Not American, but Zadie Smith writes fantastically about mixed-race characters in her novels. White Teeth, e.g.

Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:

Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:

Two books I thoroughly enjoyed, even though they are about colonial era slavery rather than modern race relations:

"The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" (autobiography)

"Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America" by Ira Berlin

Is there something like Netflix for books? Oh, right ... it's called the library.

May I suggest holding on tight with a rose in your teeth and keeping your hands and feet out of the water as an answer to your last line in s.C.A.?

He's terrific and extraordinarily smart and right-on with his social commentary.

Seriously, it's a real book.

You'll find it at the UW Bookstore, right above Understanding Feminism and Understanding Plato.

but how can you forget octavia butler? "kindred" is a good one more directly about race, but "parable of the sower" and "parable of the talents" are my favorites.

And I actually had to read it for college, so it probably should be disqualified from the list.

Zora Neale and I got along well, though - she should be on the list.

The book helps explain a lot of phenomenon that white people are generally clueless about, as well as pointing out common mistakes/assumptions that most white people make.