The pick for this fall's One Maryland One Book program is James McBride's Song Yet Sung, a story about runaway slaves on the Eastern Shore -- and a dreamer who foresees the racial challenges of modern America. The program, begun in 2008, is designed to spark a conversation on race, culture and other issues through forums in schools and communities across Maryland.

I was on the committee that helped choose the book, and I relayed the comments of Read Streeters about books under consideration. From dozens of possibilities, we made a short list of three: The Color of Water and Song Yet Sung by McBride, and Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama. Any one  would have been a fine choice, but McBride's availability to participate in OMOB was a big plus. (I hear Obama is working on other things.) And though The Color of Water may touch on a broader range of issues, many Marylanders have already read it.

If you participated in the Maryland Humanities Council's OMOB last year, let us know -- especially if you have suggestions for the program. The 2009 forums will be held in September and October; we'll be looking for ways Read Street can participate, too. Here are reviews of Song Yet Sung from the New York Times, The Lit Life blog and O, the Oprah magazine. And you can meet McBride Saturday, when he is a featured speaker at the Enoch Pratt's annual Booklovers' Breakfast.