Since the program’s inception, I’ve closely followed each year’s Common Read selection.
I have long appreciated the shared experience of reading a book in common, and the UUA Common Read was an important addition to the UU lending library where I volunteered as librarian. Promoting the Common Read continues to be in-character as Religious Explorations administrative coordinator and web editor for a UU congregation.
According to a biographical note on the UUA website, Stevenson “has dedicated his legal career to defending those who are trapped by an often capricious, political, and willfully unjust criminal justice system - poor people, people of color, children, and others over whom the system has run roughshod.”
The book’s selection as this year’s Common Read “speaks to justice, mercy, and compassion, themes of concern to us as Unitarian Universalists and as human beings. It follows on recent Common Reads, such as The New Jim Crow and Reclaiming Prophetic Witness, and responds to recent statements passed by the delegates to the UUA General Assembly.”
A discussion guide will be available by the beginning of October, with plans for one or three sessions of a discussion group. The UUA Bookstore will offer a bulk-purchase discount on five or more books.
When I volunteered as librarian of a church lending library, I closely followed the announcement each year of the association's "Common Read." Today, in professional and personal capacities, the news continues to resonate.
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