Hello,

It's been a busy couple of days for me but a promise is a promise!

I want to talk about James McBride and his book The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute To His White Mother.

First a little bit about the book and how I came to read it. I was part of a book group at The Bookery in Ephrata Washington at the time and this was to be the next book pick. I came home from book group, fixed myself some tea and sat down and thumbed through the book. I ended up staying up all night reading it because I was so fascinated by this man's love and admiration for his mother. It's not unusual that I would stay up all night reading a book but it is unusual that I would stay up reading a memoir!

The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute To His White Mother was published in February of 1998 and stayed on the New York Times best seller list for two years. It has sold over 1.5 million copies and published in 16 languages, in over 20 countries.

Ruth, James's mother, left home and married at the age of 16. Not that unusual in 1942 but she married Dennis McBride, a black man from Harlem. Ruth grew up in a traditional Jewish family but was terribly abused by her father. When she married Dennis she converted to Christianity and raised her family within their church. She was uneducated but very intelligent and wanted only the best for her children.

James is one of 12 children and this book is basically his love letter to his mother. Throughout the book James weaves his own story with his mother"s and let me just say it is riveting. For Ruth it was very important for her children to know how to work hard and for them to get the best education. James was very influenced by his mother's opinions on race, philosophy, and religion, although for Ruth, she was more concerned with moral beliefs. All of the children grew up to be very productive people, all with successful careers. The best part of this story for me is the sheer will of Ruth to make sure her kids were well taken care of and educated, even though she wasn't.

I suppose one of the reasons I liked this book was the wonderful way McBride writes. For me to stay awake all night to read a memoir, the writing has to be great and it is. I hope you will give this book a try even if memoirs are not your thing because I promise you won't be disappointed.

Okay in other news I made the decision this year that I want to read the Pulitzer Prize winners of fiction. So I've been busy gathering many different books. From Wallace Stegner, William Syron, to Toni Morrison and Philip Roth. I am pretty excited about it and know that I will be reading some really great stuff. I will keep you posted!

Right now I'm reading The Good Girl by Mary Kubica and it is so good. Of course I will have to talk about it when I'm finished. I'm also getting ready to finish The Martian by Andy Weir for book group in a couple of weeks. I can't say much until we discuss it in book group but after that I will tell you all about the discussion we'll have.

Have a great day and sneak in a little time to read.