The Color of Water

by Jame McBride

This is no where near a "classic bookie" type novel. Therefore, I should not be posting on it. However, I wanted to post on SOMETHING, and this is what I've been reading so...yeah. I had to read it for school.
Well, it's "A black man's tribute to his white mother". It's a memoir.

James' mother was a white Jew who became and Christian and married an African-American in the 30s'. She went against every rule she had lived by to marry this good and honorable black man, Dennis McBride. She loved him with her whole heart. She embraced the black community, which she found to be very welcoming and kind. They never judged her. She was happy with them, despite the public rebuke she and her kids had to deal with. She had twelve half-black children, one of which was James.
James spends half his life trying to discover his mother's past, which is something she would like to forget. She finally tells him her remarkable life story, and that's what this book is about. Ruth tells James about her miserable childhood as a Jew who was abused by her father and all she had to endure as a kid. She tells about how God, her husband, and children changed her life. What ensues is a rather heart wrenching story.

A sweet little excerpt....

"Ma, what color is God?"
"God doesn't have a color. God is all colors."
"What do you mean? Is God white or black?"
"God is the color of water."

Or something along those lines... :D Anyway, that was cute.

I didn't love this book. I'd rather be reading the classics. It was good. It was interesting. But I didn't love it.

Recommended #2

You should be at least thirteen to read this book, in my opinion.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

~Lady Arwen

Booklist

Here is the booklist again so that everyone can read up!! I should be posting on "Fairy Tales Re-told" later today or possibly tomorrow. Enjoy! -T

Hello All,

I'm so sorry that it has been so long. But I promise to make a valiant attempt to keep this blog going strong.

Now, I mentioned in a previous post that we are going to try a new method in order to fit our busy lifestyles. Here, I will post a list of books that I will be reviewing- in the order of the list. So, as followers, you will know what's coming up! As time and schedules permit, our other contributors will post on something of their own choice, for some variety.

Lately, I've been really into the fantasy, "this isn't really happening" style of book. So, I think that sort of reflects on the list. :)

Here's the list, and I hope to be posting on the first one within the next week:

-The Last Unicorn, Peter Beagle
-The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien (finally, right?)
-The Fairy Tales Retold Series, Regina Doman
-Animal Farm, George Orwell
-Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
-Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
-Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
-All Creatures Bright and Beautiful, James Harriot
-Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
-Come Rack, Come Rope, Robert Hugh Benson
-Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi
-North to Freedom, Anne Holm

Well, that's probably good for now. Happy reading!!

~Tony

The Hobbit

Hello All,

Let me first begin by apologizing for the serious delay in activity. I have some ideas to maybe enliven things a bit, but renovations are slow.

Now, in lieu of the fact that The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is being made in to a movie, supposedly coming out in 2012, I think it is probably a very good thing for everyone to read and re-read this tale, just in case the movie is nothing like the book. It will be such a shame if people think that the movie is the same as the book if it really isn't. Perhaps the movie will be exactly like the book, and all will be well. :) Who knows what will happen, but regardless, it is a good book to read, especially if you have read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and have always wanted to read "that first one that has something to do with the Lord of the Rings!"

If you have read (or seen- I highly recommend read) The Lord of the Rings, then you know how the story ends. The Hobbit follows the beginning of the tale, when Bilbo Baggins first comes in to possession of the ring. This book really is more of an adventure story than the Trilogy because it follows Bilbo as he travels through unknown lands with a band of dwarves, battles with a dragon, finds hidden treasure and becomes a legend in his own time.

If you have read The Lord of the Rings, then you are probably thinking, "Gosh, I don't have enough time to read The Hobbit- the Lord of the Rings took me three months!!" Don't be dismayed. The Hobbit is actually written in a much easier style than the Lord of the Rings, and the plot line is miraculously more simple. I read somewhere that Tolkien had actually written the Hobbit with the intention of children in mind, so, hopefully this book won't take you a few months to down. :D

I highly recommend reading this book because it is fun to know "the beginning" of the Lord of the Rings saga. It is totally not necessary to read it before the Trilogy, but is absolutely worth reading at some point in time. I don't like this book as much as the Trilogy, but it is still very well written and a good adventure story for a rainy day.

I also highly recommend the Lord of the Rings movies, which follow the books pretty well, surprisingly. (I have high hopes for the Hobbit too.) Don't get super super critical though because there are a few things that are wrong. I admit that I like them anyway. Some book lover I am. :)

Thanks for reading! And pass us on.... it feels like DC is dying.

~Tony

Recommended 4/5