Svetlana's Reads and Views

Title of the book:  Marie Antoinette's darkest days; Prisoner no 280 in the conciergerie Author:  will bashor Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 978-1-422-5499-2 Summary: This compelling book begins on the 2nd of August 1793, the day Marie Antoinette was torn from her family s arms and escorted from the Temple to the Conciergerie, a thick-walled fortress turnedprison. It was also known as the waiting room for the guillotine because prisoners only spent a day or two here before their conviction and subsequent execution. The ex-queen surely knew her days were numbered, but she could never have known that two and a half months would pass before she would finally stand trial and be convicted of the most ungodly charges. Will Bashor traces the final days of the prisoner registered only as Widow Capet, No. 280, a time that was a cruel mixture of grandeur, humiliation, and terror. Marie Antoinette s reign amidst the splendors of the court o...

Title of the book:  Sandy's gift walking the light; one man's journey of love, tragedy, spiritual redemption, and freedom Author:  William p. Dunn IV Publisher: Cedar Forge Publishing Date: 2015 ISBN: 9781943290123 Summary: In 1996 the U.S. House of Representatives and President Bill Clinton passed a law today known as 'HIPAA.'  Sandy's Gift is an intimate and shocking true story that tells of the plight in which this law places American families with members afflicted by mental illness. Author Info: (From iRead Book Tours) Buy the Book:  Amazon   ~  Barnes & Noble ​Add on Goodreads Meet the Author: ​ William P. Dunn IV worked on Wall Street in the U.S. Government bond market where he worked his way up from the back office to the trading desks. After twenty years on Wall Street, he became a financial advisor in northern New Jersey. He continues to work as an investment advisor. He is a graduate of Thiel College where he ear...

Title of the book: How To Find Your Dream Dog Author:  Dixie Tenny Publisher: Authors unite Publishing Date: 2016 ISBN: 9781539107293 Summary: Bringing a new dog into the household should be one of life’s happiest events. The process always starts with excitement and high expectations. Too often, though, it ends in disappointment. The new puppy wakes everyone three times a night, gnaws on furniture, piddles everywhere, knocks the children down. The new adolescent dog is too wild. The new adult dog growls at your neighbors. And where did all this dog hair come from? Most people spend hours researching a new mattress, days researching a new car, and weeks researching a new home or job. Yet for a new dog, a companion for the next 10-15 years, the most they do is visit the nearest shelter or pet shop and buy whatever looks cute and appealing. It’s no wonder they end up disappointed. Whether you are looking for a purebred puppy or a charming mixed-breed, the type o...

Few months back I created a challenge for myself where I will read books that will take place in different continents from Africa to Antarctica to Asia to Australia to Europe to North America and to South America. I have finished my first read that takes place in Ghana, Africa and will move on to Antarctica with The Comet Seekers. Expect a post dedicated to Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi to come up soon!  Blast from the Past: Diverse Authors Coyote Dreams by Jessica Davis Stein For Sarah Friedman, the chance to journey to the Southwest to buy Native Indian art for her family’s successful New York store comes at a time of personal transition. Determined to put aside romantic disappointments, she seeks new perspectives in the serenity of the vast desert landscape. Then her car breaks down near the home of a solitary artist on the Navajo reservation… After years of turmoil, Ben Lonefeather has finally gained control of his life. He devotes his days to his work and caring fo...

General Information: Name of Book: Homegoing ISBN: 978-1-101-94713-5 Publisher: Knopf Publisher Year it was published: 2016 Summary:  The unforgettable New York Times best seller begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history, each life indeliably drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day. Effia and Esi are born into different villages in eighteenth-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to Amer...

Name of Book: Grimm Woods Author: D. Melhoff ISBN: 978-0-9921331-3-9 Publisher: Bellwoods Publishing Type of book: Michigan, original fairy tales, dark, Grimm Brothers, murder, drugs, sex, hooking up, summer camping, claustrophobic, sanitized known versions, thriller, who-did-it Year it was published: 2016 Summary: A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm’s fairy tale. Trapped in the wilderness, the remaining counsellors must follow a trail of dark children’s fables in order to outwit a psychopath and save the dwindling survivors before falling prey to their own gruesome endings. Drawing on the grisly, uncensored details of history’s most famous fairy tales, Grimm Woods is a heart-pounding thriller about a deranged killer who uses traditional children’s stories as tropes in elaborate murders. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Michigan, it’s a journey through t...