update syntax mistake

[webgod]

What is wrong with this syntax?

UPDATE information SET read='y' where id='5';

ERROR 1064: You have an error in your SQL syntax near 'read='y' where id='5'' at line 1

+---------------------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------------------+----------------+
| Field               | Type                  | Null | Key | Default             | Extra          |
+---------------------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------------------+----------------+
| id                  | mediumint(5) unsigned |      | PRI | NULL                | auto_increment |
| first_name          | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| last_name           | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| institution         | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| department          | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| address             | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| building            | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| city                | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| state               | varchar(50)           |      |     |                     |                |
| zip_code            | int(10)               |      |     | 0                   |                |
| country             | varchar(50)           |      |     |                     |                |
| telephone           | varchar(30)           |      |     |                     |                |
| fax                 | varchar(30)           |      |     |                     |                |
| email               | varchar(100)          |      |     |                     |                |
| additional_comments | text                  |      |     |                     |                |
| timestamp           | datetime              |      |     | 0000-00-00 00:00:00 |                |
| read                | varchar(10)           |      |     |                     |                |
+---------------------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------------------+----------------+

select * from information where id='5';
+----+------------+-----------+---------------------+------------+-----------------------+----------+---------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+------+
| id | first_name | last_name | institution         | department | address               | building | city    | state | zip_code | country       | telephone    | fax          | email                        | additional_comments | timestamp           | read |
+----+------------+-----------+---------------------+------------+-----------------------+----------+---------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+------+
|  5 | JJ         | Pagac     | Atomic Coffee Media | Web        | 12 N. Butler St. #102 | Odessa   | Madison | WI    |    53703 | United States | 608-628-0422 | 608-628-0422 | [email][e-mail][/email] | This is cool        | 2003-04-02 15:32:14 |      |
+----+------------+-----------+---------------------+------------+-----------------------+----------+---------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+--------------+------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+------+

[stolzyboy]

<?
$query = "update information set read = 'y' where id = '5';";
$result = mysql_query($query) or die(mysql_error());
?>

is how i do it

[webgod]

this worked:

update information SET read='y' where id=5;

[ahundiak]

read is a reserved work.
http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/Reserved_words.html

Be nice if the error message would just say that.