James McBride's 6 favorite books

James McBride is an author, musician and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, rested on the New York Times bestseller list for two years. It is considered an American classic and is read in schools and universities across the United States. His debut novel, Miracle at St. Anna was translated into a major motion picture directed by Spike Lee. It was released by Disney/Touchstone in September 2008. McBride wrote the script for Miracle at St. Anna and co-wrote Spike Lee's 2012 Red Hook Summer.

McBride's latest novel, The Good Lord Bird, is about American revolutionary John Brown.

One of the author's six favorite books, as told to The Week magazine:

Been in the Storm So Long by Leon F. Litwack

This 1980 Pulitzer Prize winner reveals the day-to-day life of white and black America during slavery and just after emancipation. It communicates how the two groups grappled with the tremendous moral dilemma that slavery presented. Good historians who write well are like good filmmakers. They reel the film before your eyes with tremendous effectiveness. Litwack is one of those.

Read about another book on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue