Svetlana's Reads and Views

Boldest Women, Finest Monarchs – A comparison between Empress Wu, Cleopatra VII, Queen Elizabeth I, and Catherine the Great Weina Dai Randel The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon to agents, I was told I needed a log line, a distinct one-sentence that would catch the agents' interest and also describe my novels succinctly. Have you heard of “log line?” When I was pitching I thought about it for months, and in the end, I used this log line – my novels describe the journey of Empress Wu, who is known as Chinese Cleopatra. It worked. The agents were interested and asked for more. But I knew in my heart that my Chinese friends would look at me askance and question me, and I felt compelled to explain. Empress Wu is a household name in China, but not many people in the U.S. have heard of her. To describe her in a term that American readers would understand, I had to think and choose some well-known female rulers. There are only a handful of notable...

On March 23rd, 2016, a little boy joined me, thus I will not be devoting as much time to book reviewing as before. 

A House Divided-Pearl S Buck SR: March 11th, 2016 FR: N/A The Cadence of Gypsies-Barbara Casey SR: April 10th, 2016 FR: April 19th, 2016 The Rivals of Versailles-Sally Christie SR: April 13th, 2016 FR: April 26th, 2016 1906-James Dalessandro SR: April 20th, 2016 FR: N/A Beneath the African sun-maria Marie Lynch SR: April 26th, 2016 FR: N/A Son of Man-Yi Mun-Yol SR: March 10th, 2016 FR: N/A The War of Words-Amy Neftzger SR: March 13th, 2016 FR: April 13th, 2016 Eating Bull-Carrie Rubin SR: March 8th, 2016 FR: N/A Nonfiction: Tree of Souls-Howard Schwartz SR: February 10th, 2014 FR: N/A

General Information: Name of Book: Tree of Souls ISBN: 9780195086799 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Year it was published: 2004 Overall theme: "With only one God, heaven would be a barren place, at least in mythic terms. Yet the actual Jewish view of heaven is quite different. There are seven heavens, filled with angels and other divine beings, such as the Messiah [Not jesus!], who is said to have a palace of his own in the highest heaven. The clestial Temple can be found there- the mirror image of the Temple in the earthly Jerusalem- as well as an abundance of heavenly palaces, one for each of the patriarchs and matriarchs and sages, where he or she teaches Torah to the attentive souls of the righteous and the angels..." (xliii) "Drawing on the full range of Jewish sources, sacred and nonsacred, ten major categories of Jewish mythology can be identified: Myths of God, Myths of Creation...Each of these categories explores a mythic realm, and, ...

​BookGrabbr: A  great way for readers to discover new books and an innovative marketing tool for authors.  ​For Readers: BookGrabbr is a social media-marketing tool that allows authors to share both full books and previews of their books with readers. Readers, you can have access to these books by signing in through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn and using their ability to share as a form of currency. The “Share” is the payment! Share the book, and it will allow you to read it. Just click the “Grabb this book” button next to the book and our system will prompt you to share in exchange for reading! BookGrabbr contains books of many genres, so  visit today , "grabb" a book that catches your eye and start reading! For Authors and Publishers: Through their unique marketing tool and platform, BookGrabbr helps authors connect to readers that they wouldn't generally be able to connect to through their friends and their friend’s fr...

The Tapestry (Joanna Stafford #3) by Nancy Bilyeau Paperback Publication Date: March 22, 2016 Touchstone/Simon & Schuster Paperback; 416 Pages Series: Joanna Stafford Genre: Historical Mystery     " Fans of the Tudor era, you're in for a treat " --InStyle magazine Henry VIII's Palace of Whitehall is the last place on earth Joanna Stafford wants to be. But a summons from the king cannot be refused. After her priory was destroyed, Joanna, a young Dominican novice, vowed to live a quiet life, weaving tapestries and shunning dangerous conspiracies. That all changes when the king takes an interest in her tapestry talent. With a ruthless monarch tiring of his fourth wife and amoral noblemen driven by hidden agendas, Joanna becomes entangled in court politics. Her close friend, Catherine Howard, is rumored to be the king's mistress, and Joanna is determined to protect her from becoming the king's next wife--and victim. All the while, Joanna tr...

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...