To be honest, I had a good start to the week, and a rotten ending. I'm in a bit of a funk - which is actually pretty good for reading, as I turn to books for comfort.

Weekly Reading in My World of Color with The Marriage Plot

Recently Finished Reading

What Color Is My World?: The Lost History Of African American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, A.G. Ford (Illustrator), Ben Boos (Illustrator). Did you know that James West invented the microphone in your cell phone? That Fred Jones invented the refrigerated truck that makes supermarkets possible? Or that Dr. Percy Julian synthesized cortisone from soy, easing untold people's pain? These are just some of the black inventors and innovators scoring big points in this dynamic look at several unsung heroes who shared a desire to improve people's lives.

Excellent, excellent, excellent book! I get 99% of my books from the library, but this I went out and bought after reading it. It is an illustrated book and will appeal to both kids and adults. In particular, I love how the story is told - about a family moving into an old house, and the handyman pointing out to the kids regular items, and then telling them the inventors that helped make that item possible - like a cellphone, the light bulb, and even potato chips. Because of this style, the information is not presented in a dry, acerbic way. Instead, it's an organic conversation between him and the kids while they are doing various chores - informative, yet not too long or boring.

Also - the book is gorgeous! The sides of the pages have colorful fold-out flaps with facts on various African American inventors - nicely illustrated an in bold colors. And yes - it is co-authored by THE Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of basketball fame.

The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides. Madeleine is a self-described "incurable romantic" who is slightly embarrassed at being so normal. Leonard Bankhead - charismatic loner, college Darwinist, and lost Portland boy - suddenly turns up in a semiotics seminar, and soon Madeleine finds herself in a highly charged erotic and intellectual relationship with him. At the same time, her old "friend" Mitchell Grammaticus - who's been reading Christian mysticism and generally acting strange - resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his mate.

This book might very well represent the wet dreams of literary majors, come to life. There are a GAZILLION references to literary classics ... 99.9% of which were unnecessary for me, a non-English major, to get the point that the main character Madelaine LOVES books ... perhaps is actually IN LOVE with them. I slogged through the first 65 pages with it's slow, tortuous pace and too many references to books I hadn't read, didn't care to read and had never heard of - but after that, the frequency of the references decreased (although there was still a LOT), the pace picked up and I started to enjoy the drama. The characters were flawed, relatable (to a point) and deftly developed and the plot was interesting - severe depression, and how it affects loved ones. Who can't relate to loving someone you KNOW is all wrong for you?!

So while I do think this novel tried too hard to be clever, I liked it as a "literary novel" and can see why this book won some many literary accolades ... because the people giving those accolades were probably Englist Lit majors. But this book pretty much cemented in my head that I much prefer genre (specualtive?) fiction.

Currently Reading and Next

Mistress of Rome, Kate Quinn. Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress's rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life-that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Brian Pinkney (Illustrator). A picture book celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, when four college kids staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.

What are you looking forward to reading this week? For February, I'm reading books with a romantic/ love element, as well as some books by or about African Americans.

- Inspired by Book Journey - It's Monday, What Are You Reading?