Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Darling Rose Gold Author: Stephanie Wrobel ISBN: 978-0-593-10006-6 Publisher: Berkley Type of book: suspense, Missouri? Relationships, 2012-2017, survival, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, USA, modern times, thriller, mother/daughter, revenge, diseases, desperation, hunger Year it was published: 2020 Summary: Sharp Objects meets My Lovely Wife in this tightly drawn debut that peels back the layers of the most complicated of mother-daughter relationships... For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers and offering shoulders to cry on, but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold. Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar. After serving five years in prison, Patty gets out with nowhere to go a...

Title of the book: The last outlaws; the lives and legends of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid Author: Thom Hatch Publisher: New American Library Publishing Date: 2013 ISBN: 978-0-451-23919-8 Summary: The Old West was coming to an end.Two legendary outlaws refused to go with it. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid—as leaders of the Wild Bunch, they planned and executed the most daring bank and train robberies of the day, with a professionalism never before seen by authorities. For several years at the end of the 1890s, the two friends, along with a revolving cast who made up their band of thieves, eluded local law enforcement and bounty hunters, all while stealing from the rich bankers and eastern railroad corporations who exploited western land. The close calls were many, but Butch and Sundance always managed to escape to rob again another day—that is, until they rode headlong into the 20th century. Fenced-in range, telephone lines, electric lights, and new cri...

Name of Book: The Girls Author: Emma Cline ISBN: 978-0-8129-9860-3 Publisher: Random House Book Type of book: California, 1960s, teenage angst, looking for love in the wrong places, cult, crime, murder, life, control Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does no...

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...

Title of the book: Ripples Along the Shore Author: Mona Hodgson Publisher: Water Brook Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN: 978-0-307-73114-2 Summary: Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace? Ripples Along the Shore Change is brewing in St. Charles. A group of brave souls are preparing to head west on the Boone's Lick Wagon Train, led by the mysterious and handsome Garrett Cowlishaw, who served as a Confederate soldier in the war that killed Caroline’s husband. Despite her dislike for him, Caroline is tempted to join the wagon train and start fresh somewhere new, but when Mr. Cowlishaw forbid...

Title of the book: Dandelions on the Wind Author: Mona Hodgson Publisher: Water Brook Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN: 978-0-307-73114-2 Summary: Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace? Dandelions on the Wind When Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. But when Gabi’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm un...

Name of Book: Guy Author: Jowita Bydlowska ISBN: 978-1-928088-23-3 Publisher: Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Type of book: relationships, chauvinist, attention to detail, judgment, attraction, modern times, lack of commitment, ruin, wealth Year it was published: 2016 Summary: Guy is a successful talent agent who dates models, pop stars and women he meets on the beach. He's a narcissistic, judgmental snob who rates women's looks from one to ten; a racist, homophobic megalomaniac who makes fun of people's weight; a cheating, lying, manipulative jerk who sees his older girlfriend as nothing more than an adornment. His only real friend, besides his dog, is a loser who belongs to a pick-up artist group. Guy is completely oblivious to his own lack of empathy, and his greatest talent is hiding it all...until he meets someone who challenges him in a way he's never been challenged before. Darkly funny and utterly offensive, "Guy" is a brilliant and insi...

Title of the book: Bending toward the sun Author: Mona Hodgson Publisher: Water Brook Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN: 978-0-307-73114-2 Summary: Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace? Bending Toward the Sun Dedicated to her education and to helping her father in his general store, Emilie Heinrich is convinced she doesn't have time for love. But when a childhood friend returns to St. Charles, Missouri, after serving in the Civil War, his smile and charm captures Emilie’s eye and her heart. Will she be forced to choose between honoring her father and a future with a husband and family of he...

Title of the book: The Fever of 1721; The Epidemic That Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics Author: Stephen Coss Publisher: Simon and Schuster Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-4767-8308-6 Summary : More than fifty years before the American Revolution, Boston was in revolt against the tyrannies of the Crown, Puritan Authority, and Superstition. This is the story of a fateful year that prefigured the events of 1776. In The Fever of 1721, Stephen Coss brings to life an amazing cast of characters in a year that changed the course of medical history, American journalism, and colonial revolution, including Cotton Mather, the great Puritan preacher, son of the president of Harvard College; Zabdiel Boylston, a doctor whose name is on one of Boston's grand avenues; James and his younger brother Benjamin Franklin; and Elisha Cooke and his protegee; Samuel Adams. During the worst smallpox epidemic in Boston history Mather convinced Doctor Boylston to try a proc...

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: The Confessions of Young nero Author: Margaret George ISBN: 978-0-451-47338-7 Publisher: Berkley Books Type of book: Rome, Emperor Nero, 40 ME-64? ME, Acte, creativity, torn, secrets, poisonings, marriages, tradition vs innovation, changes, life, love, mentoring, passion Year it was published: 2017 Summary: The New York Times bestselling and legendary author of Helen of Troy and Elizabeth I now turns her gaze on Emperor Nero, one of the most notorious and misunderstood figures in history. Built on the backs of those who fell before it, Julius Caesar's imperial dynasty is only as strong as the next person who seeks to control it. In the Roman Empire no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman or child. As a boy, Nero's royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life, first when the mad emperor Caligula tries to drown him, then when his great aunt attempts to secure her own son's inheritance. Faced with shocking acts of treachery...

Name of Book: The Errant Hours Author: Kate Innes ISBN: 978-0-9934837-0-7 Publisher: Mindforest Press Type of book: 1266, 1284-1285, England, Wales, uprising, King Edward I, journey, travel, being set up, guilty of association, theft, daily life, disguises, monastery, myths, legends Year it was published: 2015 Summary: A headlong journey through the physical and spiritual dangers of Plantagenet Britain, in all its savage pageantry. Welsh Marches, July 1284 - the uprising in Wales is over, the leader gruesomely executed, the dead are buried. But for Illesa Arrowsmith, the war’s aftermath is just as brutal. When her brother is thrown into the Forester’s prison on false charges, she is left impoverished and alone. All Illesa has left is the secret manuscript entrusted to her – a book so powerful it can save lives, a book so valuable that its discovery could lead to her death. When the bailiff’s daughter finds it, Illesa decides to run, and break her brother out o...

Title of the book: The real doctor will see you shortly a physician's first year Author:  Matt McCarthy Publisher: Broadway Books Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 978-0-8041-3867-3 Summary: In medical school, Matt McCarthy dreamed of being a different kind of doctor—the sort of mythical, unflappable physician who could reach unreachable patients. But when a new admission to the critical care unit almost died his first night on call, he found himself scrambling. Visions of mastery quickly gave way to hopes of simply surviving hospital life, where confidence was hard to come by and no amount of med school training could dispel the terror of facing actual patients. This funny, candid memoir of McCarthy’s intern year at a New York hospital provides a scorchingly frank look at how doctors are made, taking readers into patients’ rooms and doctors’ conferences to witness a physician's journey from ineptitude to competence. McCarthy's one stroke of luck paired him with...

Title of the book:  Pregnancy Childbirth and the Newborn The Complete Guide Author: Penny Simkin Publisher: Meadowbrook Press Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-501-11270-6 Summary: If you only buy one pregnancy book, this should be the one! It’s the most complete. It covers all aspects of childbearing, from conception through early infancy, and tells you what to expect. It offers detailed information, suggestions on decisions to make, and advice on steps to take to have a safe and satisfying experience. The Award-Winning Resource Recommended by Experts & Loved by Parents Parents love this book because it puts them in control by explaining a wide range of options, information, and questions to ask, so parents can find what works best for their health situation, personal goals, and priorities. Experts love this book because it’s based on the latest medical research and recommendations from leading health organizations. It’s practical—rooted in the real-lif...

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 Lady in the Castle Author: Iny Lorentz ISBN: 978-1477826720 Publisher: AmazonCrossing Year it was published: 2005 Summary: Marie lives happily in Sobernburg Castle with her beloved husband, Michel Adler, a tremendous achievement for a woman who was once the "Wandering Harlot." The happy couple longs for a family, but when Michel is called to battle against the rebellious Hussites, they have to put those dreams on hold until- if they're lucky, Michel returns home. Soon after his departure, Marie is thrilled to find she is already with child, but this bright news is quickly tarnished by anxiety for her husband's return. News of him trickles in: first that he's been knighted for his exemplary courage in battle . . . and then that he disappeared without a trace during a grisly massacre and is presumed dead. Pregnant and alone, Marie's place in the world is once again precarious. Unwilling to abandon the hope that her husband ...

Title of the book: Dogs Rule Nonchalantly Author: Mark Ulriksen Publisher: Goff Books Publishing Date: 2014 ISBN: 978-1-939621-10-8 Summary: There is nothing happier than a happy dog” reads one of the observations in this humorous and heartwarming look at the everyday interactions between man and man’s best friend. Renown illustrator Mark Ulriksen combines his handwritten observations with his intricate paintings of dogs from over 20 years of his career. Mark reaches back to his youth to talk about his first dog and chronicles the idiosyncrasies of each of his ten dogs that have enriched his life. Mark parallels major life events from dating, married life, and raising a family, with such humorous moments as house-breaking a puppy, obedience classes, the sad melancholy of nursing an aging canine friend, Ted, and his eventual ascension to “dog heaven.” Dogs Rule, Nonchalantly appeals to dog lovers of all ages. The intuitive, colorful paintings communicate a depth ...

Title of the book: Loom Knitting for Babies and Toddlers; 30 easy no-needle designs Author: Isela Phelps Publisher: Quintet Publishing Publishing Date: 2013 ISBN: 978-1-250-02514-2 Summary: More projects from loom knitting maven, Isela Phelps, that address the loom knitter’s constant demand for new and varied designs—this time in a book solely devoted to knitting for babies and toddlers. The delightful designs in the book are fun, easy, and quick to make on a loom. In a small amount of time Isela will have you whipping up a fabulous collection of baby garments, toys, and accessories for every child or grandchild in your family or neighborhood! As more crafters discover loom knitting they appreciate the clear instructions, diagrams, and photos that are a trademark of this easy-to-follow loom knitting series, and are continued in this latest collection of adorable projects. With an illustrated introductory chapter that clearly explains and demonstrates the different t...

Name of Book:  Turkey: A Short History Author:  Norman Stone ISBN: 978-00-500-29038-5 Publisher: Thames and Hudson Year it was published: 2014 Summary: A virtuoso performance by historian Norman Stone, who has lived and worked in the country since 1997, this concise survey of Turkeys relations with its immediate neighbours and the wider world from the 11th century to the present day. Stone deftly conducts the reader through this story, from the arrival of the Seljuks in Anatolia in the eleventh century to the modern republic applying for EU membership in the twenty-first. It is an historical account of epic proportions, featuring rapacious leaders such as Genghis Khan and Tamerlane through the glories of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent to Kemal Atatürk, the reforming genius and founder of modern Turkey. At its height, the Ottoman Empire was a superpower that brought Islam to the gates of Vienna. Stone examines the reasons for the empires long decline and shows ...

Name of Book:  Geronimo; Leadership strategies of an American Warrior Author:  Mike Leach and Buddy Levy ISBN: 978-1-4767-3493-4 Publisher: Gallery Books Year it was published: 2014 Summary: Playing cowboys and Indians as a boy, legendary college football coach Mike Leach always chose to be the Indian—the underdog whose success turned on being a tough, resourceful, ingenious fighter. And the greatest Indian military leader of all was Geronimo, the Apache warrior whose name is so symbolic of courage that World War II paratroopers shouted it as they leaped from airplanes into battle. Told in the style of The 48 Laws of Power, Leach’s compelling and inspiring book examines Geronimo’s leadership approach and the timeless strategies, decisions, and personal qualities that made him a success. Raised in an unforgiving landscape, Geronimo and his band faced enemies better armed, better equipped, and more numerous than they were. But somehow they won victories agains...