Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Dragons of Autumn Twilight Author: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman ISBN: 9780880381734 Publisher: TSR Part of a Series: Dragonlance Chronicles Type of book: Fantasy, young adult to adult, journey, saving the world, true gods vs false gods, good vs evil, post cataclysm, relationships, choices Year it was published: 1984 Summary: Dragons. Creatures of legend. Stories told to children. But now dragons have returned to Krynn. The darkness of war and destruction threatens to engulf the land. Then hope appears- a blue crystal staff in the hands of of a beautiful barbarian woman. The promise of hope, as fleeting as smoke upon the autumn wind, forces a group of long-time friends into the unlikely roles of heroes. Knight and barbarian, warrior and half-elf, dwarf and kender and dark-souled mage; they begin a perilous quest for- the legendary Dragonlance. Characters: In my opinion the characters weren't strong and they really didn't pull me ...

Fulfilling the requirement: The M letter of the alphabet, alphabetically. Summary: Antonia Shimerda returns to Black Hawk, Nebraska, to make a fresh start after eloping with a railway conductor following the tragic death of her father. Accustomed to living in a sod house and toiling alongside the men in the fields, she is unprepared for the lecherous reaction her lush sensuality provokes when she moves to the city. Despite betrayal and crushing opposition, Antonia steadfastly pursues her quest for happiness-a moving struggle that mirrors the quiet drama of the American landscape. Lesson learned: Immigrants have very fascinating stories to share. Link to review: click here

Name of Book: The Bonesetter's Daughter Author: Amy Tan ISBN: 9780399146435 Publisher: G.P Putnam Type of book: China, mother-daughter relationship, 1920s-1990s?, living together, dementia/Alzheimer, legends, stories, myths Year it was published: 2001 Summary: A major new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife and The Hundred Secret Senses. LuLing Young is now in her eighties, and finally beginning to feel the effects of old age. Trying to hold on to the evaporating past, she begins to write down all that she can remember of her life as a girl in China. Meanwhile, her daughter Ruth, a ghostwriter for authors of self-help books, is losing the ability to speak up for herself in front of the man she lives with. LuLing can only look on, helpless: her prickly relationship with her daughter does not make it easy to discuss such matters. In turn, Ruth has begun to suspect that something is wrong with her mother: s...

Name of Book: The Clue in the Diary Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780807216767 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Series Type of book: Mystery, Swedish, immigrants, lost mail, puppy love, translation, helping out, young adult Year it was published: 1932 Summary: Nancy and her friends witness an explosion and the burning of a beautiful country mansion. Fearing its occupants may be trapped in the blazing building, they rush to the rescue--and unexpectedly find themselves confronted with a mystery that seems insoluble. The first clue is an anonymous diary--its entries in a handwriting difficult to decipher. Who dropped the diary? Was it the stranger Nancy saw running away from the fire? What was he doing there? Finding out how Nancy discovers the answers to these questions makes for another exciting Nancy Drew mystery. Characters: In this one Nancy knows a little bit of Swedish and yet once more she's right and correct and on target about ...

Name of Book: The Secret of the Red Gate Farm Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780448095066 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Mysteries Type of book: Oriental, offensive, nature cult, counterfeiting, passive, farm, boarders, young adult Year it was published: 1931 Summary: When Bess Marvin purchased an expensive bottle of Oriental perfume, she never expected to stumble into a mystery. Now Bess, Nancy, George, and their new friend Jo are out to unravel the secrets of a mysterious conspiracy, a secretive cult, and a ring of counterfeiters in The Secret of Red Gate Farm. Characters: Predictable as always, although I couldn't for the life of me understand the whole code system, and I'm beginning to really have a hard time believing that these things couldn't be solved until Nancy comes along. The evil characters are very one dimensional and are evil because they are evil. The good characters are good. There really is nothing to talk a...

Name of Book: The Secret of Shadow Ranch Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780006925262 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Series Type of book: Western, cowboys, ghosts, 1900s, mystery, young adult Year it was published: 1931 Summary: Nancy drew arrives in Phoenix, Arizona, eagerly looking forward to a fun-filled vacation at Shadow Ranch, but abruptly finds herself involved in a baffling mystery. The ranch is being haunted by a phantom horse and maliciously damaged by an unknown enemy. Local people believe that the ghostly animal is carrying out the curse of Dirk Valentine, the romantic outlaw who was killed many years ago at Shadow Ranch, where he had gone to fulfill a promise to his sweetheart. Suspecting that a treasure hidden by Valentine may be at the root of the Shadow Ranch mystery, Nancy undertakes a challenging search, aided by her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne. The first vital clue is found in an antique watch and sparks a serie...

Title of the book: The Diet Dropout's Guide to Natural Weight Loss; Find Your Easiest Path to Naturally Thin Author: Stan Spencer, PhD Publisher: Fine Life Books Publishing Date: 2013 Other Works: This is the author's first book Background: (from goodreads.com) born January 26, 1965 gender male website http://fatlossscience.org genre Health, Mind & Body, Science member since August 2011 About this author Stan Spencer, PhD, is a biological consultant and former research scientist. He has conducted laboratory studies in biochemistry at Brigham Young University, in botany and evolution at Claremont Graduate University, and in genetics at the Smithsonian Institution. Stan lives in southern California and blogs on natural weight loss techniques at fatlossscience.org/naturalweightlosstips. Theme of the Book: For long term weight loss, it's impossible to use diets to get thin. Problems book addresses: People rely on diets to get thin ...