting people on the road. Rather than learn the names of his fellow travelers–or invent nicknames for them–he assigns them numbers. There’s 239, for example, who once dreamed of being a poet, but who now only reads her poems to a friend in a c...

Name of Book: Juguen Wangnyeoreul Wihan Pavane /  Pavane for a Dead Princess Author: Park Min-Gyu (Translated by Amber Hyun Jung Kim) ISBN: 978 1 62897 066 1 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Type of book: South Korea, 1985-1986, relationship, beauty, aestheticism, low wage jobs, wealth, poverty, love, modern music, art, work, philosophy of life without answers Year it was published: 2014 (originally 2009) Summary: Following the relationship between a man with matinee-idol good looks and “the ugliest woman of the century,” Pavane for a Dead Princess examines how contemporary Korea’s obsession with beauty is its popular culture’s newest canker. Both celebrated and condemned for his attacks upon what he perceives as the humorlessness of contemporary Korean literature, author Park Min-gyu uses a myriad of references to Western music and art, and the addition of a ‘writer’s cut,’ to suggest various ways of looking at his country’s extreme aesthetic fetishization. Chara...

Name of Book: Noah's Wife Author: T.K Thorne ISBN: 978-0-9837878-0-8 Publisher: Chalet Publishers Type of book: 5524-5500s PME, biblical story, stripping away myths and bible, Noah, Na'amah, love triangle, Turkey, the great flood, rape, great sea, relationships between women, household Year it was published: 2009 Summary: ForeWord Review's BOOK OF THE YEAR for Historical Fiction (2009) Noah built an ark, but this story has never been told! Noah's wife is Na'amah, a brilliant young girl with a form of autism (now known as Aspergers). Na'amah wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in ancient Turkey--a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother, the love of two men, and a disaster that threatens her world. Characters: The main characters include Na'amah, the youngest daughter of Lamech and younger sister of Tubal-Cain. She is an asperger's savant and can often sense earthquakes and is best described as bit of...

Title of the book: What to Expect Before You're expecting; the complete preconception plan Author: Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel Publisher: workman publishing Publishing Date: 2009 ISBN: 978-0-7611-5276-7 Summary: Announcing the prequel. From Heidi Murkoff, author of America's bestselling pregnancy and parenting books, comes the must-have guide every expectant couple needs before they even conceive the first step in "What to Expect: What to Expect Before You're Expecting." An estimated 11 million couples in the U.S. are currently trying to conceive, and medical groups now recommend that all hopeful parents plan for baby-making at least three months before they begin trying. And who better to guide wanna-be moms and dads step-by-step through the preconception (and conception) process than Heidi Murkoff? It's all here. Everything couples need to know before sperm and egg meet up. Packed with the same kind of reassuring, empathetic, and practical...

Who will win as the curtain closes on the war between the girls and the boys? Summer vacation is almost over and after one year in Buckman it looks like the Malloy girls will be going home to Ohio. The Hatford boys are relieved to finally be rid of Eddie, Beth and Caroline, also known as the Womper, the Weirdo and the Crazy. As the clock ticks away at their final days, Jake and Eddie keep up the competing, tricking and scheming until Eddie puts Jake up to the biggest dare of the year. She wants to prove once and for all that the girls are in charge. Jake can't back away and let the girls declare victory. The wacky war that began the day the girls arrived isn't over yet! For my take on this book, please click on the link here: COMING UP 3 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.)

Name of Book: Monday Night Cooking School aka The School of Essential Ingredients Author: Erica Bauermeister ISBN: 9780141038834 Publisher: Penguin Books Part of a Series: The Lost Art of Mixing a sequel Type of book: Food, cooking, identities, relationships, life, blazing ahead, restaurant, 2000s, reliving life Year it was published: 2009 Summary: Once a month on Monday night, eight students gather in Lillian's restaurant for a cooking class. Among them is Claire, a young woman coming to terms with her new identity as a mother; Tom, a lawyer whose life has been overturned by loss; Antonia, an Italian kitchen designer adapting to life in America; and Carl and Helen, a long-married couple whose union contains surprises the rest of the class would never suspect. The students have come to learn the art behind Lillian's soulful dishes, but it soon becomes clear that each seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. One by one they are transformed by the ...

Name of Book: Rachel Author: Maggie Anton ISBN: 9780452295681 Publisher: Plume Publishing Part of a Series: Rashi's Daughters Type of book: 1091-1105, France, Medieval, Talmud, Crusades, secular vs Torah, divorce, aging, death, clothing, traveling, Sepharad, courtly love, adultery Year it was published: 2009 Summary: The dramatic final book in the epic historical trilogy about the lives and loves of the three daughters of the great Talmud scholar Rashi Rachel is the youngest and most beautiful daughter of medieval Jewish scholar Salomon ben Isaac, or ?Rashi.? Her father?s favorite and adored by her new husband, Eliezer, Rachel?s life looks to be one of peaceful scholarship, laughter, and love. But events beyond her control will soon threaten everything she holds dear. Marauders of the First Crusade massacre nearly the entire Jewish population of Germany, and her beloved father suffers a stroke. Eliezer wants their family to move to the safety of Spain, but R...

General Information: Name of Book: This Generation: Dispatches from China's most popular Literary Star (and race car driver) ISBN: 978-1-4516-6000-5 Publisher: Simon and Schuster Year it was published: (2006-2012), anthology form, 2012 Summary: For those who follow Chinese affairs, Han Han is as controversial as they come- an irreverent singer, sports celebrity, and satirist whose brilliant blogs and books have made him a huge celebrity with more than half a billion readers. Now, with this collections of his essays, Americans can appreciate the range of this rising literary star and get a fascinating trip through Chinese culture. This Generation gathers his essays and blogs dating from 2006 to the present, telling the story of modern China through Han Han's unique perspective. Writing on topics as diverse as racing, relationships, the Beijing Olympics, and how to be a patriot, he offers a brief, funny, and illuminating trip through a complex nation that most We...

Name of Book: Getting Physical Author: Jade Lee ISBN: 9781426838910 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Part of a Series: Modern Tigress, The Tao of Sex prequel Type of book: Hong Kong, Chinese mogul, incubator, Tigress, romance, adult, 2000s Year it was published: 2009 Summary: When savvy business student Zoe crosses paths with sexy international businessman Stephen--a Tantric master--she's about to get a transcendent learning experience The sex is incredible, mind-blowing, life changing Unfortunately, it also comes with a time limit. Because Stephen's home is on the other side of the world. Still, Zoe's going to enjoy every moment with her skillful, exotic lover. But it isn't long before she realizes she'll have to choose. Does she want to hold on to the life she has...or have a lifetime of feeling his body move against hers? Like there's a choice... Characters: The characters are much more mature than Nathan and Tracy in Tao of Sex. Ther...

Name of Book: Having the Billionaire's Baby Author: Sandra Hyatt ISBN: 978-0-373-76956-8 Publisher: Silhouette Desire Type of book: Adult, romance, business, predictions, pregnancy Year it was published: 2009 Summary: That business card couldn't be right. Callie Jamieson had just spent one impulsive, passionate night in the arms of the hottest, most irresistible stranger she'd ever met. And morning's light revealed her lover to be new PR client, billionaire Nick Brunicadi... One sizzling night of passion, then she was gone. Undaunted, Nick was determined to find and have his fill of his mysterious seductress... a seductress, he discovered, who was carrying his heir! Characters: The characters can both be described as workaholics and are suitable for one another. While Calypso, or Callie as she is called in the book, tends to be a somewhat sympathetic character to me, I had a difficult time figuring her and the motivations out. Neither she nor Nick...

Name of Book: The Girl from Junchow Author: Kate Furnivall ISBN: 978-0-425-22764-0 Publisher: Berkley Part of a Series: Lydia Saga; The Jewel of St. Petersburg, The Russian Concubine prequels Type of book: Russia, China, communism, 1929-1930, relationships, interracial relationship, Asian male/white female, protection Year it was published: 2009 Summary: China, 1929. For years Lydia Ivanova believed her father was killed by the Bolsheviks. But when she learns he is imprisoned in Stalin-controlled Russia, the fiery girl is willing ot leave everything behind-even her Chinese lover, Chang An Lo. With her half brother, Alexei, Lydia sets out on a dangerous journey. Tension grows between the two as Alexei's search for his past threatens Lydia's quest to find her father and forge a new future for herself. But when Alexei abruptly disappears, Lydia is left alone, penniless in soviet Russia. As she continues her search for information, Lydia finds herself caught i...

Name of Book: Let it Ride Author: Jillian Burns ISBN:  0373794703 Publisher: Harlequin Blaze Part of a Series: Las Vegas Trilogy; sequels, Seduce and Rescue and Night Maneuvers Type of book: Blaze, romance, adult, 2009 Year it was published: 2009 Summary: Working as a Keno girl in a Vegas casino, Jordan Brenner took her bets off the sex table ages ago. And all the hot flyboys in the world won't make a difference--until Major Cole Jackson sends Jordan's thoughts and hormones into wicked places indeed.... What Jordan doesn't know is that Cole made a deal with his buddies: get some hot-'n'-heavy action from the Keno girl, or pay up! But Cole doesn't need an incentive. Every time he looks at Jordan's lips (or any part of her body, for that matter), he's immediately aware that something is up--and it isn't his ante! It looks as if Cole won't lose just his shirt. He'll lose all control, too! Characters: The characters...