My top three favorite reads this year were:
1. Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. This is an unsparing indictment of social injustice in a particular time and place, but still universally relevant. Paton delivers his message without demonizing anybody and with an appreciation of nuance, and in the context of a meaningful and moving story about people the reader cares about. He also writes from a profoundly and explicitly Christian perspective.

2. A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt. This dramatization of the last years of Sir Thomas More's life, leading to his martyrdom, is a powerful exploration of the importance of standing on one's principles in the face of the powers of the world arrayed against you with everything they have. In today's climate of monolithic groupthink and cancel culture, it's more relevant than it's ever been before; it's well worth reading even if, as I had, you've already seen one of the movie versions.

3. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. One of the most important American science fiction novels of modern times. Butler uses psi-caused time travel to explore the horrors of slavery and the racism that underlay it, and how these continue to affect the present. But she also brings a positive vision of hope and racial reconciliation to her tale. This is still a valuable contribution to the ongoing American discussion about racial relations, even after the more than 40 years since it was published.

These all sound excellent! Fantastic recommendations. I can't believe we're in 2024.

Thanks, Heather! Yes, 2023 flew by. :-)