Catherine the Great by Robert Massie. This book tells the life of one of the most fascinating rulers the world has ever seen. That she was married very young to the future emperor having met him only once and enduring a loveless (and sexless) marriage gives some hint of the unusual life she led. That she had some 12 lovers, and that at best only one of her children was fathered by her husband (Peter Ulrich) provides another level of fascination. That the empress would have absolute power to rule her people and protect them and that she had the cajones to wage war and defend seek to exapnd her empire makes her truly a unique person to have lived.

Ultimately, while the books was long, it has peaked my interest about Russia and Russian history. St. Petersburg, here I come? That wouldn't be out of th realm of consideration. I've gone through my Russian literature phase, but this might be my second wave of interest in all things Russian.

How to be Black by Baratunde Thurston. I only thought I knew how to be black. But apparently one could use a book. Actually, this handbook on how to be black, written as a satire, strikes a chord. When do black people first realize that they're black? Are we in a post-racial world? Those are just two of the questions posed as Thurston tells his onw history (lived in the DC ghetto; attended Sidwell Friends; black mother who loved to camp and travel, and yes, he can swim!)of being black. Along the way, he instructs readers on how to be the black friend, the black employee,the angry Negro, and the spokesperson for our people. The chapter on how to be the second black president is just short of brilliant. In it, he deftly (and comically) acknowledges the forces that led to President Obama's election while skewering liberals who supported him and conservatives who didn't.

So appropriate to read--after all I read it during Black History month.