Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help
The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother
by James McBride
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 262
- Reading time
- ≈ 4 h 50 min
- Checkpoints
- 8
- Genre
- Non-fiction
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother?
At 262 pages, The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother is a medium-length book. Expect about 4 hours 50 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 10 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 4 reading days. For a book of this length (250 to 399 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 4.7 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day10 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)4 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 8 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 33
- Checkpoint 2, page 66
- Checkpoint 3, page 98
- Checkpoint 4, page 131
- Checkpoint 5, page 164
- Checkpoint 6, page 197
- Checkpoint 7, page 229
- Checkpoint 8, page 262
In Vread, The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother is split into 8 checkpoints, one every 33 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 8 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
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Read The color of water : a Black man's tribute to his white mother with Vread
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