Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Bird and Fish Author: Adrienne Leslie ISBN: 978-1-4196-9192-8 Publisher: Perhaps an Indie publisher? Booksurge Part of a Series: Bird and Fish duology; sequel Sea and Sky Type of book: interracial relationship, Asian male/white female, Korean, Korean drama, New York, 2006 Year it was published: 2007 Summary: A bird and fish may fall in love but where will they live? Wendy Dale quietly shoulders her exhausting family demands: her daughter's battle with Crohn's disease, her husband's laissez-faire approach to their crumbling marriage and a self-absorbed mother grown more demanding after a series of strokes. By becoming an aging girly-girl, Wendy stifles her authentic self in clearance rack shopping, Martha Stewart housekeeping and smoothing the daily friction between black, white and Asian students who jockey for school control. Taking no joy from teaching or homemaking, the teacher longs simply to write a children's story honoring her...

Name of Book: Mother Earth Father Sky Author: Sue Harrison ISBN: 0-380-71592-9 Publisher: Avon Fiction Part of a Series: Ivory Carver Trilogy, My sister the moon, Brother wind are sequels Type of book: Pre-historic, Aleut, Alaska, coming of age, 7056-7055 B.C.E, stories, legends Year it was published: 1990 Summary: In a frozen time before history, in a harsh and beautiful land near the top of the world, womanhood comes cruelly and suddenly to beautiful, young Chagak. Surviving the brutal massacre of her tribe, she sets out across the icy waters off America's northwest coast on an astonishing odyssey that will reveal to Chagak power secrets of the earth and sky...and the mysteries of love and loss. Characters: The character of Chagak is drawn realistically, especially when she is struggling with herself and what the society demands from her. It also shows Kayugh who also has lost everything but yet he keeps on going strong, and eventually succeeds. Much to ...

One of the saddest things in life of someone who loves reading is a book that has the right markings for enjoyment, yet when it comes to reading it, falls flat on its face and doesn't get up. Let's say it this way; imagine coming across a turtle that is lying on its back, its feet waving helplessly in the air. Being a good citizen, you help the turtle, only to watch it return on its back, giving you an evil eye and continuing to wave the legs helplessly in the air. Several times you do this, and several times the turtle defies you. Eventually you grow incredibly frustrated, throw your hands up in the air and walk away, somehow hoping that the next poor soul will not fall into its trap. That was my experience with the book, yet instead of saying 'forget it' I stupidly thought 'oh it will get better...I mean everyone else was giving it high marks.' Sadly enough, it never got better, at least for me. There are many things I didn't like about it, and there will ...

Name of Book: The Crab-Flower Club Vol II of The Story of the Stone Author: Xueqin Cao ISBN: 0-14-044326-6 Publisher: Penguin classics Part of a Series: Story of the Stone Vols I-V Type of book:  Adult, China in 18th century, Manchu rule, one of Chinese classics Year it was published: 1760? (The Version I have, 1977) Summary: The Story of the Stone (c 1760 A.D>) is the great novel of manners in Chinese literature. Divided into five volumes, of which The Crab-Flower Club is the second, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the author's own family). THe two main characters, Bao-yu and Dai-yu, are set against a rich tapestry of humor, realistic detail and delicate poetry which accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life. But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is another plane of existence-a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief in...

Name of Book: Caddie Woodlawn Author: Carol Ryrie Brink ISBN: 0-02-041880-9 Publisher: Collier Books Type of book: Wisconsin, 1864-1865, tomboy, family, women vs men Year it was published: 1935 Summary:  "In 1864 Caddie Woodlawn was eleven, and as wild a little tomboy as ever ran the woods of western Wisconsin. She was the despair of her mohter and of her elder sister Clara. But her father watched her with a little shine of pride in his eyes, and her brothers accepted her as one of themselves without a question." So begins an exciting story about a girl who would rather hunt than sew, rather plow than bake. THis prize-winning book tells of the escapades of Caddie and her six brothers and sisters, of a schoolhouse fire, of pranks played on a city-slicker cousin, of an amazing discovery in an old trunk. And when the Indians threaten to massacre the settlers, it is Caddie's courage and quick thinking that save her family and their neighbors. Caddie's ...

Name of book: White Tigress Author: Jade Lee ISBN: 0-8439-5393-4 Publisher: Leisure Part of a Series: Tigress Sextet. Sequels: Hungry Tigress, Cornered Tigress, Burning Tigress, Desperate Tigress, Tempted Tigress Type of book: Adult, China, Asian male/white female relationship, 1857-1897 Year it was published: 2005 Summary: The Dragon: the Chinese symbol of maleness, virility, power. The Tiger: feminity, fortune, desire. Two symbols. Two people. One all-consuming passion. Englishwoman Lydia Smith sailed to the Orient seeking her fiance. She found treachery instead. In seedy Shanghai, she was drugged, sold, and made a slave to a dark-eyed dragon of a man. But while her captor purchased her body, was that what he truly sought? He demanded not her virginity but her yin-the essence of her ecstasy-and there seemed no choice ubt to consent. What harm, Lydia wondered, was there in allowing him to pleasure her, to teach her, until she could flee? It was the danger-...

Books I'm Reading Caddie Woodlawn-Carol Ryrie Brink 129/242 The Moonstone-Wilkie Collins 202/434 The Silver Kiss-Annette Curtis Klause 20/198 Under his spell-Kathy Lyons 26/216 Once upon the river of love-Andrei Makine 30/209 The Tale of Genji-Murasaki Shikibu 307/1090 Come toy with me-Cara Summers 46/214 Tailspin-Cara Summers 110/216 The Story of the Stone-Xueqin Cao 2. The Crab-Flower Club 428/582 D'Artagnan Romances-Alexandre Dumas 5. The Man in the iron mask  84/574 The Lydia Saga-Kate Furnivall 3. The Girl from Junchow  18/488 The Ivory Carver Trilogy-Sue Harrison 1. Mother Earth, Father Sky 136/384 Titanic Duology-Diane Hoh 1. Titanic: THe Long Night 16/371 The Tigress Sextet-Jade Lee 2. The Hungry Tigress 105/353 Bird and Fish Duology-Adrienne Leslie 1. Bird and Fish 309/532 Japan Duology-Takashi Matsuoka  1. Cloud of Sparrows 62/560 Sweet Valley Twins and Friends Super chillers-Francine Pascal 1. The christmas Ghost 93/186 Little House...