Category: books
Goodreads
Carla Golian’s favorite books »
Share book reviews and ratings with Carla, or join a book club on Goodreads.
Atheros and Gertheryna
Atheros and Gertheryna is a modern day fairytale, rooted in an ancient civilization BC. It contains the root of all fairy tales, in its theme. An epic adventure set in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland; in the land of Gods and monsters.
This fairytale is the story of Atheros and Gertheryna. It is the story of destiny, of two souls destined to be together despite all the hardships on their path.
Enter their magical world and watch the world behind your eyes transform along with their story. Be prepared for encounters that spark magical transformations, in both their inner and outer worlds.
You will see magical realism, omens, fairies, dragons and the infamous Midgard Serpent. It’s Alice in Wonderland meets Snow White, meet The Alchemist at Rangnarök.
Free Giveaway
I’m giving away 10 FREE Kindle ebooks.
To Enter: Tweet or email your email address to be entered for the drawing.
Copy and paste into Subject line of email: FREE KINDLE GIVEAWAY
The drawing will take place Friday the 20th.
The winners will be drawn randomly.
If you are one of the lucky winners, you will get a link for the kindle download in the email you provided.
*Email will not be used for any other purpose*
Good luck and happy reading!
Adultery
I loved it! And by loving it doesn’t mean that I agree on everything, namely, Adultery.
God said: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” I wholeheartedly agree with God. Not because we will burn in hell when we die, no, the punishment is more immediate; we enter the road to hell in the here and now, just as we see with Linda and her troubles.
Adultery is the story of Linda, a married women with two children who suffers from depression and the occasional bipolar tendencies, who risks her perfect life by committing adultery.
I do not like Linda’s character at all! She goes through life lying to everyone; to doctors, to people, to strangers, to her husband, even to herself. Even when the truth is handed to her she chooses to completely ignore it. All the characters have their flaws in the book, just as each one of us have in our lives, but since Linda is the protagonist, let me point her out. I’ll keep it short so I don’t give away any spoilers, I’ll let you, the reader, read and see for yourselves how different life can be for characters such as Linda if they practiced gratitude in their lives, and counted their blessings instead of talking about them.
Paulo Coelho captures and releases in his words, Linda’s character exceptionally well. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself annoyed through most of the book. Though one thing we can all learn from Linda is her persistence and perseverance. I would be more sensitive towards her had she done it for love, but instead, it was for revenge, jealousy, hatred, emptiness, etc. Even if she had love and passion for the man, there are things such as truth, honesty, choices and decisions, which we all make according to where we are mentally and spiritually in our lives.
None of us deserve to suffer. It is the consequences of our choices and actions which determine the state of our well-being or the lack thereof. I think Linda got away too easily, it is lucky for her, otherwise, it could have been devastating. Perhaps it is the invisible, silent sting of wounds that linger long after, which is the most painful. As the saying goes, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”, as some of us are remarkable at hiding our pain.
So how did it end for Linda? Did she come out changed and transformed through her adulterous experience? Is it right? Is it wrong? Was it worth it? I will quote a line from the book:
“Yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel, if that’s what you mean. But sometimes, when the person crosses through the darkness and reaches the other side, he leaves an enormous path of destruction behind him.”
Forgiveness
For some of us forgiveness is easy, but I presume it is difficult for most. As for myself, although it is easy to forgive, recently I was tested, and as a result I could not distinguish the reason or purpose for forgiveness.
What’s the use of forgiving if I want nothing to do with that person ever again?” There is no difference if I forgive or not, I don’t want that person in my life anymore”
I do not like harboring any kind of negative energies, so I had forgiven the person, but refused to acknowledge my forgiveness. I thought that if I do acknowledge it, then I am bound to let them back into my life; because they are forgiven.
Well, that is not so! Since fully realizing this, it has freed me in certain ways, and so I share the following paragraph by Caroline Myss from Anatomy of the Spirit in the hopes that it will help whoever comes across it.
Blessings and Namaste
“As appealing as forgiveness is in theory, it is an extremely unattractive personal action for most people, mainly because the true nature of forgiveness remains misunderstood. Forgiveness is not the same as telling the person who harmed you, “It’s okay,” which is more or less the way most people view it. Rather, forgiveness is a complex act of consciousness, one that liberates the psyche and soul from the need for personal vengeance and the perception of oneself as a victim. More than releasing from blame the people who caused our wounds, forgiveness means releasing the control that the perception of victim-hood has over our psyches. The liberation that forgiveness generates comes in the transition to a higher state of consciousness-not just in theory, but energetically and biologically. In fact, the consequence of a genuine act of forgiveness borders on the miraculous. It may, in my view, contain the energy that generates miracles themselves.”
~ Caroline Myss, Anatomy of The Spirit
Review of Dreams of Love
Recently, a Lawyer read my book, Dreams of Love, and had some questions, and was confused about a few things. What stood out to me from his comments was about the story Hot Air Balloon. He specifically said: “what the hell is going through the lady’s mind when she gets this guy to actually take her on a balloon ride based on essentially a promissory note of sex in the air, and then flip suddenly like she did?”
Well, my response? Guys do it all the time. They make promises and speak lies just to get what they want, and then act like what they said meant nothing; hot air! Hence, the title of the story.
In the story, when she is turning him down, the guy says “we will never get this chance again.” Once he sees that he cannot change her mind, he says “we’ll have to take this ride again.” It is interesting that he did not notice that, but was critical of the female.
We all know guys do it all the time, so they should respect it when girls do it! Although she did not do it on purpose. She did want to be close to him, she was attracted to him, and yes she does love sex, but she did not feel comfortable going that far, so quickly. A man must be able to respect that, bottom line!
The lawyer said, “men are dogs, women shouldn’t play like that”. Well let me tell you, men are NOT dogs. They should learn self control. This is the age old patriarchal excuse for men in our society. It is time to change. You men are Not dogs, you are honorable human beings, as are women.
I am not saying it is ideal to play with words like that, this is just to make a point. As the lawyer said, men don’t understand women, well that is because there isn’t any communication. With that mentality; preconceived expectations, there isn’t any room for open, respectful and comfortable communication.
Let us not indulge in the idea that men are from mars and women are from venus. Let’s make a real effort to improve our relationships, by communicating to understand, and not for advancing our personal agendas.
Dreams of Love is available in paperback and ebook: Dreams of Love
Review of Dreams of Love
Thank you ~ MaryAnn Koopmann
“Completely different writing styles complement each other beautifully to form a flow of positive consciousness that is sure to brighten anyone’s day. The poetry in here was the absolute best to delve into. The romance poet in this book really knows her romance.
Mostly, this is beautiful creative writing with a sensual theme. There is a nurturing quality to the lust, a beautiful connection between souls and an almost spiritual element in the union of lovers in a comforting embrace and heartfelt connection.
I found many of these poems were dipped in pleasure, but still retained an element of comfort. This is the type of book you can read at night before you go to bed and it may even produce beautiful dreams of the person you love.
She is a master at creating stories around life’s human experiences of hopes, dreams, disappointments, regret, and tragedy. She writes through the eyes and ears of each of her characters with clarity and vision.”