Prison Library Project ~ 6,244 Books Donated! ~ Export

Welcome to what is, for me, the most exciting thing we have ever done in a host of exciting things here on SeniorNet Books and that is our Grant Area. We have much news, we do, it seems, have a donor of books, we will need to talk a lot about THIS particular area and figure out how to do this, but just for now, read the heading, see which group or groups you would like to work with or in (you can change back and forth at will)and let's roll up our sleeves and get started! Welcome, All!

ginny

OOOOHHHHHH.... When I buy paper, I always have to run my hands over it and feeeeellll it... that's what this is like to me... saver the feel of the new space... and the wonderful possibilities!!!! We can make anything happen... can you sense that???

We just opened a brand new door... wonder what will come through it???

Lou

In answer to Lou2's question, I guess one thing coming through the door would be me. Ginny, are you trying to kill me or just constantly thinking of new ways to keep me around?

Seriously, though, we're one week away from the start of our busiest time of year at the college, a week of early registration for returning students and then a couple of weeks of what we refer to as "arena" registration, open to everyone else. So my work life will be (or at least feel) pretty crazy right about when John will probably be starting on his weekly treatments (his next appt. w/the specialist is scheduled for April 14th).

Soooo, this is fair warning that my available NET time will be slimming down for a little while. Some good news, though, is that I'll be going back to working some extra hours in a campus writing center during the summer (10 hours a week), and that particular assignment usually includes a lot of "down" time, and a room full of computers, so I'm sure the lack of NET time will be temporary.

I'm currently networking w/some folks in my own area, concerning some things we've discussed, so I'll have more to report soon!

Nancy, there you are! Now you know we can't managae without YOU, now don't stress yourself out any more than you already are, we'll leave the light on for you, always till you get straight. We have news, too, that you will be very excited about I think, but first we need to get ourselves organized, don't worry if you can't be here all the time, we're not going to let you get away, no matter how busy you are hahahahaa. Thank you for coming by and your continuing efforts on our behalf!

Lou!!! I just love that and I want to move your great goal statement over here, too , if you'll let me, we need to get our ducks in a row here, let's start with some news.

We do have a donor of books specifically for use in prisons, the offer came as a result of the knowledge of our PEI. The books are new and they are hardback and they are multiple copies, that is there may be 5 of one book

I have already written Nancy about this as she is our Liasion but I wanted you to know that because of our efforts here so far and the PEI, this offer has come to us. I think that's VERY exciting!!

I liked this quote I saw in somebody's preference line, I think we need it in the heading:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change. the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. Margaret Mead.

Oh yeah!

ginny

You go take care of your other responsibilities, Nancy. We'll still be around when you have time to return, ready to welcome you.

Looking at the heading, Ginny, I don't see anything I'm particularly good at. If someone takes the lead on researching for grants, and wants to pass on a list for me to hunt up, I can probably do that. (I wouldn't know where to begin, but I can follow instructions pretty good.) (*^*) ...Babi

I know I am a furriner but I was thinking is "Young offenders" one of the groups who need books? I was thinking they probably never read - if they can read- and while they are in prison or in a juvenile dentention unit they are a captive audience. A lot of kids never have books in their homes. One of our authors began a program to get donated books for kids in low income areas where they get books given to them to keep as rewards for progress in reading. Its been a wonderful charity to get books into homes and to change lives. I know books in prisons is a different idea but I could not help thinking of young offenders.

Carolyn

Hey everyone -- don't forget the other (PEI) discussion remains ongoing. There are still plenty of ideas to toss around in there too!

Yes and am dashing in to say that I'm so sorry, am out of town in Charlotte NC and the laptop simply will NOT work so will see you all (am on hotel lobby comptuer at a million dollars a minute in freezing cold door revolving with screaming kids, but am brainstorming all sorts of things here so will see you late Sunday and we'll take up again.

Cranky in Charlotte

YOU'RE A BETTER WOMAN THAN I AM, GINNY DIN!" ...Babi

So, I've been thinking a lot about things over the past week, especially concerning moving forward into any type of a plan to request funding. Something hasn't felt quite right to me, and I couldn't figure out what it was, but now think I have it.

Seems to me the focus, both in disussion and in this grant funding forum, has waivered back into reading being the primary element of any program we might come up with. Well, I certainly realize that being able to read is imperative, however, I think more than anything else the reading (or educational experience) has got to include an element of self-exploration, and it has to include real people for facilitation purposes.

In other words, prison libraries are full of books (which frankly don't get read). But one consistancy I've found, through the vast hours I've put in researching, is that an inmate (or anybody for that matter), needs to have a somewhat "safe container" before he/she can begin an internal exploration, and that container needs to be set up and facilitated with some external guidance. Only then can outward expression of whatever the inmate gets in touch with begin. I believe if we want to make any kind of difference at all, what we come up with has to include some type of therapeutic element, because prisons for the most part do not provide much in the area of therapeutic intervention.

And we certainly don't need famous people or even social workers or Psychologists to do it. I don't think the impact that Eve Ensler made on the women at the Bedford Correctional Facility had much to do with her fame, and psychology is certainly not her discipline. Sure, her fame became the vehicle for publicizing what happened to the women at Bedford who were in her writing group, but the workshop itself was where the change actually occurred, not at the Sundance Film Festival, or during the PBS airing of the film. And in Wally's case, well he would have needed to be Wally Cleaver, rather than Wally Lamb, for any fame recognition w/that bunch. They mostly just wanted to hear about Oprah, not writing.

I recently posted something after listening to a CD of a "poetry jam," the end result of a less famous man's effort in taking a poetry workshop into CT's York Correctional facility (to a group of women struggling w/HIV and AIDS). I think the resulting artistic expression was just as powerful as in Ensler's film or in Lamb's book, CKITM.

So at least from where I sit, I truly believe that all the book smarts in the world will not fix a broken spirit, because spirit lives in our hearts and in our souls, not in our heads. And once an individual's spirit deadens, then esteem, reactive impulse, and conscience become termanally ill as well. In addition to waking up minds, the rescuscitation has got to include reviving spirits too.

What can we come up with that is more of a melding together of education and rehabilitation? My vote is for this to be our focus.

I couldn't agree more, Nancy. It was the opportunity to talk/write about themselves, their lives, how they got where they were, that I believe was most beneficial to the CKITM group. An outlet is needed for self-examination, insight, and growth. Books, I think, would most useful once that process was started. ...Babi

What can we come up with that is more of a melding together of education and rehabilitation? My vote is for this to be our focus.

And that is the reason we need you here, my dear Nancy... to give us exactly that kind of information...

... just trying to conceive of measurable goals for something like that makes my head hurt!! LOL

Lou

I think you're right, Nancy and I think I GOT it!!

I spent a lot of the weekend brainstorming this (great minds run together), hahahaah and I think we just may have something we can work with and get excited about, it does involve education and it does involve rehabilitation.

I need to run it past SN first, and then I'll be back to see what YOU think, it may need tweaking, can't wait to tell you.

ginny

Ginny, you are a marvel. If you and SN come up with something that works in SC, we will have a viable springbord from which to extend it to other States...like Texas! ...Babi

That was the thought, our Babi, but it didn't fly, we ran it up the flagpole and it crashed. hahahaah

THAT one's not going to work but another one did, the one in the PEI has taken off and might affect this one, as well.

If you all were in the Gandhi autobiography discussion, you recall that he felt that when one door closed or he was presented with obstacles, it only meant another door opened for him to go in another direction he would not have thought of initially. Therefore he regarded obstacles as opportunities, of course he was a man of great faith, but he did his best and we can do the same, we can't expect things to fall into our laps, we need to work harder and come up with something different.

I'll tell you what the plan WAS: it was to seek a grant to pay a teacher to go into various prisons (starting small with a regional prison) and teach the inmates computer skills that they could use when they got out: such as Office, Word, Excel, etc.? Maybe even a typing program. That would be easy to evaluate by the teacher with pre and post tests, unfortunately, you get into the cerfification thing and the vocational training thing and that's not going to work, so that means something better is what we're meant to do, and where we're meant to aim, and we need to figure out what it is.

Meanwhile, the PEI has scored an incredible first for us on SeniorNet and in the Books and THAT might lead to a real program/ grant/ initiative here, we're very excited about it and lack only the last connection to announce it entirely and that will probably be around the 15th of April, but you will LOVE it!!! I guarantee it, and you'll be proud of yourselves, too and so pleased and grateful all around.

Let's think some more about what we could do with a grant which we could evaluate which would be a good fit for us here in the Books, involving in some form reading, books, encouragement, I'm going to go get Nancy's last several posts here and outline them and see if we can combine all of our ideas in another proposal, the key is EVALUATION, you have to have an idea that can be easily evaluated, all grants apparently require that?

WHEE today whee, we're actually getting there!

ginny

Well, I guess ideas for evaluation will have to wait until you can 'announce it entirely'. We have to wait until the 15th? (whine)

I used to routinely set up checkpoints for my work, as it could be quite detailed. Get off track, and everything after is a mess. If I had a checkpoint at the end of each page, or each ten entries, for example, I could catch any errors while it was still easy to correct. (Imagine learning on page 15 of a printout that the last 12 pages were off!?

Evaluation isn't quite the same, but there are similarities. You've got my antennae waving, Ginny.

Yes we've really had a wonderful thing to happen, two things in fact, and hope of a marvelous collaboration, I can't wait to tell you all, the one may spill over into the other and real help may occur, I am very excited about the now two new collaboration opportunities that have come up and I know you all will be so excited as well, as SOON as we can release the information it's done!

Meanwhile cross your fingers and toes we can do some good with this!

ginny

OK as promised here's some of the good news which will pertain to our work HERE in this area, for more good news, click on the PEI for news of how our Books Donation Program is going, we're branching out into three states now, still sending out timid feelers but we do have good news about one.

We are fortunate in engaging the Librarian at York Correctional Institution, Joe Lea, on our side and he seems a wonderful ally.

He will KNOW what's needed and what would be most effective in his prison and he is also willing to help us brainstorm various grant proposals. In addition with HIM there, and he does have the permission of his supervisor, we should be able to figure out how we can measure what we've done, and possibly build a prototype for other organizations who would like to help.

So Lou and All, I know Jane is off today but let's get the ball rolling by figuring out what we can ask Joe that seems reasonable and would advance our thinking here on the grant thing?

here's what he's said:

It is truly wonderful to know that an organization like your cares so much about people who would otherwise go unnoticed.

A good book in prison is sometimes as important as a letter from home, especially if you have few friends and family on the outside. I can not explain to you how much the women love finding good books and sharing them with each other. They devour books, so anything you send will be greatly appreciated.

The library is a wonderful place for the women. It offers the entire compound general reading materials, books, newspapers, and magazines, it also serves to support the school curriculum with nonfiction and reference books as well as hosting the prison book clubs. We have two adult book clubs, a young adult book club and we will be starting a Spanish Language book club in the future.

OK let's get organized the best we can we're all pretty new at this, and if YOU have any sort of experience join Lou's team immediately! Teams in heading, join one today, you ARE needed!

Ok let's brainstorm here before we engage him, in what we'd like to know.

1. Do we, for instance, want to ask what HE thinks is the greatest need prisoners have vis a vis books and reading?

2. Anything we do needs to be measurable!

Here are our two Guidelines from the heading :

What is it that you want to accomplish/achieve?

What will have improved/happened that can be measured/evaluated?

All right, what DO we want?

1. We want to somehow improve the lives of those incarcerated, give them hope and encouragement, and involve books and reading.

What else do we want?

OK the MEASUREMENT thing is what's the sticky point. In order to do any sort of measurement we need people on the inside of the prison, we are lucky we have Joe, and maybe we can enlist Dale, the teacher there, but for prisons where we know NO person, we'd have to write a program, which others could implement, the testing would be easy once we figure out what we want to evaluate?

It's clear we will need people inside to assist, implement, and evaluate the program, so what would be OUR role?

What new thing can WE think of that will fill a need and be creative at the same time?

What sorts of things can you suggest that we could do which might (we've had several good suggestions already, we'll gather them) be able to be measured?

…help help help us think here…

Some of the prisoners may have different reading levels. I wonder if they have the SRA series in every library?

I wonder if we could form a book club type collaboration and talk to each other about books or the articles in the SRA series or get publishers to distribute certain texts (CKITM and Tina Turner's autobiography spring to mind) (this is not grantish enough I'm sure) but if we could then ….we could measure the effect of reading.

Help help, help us think of things that we can do regarding books and reading that are measurable and applicable to more than one prison because if you get ONE going others will want to follow?

Ginny, I think about Wally Lamb's group and it seems the greatest good came out of the inmates writing about themselves and examining their lives. In other words, self-expression.

Mr. Lea speaks of prison book clubs. I would think we need to send not just books to entertain and pass the time, but also find books that will help them come to a better understanding of themselves and their lives. Could we liaison with some of these book clubs, and give them a further outlet to express their thoughts about the books they are reading and what insights they gain from them? Involvement and participation in such clubs should give us one measurement of the impact of the program.

...Babi

...Babi

GINNY, have you seen this program site? It seems the kind of grant we are interested in drawing up.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/evenstartprison/index.html

Here's a link to a local college that takes a program called "Books Behind Bars" in to the KY State Reformatory for Men. This program has remained ongoing for some time now; perhaps through contacting them, some data might be available to be shared (concerning said measures and evaluations):

http://cas.bellarmine.edu/sociology/

Sorry I can't be the one to take on any more at the present time, as I'm already up past the old eyeballs with continuing business concerning the women at YCI (let's just say we've only chipped off the tip of the iceburg thusfar). As soon as I become able reveal more publicly, I promise I will do so!

Books Behind Bars Program: A practicum for one hour credit in which students meet with selected inmates at Kentucky State Reformatory to discuss literature and current events.

From the web sight that Nancy posted...

I admit that any ideas I can come up with all have many negatives when I consider that evaluation is by "remote control", that is depending on others within the system to do the data collection... not that I have a problem 'trusting'... just that adding another layer to some else's job could build in problems, it seems to me.

My experience comes from the educational community... where the basis for evaluation is 'most usually' from results from 'testing', at least in the reading programs...

My brain aches!!! I seem to be chasing my tail here... going in circles...

Perhaps numbers could be an answer... I believe most libraries, at least those in my experience, collect circulation statistics... so may evaluation could be based on numbers of circulation, that is, number of uses of donated materials???? But that wouldn't get down to the goal of 'helping inmates to be contributing citizens' would it???

Who, Boy... I don't know if the coffee hasn't kicked in or what... but I'm getting no where FAST!!!

Lou

Nancy, thank you for that, let's contact them, and let's also contact Joe and just flat out tell him what we want to do and ask him what he thinks he could use and what would be helpful, he may have ideas that we never dreamed of, let's do that, Lou, hahah on the caffeine, we can do this!! But you are right, we need focus, would you be willing to contact the Department of Scoiology at Bellarmine College and see how they feel their program , described below, wherein they go and discuss literature with prisoners, has turned out? How they measure success? Perpahs they would be willing to dialogue with US?

Here's the page that Nancy put a link to, what does this make all of you think of, anything?

(Remember now, that York also HAS book clubs and so do we?) I feel collaborations growing out of my ears here, but how do YOU all feel here, we must keep reaching!

Bellarmine College: Sociology Department

The sociology program emphasizes a combination of rigorous classroom preparation in sociological theory/ research with hands-on experience in the real world. Numerous sociology students have presented scholarly papers at undergraduate research conferences around the mid-west. The Department also embraces a strong social justice philosophy and encourages student activism to bring about a more just and humane world as envisioned by Catholic social teaching.

Opportunities for hands-on experience in Sociology include:

A Police Ride-along: Students ride with a Louisville or Jefferson County police officer for an 8-hour shift. A great way to study crime and law enforcement as well as to get a real experience of a multicultural city.
Books Behind Bars Program: A practicum for one hour credit in which students meet with selected inmates at Kentucky State Reformatory to discuss literature and current events.
Internships: Internships for three hours credit are offered in numerous criminal justice placements, including Dismas half-way houses, Kentucky State Reformatory, the Kentucky Department of Probation and Parole, the Public Defenders Office, The F.B.I., and the Louisville Police’s Child Abuse and Exploitation unit. United Way, Dare to Care, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, The Family Place, The Spouse Abuse center, the State Data Center, and numerous other local agencies.

Graduates of Bellarmine’s sociology program have successful careers in corrections, police work including the F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies, administrative or research positions in various social agencies, private sector business enterprises such as marketing and sales, and counseling positions for adult and juvenile offenders. Graduate also go on to do graduate work in sociology, social work, and related disciplines or enter law school.

Let's talk to them, we can see what they are doing, maybe they have identified a need that we could supply?

ginny

Just brainstorming here......What if, among all the other good ideas already suggested, we thought about doing something deliberate with our 10 books that we have individually purchased for a regular discussion here. (5 books, 15 books?) For example, after next September's (proposed) discussion of Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage has concluded, we each mail our personal book to a specific correctional facility. That facility will know the books are coming, can reasonably expect them to arrive around the 15th of October and can have planned a book discussion. During the first week of September, we'll know and can let them know approximately how many books will arrive the middle of October.

Not every book we discuss here would be appropriate for this suggestion, but almost all would. I'm familiar with one correctional facility in the south and it is desperate for books. To have multiple copies of one book would be such a gift of opportunity.....the opportunity to read and discuss the same book. If some of the proposed ideas about involving multiple facilities work out down the road, then the 10 Ambrose books could be packed up and mailed to the 2nd facility two months later, then the 3rd facility. Postal costs for 10 books to be mailed 3 times in one year would be a small but measurable grant total. (A future grant after multiple facilities are on board.)

Heads up.....the one facility I'm somewhat familiar with will not accept hardback books, only paperbacks. That may be a standard for most facilities.

Another thought. Even though our connection to books is pretty serious and book discussions mean a lot to us, I think it's important to remember that reading a good mystery in a correctional facility could be a private joy in a place with few sources of any kind of joy. In one facility, there might be a handful of people interested in starting book discussions and hundreds of people ready to finally have a decent pile of books from which to choose something that speaks to them. It would make you cry to hear how few books it takes to be called a library. After you've read all 17 fiction books, you don't bother to go to the "library" any more.

My hat is off to those who began all these wonderful proposals. Just think. If a third or half of the prison population at one facility (those who identify as "book lovers" or who become them) have something pleasurable added to their lives.....books to read.....the whole culture of the total population will be changed.

Betty

p.s. Will someone please remind me how to code for color type and bold, etc. Thanks.

See. Now you have me thinking.

A standard "law" in many correctional facilities is that individual books can be accepted through the mail from book publishers or book stores ONLY, not from individual persons. Whatever programs are eventually approved will have to meet this long established safeguard headon. (That first week in September we would have to send the number of books coming along with the names of the 8 SeniorNet bookies mailing them.......OR all of us would have to mail them to a Bookie who would box them up and send them in one expected, recognizable package.)

Betty

Betty, typing in bold, italic, color, etc. is not hard. Use <> brackets to enclose an i (for italics), b (for bold) at the beginning of the phrase. At the end of the phrase, repeat with a slash mark, as /i or /b. (If I actually enclosed them to illustrate, they would disappear when the message was posted.)

For color or font size use: font color=red and font size=4 at the beginning, and close off at the end with /font. Repeat, if you use more than one 'font' up front.

As a resident of Texas, I think of myself as Southern and Western. Where is this prison you mentioned that is so badly in need of books? I might be able to send them some, too. ...Babi

Betty, I am so glad to see you here and "brainstorming" is exactly what we need. I love your ideas and will get up a list of them and the prior suggestions, love the idea of past book discussions used books and you are right, we will need a condiut, I am glad to hear of another prison which might be able to use our books.

IF the prison has a librarian, then the condiut person can ship to him.

I like the possibilities in the book club idea, we've just finished, maybe they would like to read and comment, somehow, a brainstorm is just that, keep 'em coming, can you find out if the prison you have in mind has a librarian?

So glad to see you back!

Thanks, Babi, and thank you for looking into your own area as you said in PEI!

(Come up and read the last posts in PEI, Betty, check heading here for link?

And welcome!

ginny

Betty its lovely to have you back. I have not been in books much there has been too much going on right now for me but hope to be back in the discussions next month.

You are doing great work guys.

Carolyn

I posted a note in "Prison Education Initiative" on the results of my local inquiries. I'm sure everyone coming here is checking in there as well. ...Babi

Running a bit behind here, but Lou and I have been talking about how to proceed here, we have all these great suggestions in both discussions and we're about to write Joe Lea and see what he thinks would be of use, we're asking people to contact prisons in their own states, (thank you, Babi, AND Pat, ...see PEI) we need either librarians or universities currently working IN the prisons to dialogue with and we need to get up a list of questions to ask them to see where we might be able to be of use, see PEI, click on the link in the heading here.

I am thinking that as a proper focus we need to proceed logically here in this discussion and so have gotten a book on Grants, there are several out there but we've chosen Grant Writing for Dummies, which says in its introduction that it's intended for "nonprofit board members, administrator, and staff members ...and the extraordinary volunteer who has agreed...to help out when needed

I like that!

The extraordinary volunteer, and isn't that what you all are?

This is not easy work, but we will do it?

It also says that "This book flattens the mountain of mystery to a plateau of knowledge, delivered systematically in every chapter." OK! That's what we need.

WE will begin Monday next (the day after Wally Lamb appears on 60 Minutes with Chapter 1: Pages 16 and 17:

Looking at the Foundations

Finding Corporate Funders

Getting Started on a Proposal.

We urge you to get the book and, with that as a platform, join us here in brainstorming, we now have a plan, let's ROLL!

Am I getting this all straight? Wally Lamb on 60 Minutes Monday, following a PBS program Sunday about the PEN/Newman award? I don't want to miss either one. ...Babi

I don't know anything about a PBS program on Sunday????? But yesterday Wally told me the date 60 minutes is giving him for airing is May 2nd, which is Sunday, not Monday. He and I have been playing serious voicemail and e-mail tag for quite a while, but hopefully tonight we'll connect via real-time telephone. I'll see if I can get it straight about 60 minutes, and I'll ask about PBS too.

Hello everyone. I've been following your discussion here with great interest.

Nancy, would you please check with Wally Lamb to see if he knows if we can widely publicize the 60 minutes program on our web site, including our home page? That is, is there any problem if we "give away" what the program will be about? (I don't see a description of their May 2 program on the 60 Minutes website yet.)

Apparantly 60 minutes just wrapped up filming today and is still shooting to edit and finish the piece in time to air this Sunday night. The decision will be made on Thursday, after which S/N is at the top of the list of contacts to notify.

BTW, Wally sounds so great -- happy, excited and proud. I keep saying it over and over again -- what a guy!

I hope to find time this weekend to dig up a list of prison addresses and contacts that I have "filed" somewhere. Also, I will e-mail a professor at my college who likes the idea of establishing reading groups or book clubs at prisons. I understand we have one particular Warden at a KY prison who "is all about prison education," so I'll get contact info for him too.

Babi and Nancy, that would be super of you both, thank you both SO much and thank you Nancy for news of our Hero's newest award, we'll have to open a separate page just to list them, isn't this wonderful? I am so excited, thank you for letting us know all these exciting things!!!

After much hunting, I have an address for the Director of the Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD), who "help rehabilitate offenders" by developing public policy that "leads to effective, community-based programs and services". That looks like a place to start, anyway. (Searches for Texas 'prison librarians', prison libraries, etc. got me nowhere.)

I'll try to get an explanatory letter written today, and see if this lady can help us out. ...Babi

All this news about Wally and 60 Minutes and the CBA Award is really head-spinning. Fantabulous. I'll be watching here to see when the 60 minutes segment will broadcast. Hope it's this Sunday.

Just wanted to share this little bit -- the son of a friend of mine is in jail awaiting trial in a small community near here. He asks his mother for books, which must be sent from a bookstore -- she can't bring them or mail them. She was telling another friend that he's been reading mainly novels and escapist literature and now he's asking for biographies and books about people who have overcome obstacles in their lives. She thrilled to see him move in this direction, and I say don't underestimate the power of a book.

Babi, that is so exciting, thank you so much and thank you Nancy and just today our Lou also is making contacts, I am so proud of all of us here, and I know, and don't we have a Hero to emulate, this will turn out to be something we're all proud of!!!

Monday we're going to begin looking at a book called Grant Writing for Dummies, please try to get a copy, we think it will help us focus our procedure here, I am so proud of all of you.

As you all know now, "our" 60 Minutes has been delayed (just like waiting for a baby to be born, how exciting), just FYI if you are not on the mailing list (if you'd like to be, holler!!)

I hope on Monday we'll make real strides and have some great feedback to report, thank ALL of you for every thing you've done!

Pedln, thank you for reporting how those in jail like biographies, I think Nancy was right a while back and the jails also can use books, they won't let her mail them, they want them from a bookstore, interesting!

Thank you for letting us know that.

OH wow I had a wonderful encouraging letter from THE MAN himself yesterday, saying wonderful things about our two initiatives and outreach here, and telling about the awards ceremonies and I hope we will see some of this on the 60 Minutes broadcast, now scheduled for May 9, but it could be preempted, do stay tuned.

He says Tom Brokaw led a standing ovation for Barbara Lane and the other writers, and that Paul Newman sent a video tribute to all the writers accomplishments, and both include our own Nancy here, it must have been magic, this entire thing has been magic.

This work has the most incredible discouraging lows and then the most exalted highs, it's just a privilege to be associated with it. And we are making a difference, now we have a really promising lead into our shipping of our books, one of our Discussion Leaders is pursuing it, and we'll have more news soon there, keep on working and reaching out to the various prisons in your area, we soon will have even more to report on our end!

Congratulations again our Nancy!

Here in the Prison Grant Initiative, grab a copy of the Grant Writing for Dummies, tune in Monday and be IN on the ground floor, you will be proud to say you were!

ginny

I'm delighted to see that groups like yours are taking an interest in doing something for inmates.

This came today from Dr. Curtis R. Bergstrand at Bellarmine University... he is the head of the Sociology Department and also the director of the Books Behind Bars Program... So we are beginning a connection with him and his program... Who knows where this one can lead? Thanks, Nancy, for the heads up on this program!! What would we do without a Nancy???

Lou

Whoop!!!! YAY LOU!!

Nancy's got a connection, too, Nancy, come in and tell us just some sketchy details like Lou just did about YOUR connection and we'll, Jane says she'll help us get up some stuff in our listings here, we ARE making strides and meeting the very nicest people in this work, I'll alert the group in the PEI to come on down!

THANK you LOu!

ginny

I tried e-mailing you (lou2), but your e-mail address is witheld in S/N, so I'll just post the info I wanted to give you.

First of all, thank you so much for taking on the initiative to contact Dr. Bergstrand! I'd learned about him through Gaye Holman, whom I've mentioned several times before in all three S/N forums concerning our book and prison education/rehabilitation. Gaye is the coordinator of prison education for KCTCS, which is the KY Community and Technical College System, and she is the one who actually told me of Bellarmine's program, "Books Behind Bars."

Normally I would have taken on contacting them myself, since the college (and prison involved) are local to me, but both my husband and I have been dealing with some pretty serious health concerns, with him recently starting on chemo-based treatments at the same time I began experiencing some really scary (and difficult to pinpoint the cause of) symptoms myself. Due to seemingly unending extreme fatigue and spontaneaous acute vision loss (gratefully only on one side), off and on fevers, bad muscle aches, etc., I was barely making it through my workdays in addition to Drs. appts., a battery of test, etc., so despite really wanting to jump into this thing, physically, I just couldn't. So thanks for helping -- I smiled really big yesterday when I saw that Dr. Bergstrand had responded positively!

Anyhow, I'm (sort of) on the upswing now -- still feeling wickidly fatigued, but the rest has just about passed, so I wanted to give you my contact info at work, which you may feel free to pass on to anyone from Bellarmine. The college I work for is included in what is referred locally as the Louisville area "Metroversity," or a group of local colleges that network together for many projects and purposes.

My e-mail address at work is nancy.birkla@kctcs.edu

My phone number at work is: 502-213-7120.

If it would be helpful in any way, please feel free to pass this info on to the folks at Bellarmine (although I'm quite sure you're capable of handling things fine, all by yourself, as you're already doing so :0).

I need to run for now, but I'll try to find time later to share a little more of what I'm coming up with on my end.

And thanks again Lou2!!!!!

Thanks so much, Nancy... and it was my pleasure to 'do' something instead of just talking about it!! You have done so much already, it's only fair to 'share the tasks'!!

When hubby and I go to MN in June, we pass through Louisville... and hope that some face to face time may develop... but right now, somehow my computer and Dr. B's are having a hard time communicating!!

All that to say... We/I appreciate all you do and have done... just take time to get your body in better shape... don't feel pushed on this... Thanks for the contact info.

Lou

By all means, Nancy, take care of yourself. You've been pushing yourself so hard, no wonder you are tired. Your and your husband's health takes top priority. Everybody here I'm sure will understand you need rest time. We care about you. ....Babi

THANK YOU!!! Lou2 and Nancy for this marvelous representation. I declare you both our Ambassadors!! Lou2, you astound me, I'm so excited about your offer to meet with Dr. Bergstrand, (what a super guy) while passing thru Louisville, our Lou has become so adept at writing on our behalf, she has stirred up the entire world here, you all don't KNOW, I have a feeling her expertise will come in handy in the future!!! THANK you, Nancy for those wonderful connections and offer also, the Grant Writing for Dummies says it's important to try (we're ahead of that game!) to develop as many connections as you can, and have everybody use every influence they have, aren't we lucky here!!!!!!!!! (Sure proof it's going to happen!) Bless you both!!!

Babi, I agree, we do care about you, Nancy, you're one of us now. Bless your heart, take care of yourself here, you have a ton on your own plate and we want you around a LONG time!!!

Very heartening to look in and see our teamwork and support here this morning!

But look up this morning at the heading! As you can see we have a new title: Prison Grant Intiative Workshop, and a brand new heading, a nice legal pad ready for your use.

We were thinking the other discussion will be more for news and such and this one will be our nitty gritty Workshop, so sharpen your pencils and let's begin filling in the details, they are coming pretty fast now, thanks to YOU all!

Pat Westerdale has done this wonderful blank legal pad for us to use thank you SO much, Pat!! I love empty legal pads! We already have three things to document and as soon as I get the info to Jane for her to sift thru and arrange (TEAMWORK) some of it will begin appearing in the heading.

The Grant Writing for Dummies is perfect for our use, we will go thru it methodically, come by after lucnh and see what all we can do now, very positive exciting stuff here!

Thank you all.

ginny

I ordered the book yesterday, so maybe I'll have it by this weekend. Oh, and by the way Ginny, is this your wiley way of getting me into another book discussion after I proclaimed absolutely no more book discussions for a little while?!!! Tee hee hee - just kidding, of course.

Hahaha Nancy, I am thrilled you've got the book coming, that's marvelous news, nothing will stop us now!!!

The book is going to help us by helping us focus on the outline or mechanics we need, let's not read it like a novel unless you wish to but jump around a bit, and by referring to page 51, for instance, we can eliminate a lot of typing.

We already have done a great deal in these couple of months, let's review. Let's keep what we HAVE done always in our sight in the heading, as it's important.

A lot of the early pages of the book focus on the different types of grants available. They seem to lean toward the corporate or foundation grant and they give the specifics for those. We have several immediate concerns.

We need to figure out specifically what we want to do.

This seems to want an outline, Jane.

We are about books and reading, so whatever we do needs to be tied into spreading reading and literacy?

It's clear that we can find prisons/ jails who do want reading materials.

The shipping of these materials might begin to add up, where is the money going to come from to pay for it?

Should we attempt to place a specific book in various prisons, such as Couldn't Keep it to Myself, along with other materials?

We need to find OUT from those on the front lines WHAT they want? THIS is the crux, to me. To this end our members here have fanned out and are contacting various people involved in Prison Education who are daily dealing with these things, here's what we've done:

1. Our book club discussion of Couldn't Keep it to Myself has been taken back to the prison/ authors for feedback/ encouragement. (Wally Lamb and Dale Griffith)

2. A collaboration has been entered into with Joe Lea, Librarian at York Correctional Institution in CT, to find out what the needs are and brainstorm ideas for a grant. (ginny)

3. The PEN/ Faulkner Award has given 150 books to York Correctional Institution (Joan Pearson)

4. The Director of the Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD) of Texas has been written (Babi)

5. Gaye Holman, Coordinator of Prison Education for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, has been contacted and has found a prison which would like to be included in our book donations (Nancy)

6. Dr. Curt Bergstrand, of the Books Behind Bars program in Louisville, KY has been contacted (Lou2)

7. Three other state jails/ prisons are being contacted to see what their needs might be as regards reading and literacy.

So it seems to me that we have done a great deal in a very little time.

This is what I think now, what are YOUR own thoughts?

WE need to continue to contact the different administrators and facilitators and then ask them point blank what THEIR greatest needs are and if reading and literacy might help in any way and IF so, in what way? We need to find out what we can do. It seems important, (for the purpose of measuring) that we have somebody ON site and involved. The special nature of our work here is that we're on a computer and we're all in different areas, so we, especially if we're talking money, need to be sure that we're in control of the process and we can get evaluation of the result, right?

So with the contacts we now have and the ones we can add to the list above, we now need to begin asking these people….what they need? Any of us can write any state and see if we can get a contact directly involved IN prison education and ask what THEY see as the greatest need and see if any of the needs would correspond to what we want to do? It will not be easy as Babi has said: it may be discouraging but then again, you may be lucky!

I see that as our next step.< br>
On Page 51, in the book, they take up Funding Plan Outline: (Table 4-1)

Mission Statement

Assessment of funding needs

Funding goals

Funding objectives

Action plan (long-range, preferably 3 to 5 years; this tool identifies the types of funding you will apply for, the percentage of anticipated revenue from each type of funding, and who will be responsible for identifying the funding sources and writing for funding requests.

Monitoring and evaluation of funding objectives.

Ok I work best when I have

a clear idea of the NEEDS, we need that, and then

what we can do about these needs, and then

what sources there are who could fund those needs?

So let's start with page 51, and if you look on page 55, she's got it pretty well spelled out, as to who is supposed to be doing what. I don't think we're going to have a bit of problem with the writing (I've looked ahead, we all routinely use the key words she says are important hahahaah this may be MADE for us) and she breaks down all of the various responsibilities, we keep very good records and tabs on what we've done.

I think what we need now is to find OUT what the people, educators and those on the front lines NEED and then see if any of those needs MIGHT have anything to do with books and reading and literacy, and brainstorm ideas as to what we might do?

I think this is where we need to focus now, on the NEEDS of those currently IN service IN working with prisons in some way. THEN we can use the 101 URLS she gives to find the corporate or foundation or federal funding, that will be fun, we FIRST need to decide what we want to do about the NEEDS and we don’t know the needs. We know they would like books.

Then for those of you who are not writing specific contact people but would still like to help, you can begin while we're waiting for this input with page 65, on which she lists "Websites worth visiting." This is something everybody reading this can help with, research on the web, and something I can't do with my slow ISP. Your research in this area will be invaluable as you report to us those grants we seem to fit the parameters of? I'd like to involve as many people as possible in this. And this part will be done. She says "the internet is your best friend in writing a grant. It's convenient. It's free. Here are my picks for the best sites: "

1. www.fdncenter.org: extensive links to foundation grantmaker sites.

2. www.aoa.dhhs.gov/jpost/gr-foundations.htm: A great site to visit is the US Dept. of Human Services Partner Gateway Web site.

3. www.hoovers.com: a link to companies and industries that helps you find corporate addresses and contacts.

Then she goes into what you should look for WHEN you contact those sites (page 67).

1. Limitations: The limitations area is where you should look first. It describes the geographic area that grant award are limited to and the types of grant applicants or project areas the funding source will not fund. Does any wording in this section eliminate your program or project? If so move on the next funder's profile. If no, then move on to the other critical information field.

Be certain to read this entry first. Your organization may be eliminated before it can even get to the starting gun.

Ok it seems to me that those of you without the book (hopefully we can all get the book from the library etc., so we can just look on the page) can see that we can be compiling, it would be so useful if you would compile a list of likely subjects?

So there's something for everybody to do, let's find out what the needs are, let me, after lunch, get up a list of all the suggestions here so far as to what we might do so we can be ready when the librarian or teacher of Prison ZZZin Arizona says well what I think we really need most is a set of SRA's , then we can be ready to roll?

I'm just brainstorming out loud here, what can you take from what I've said, this IS our workroom, we're all sitting around with our Diet Cokes and pencils on the table throwing out ideas! We already HAVE a lot of the prerequisites we need and we've got YOU all, what more do you want? Hahaah

What do you think??

I'm with you here, Ginny... Focusing on the needs of those already working within a situation we hope to impact... supporting an 'already established' program is the best first step...

When I think of 'key words' for us, I can't help but think 'education', though our use of the word ties it with 'inmates' not the traditional usage... I haven't found one word in our book yet about prison, jail, or inmates... and somehow, I find that encouraging... maybe, just maybe, when we combine 'seniors' with 'education' with 'prison', 'jail' or 'inmate' we'll have a unique offering that a foundation just might find intriguing???

Lou

My library apparently doesn't have "Grant Writing for Dummies", but it does have several large books on available Grants. I'll dig around thru' those and see what I find. ...Babi

COULDN'T KEEP IT TO MYSELF - When a writing workshop in a women's prison led to a critically acclaimed book, the good news drew a bad reaction from prison officials. Steve Kroft reports.

(story scheduled to air this Sunday, May 9th)

Here's a link to the 60 Minutes page:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13502.shtml

Nancy, how exciting! Thank you for that, we'll all have our VCR's set, I am so glad I am going to get to see it before leaving on vacation!~!!! Everybody come up to the PEI above and help us discuss it!

And then while you're waiting for Sunday night, look UP here in the heading, Pat Westerdale has done a super one and Jane has organized our focus a bit, thank you, Ladies! Jane has made a super HTML page of our Contacts so far and I thought since we are still in the process of finding out the NEEDS, it would encourage us all to know who is doing what, so we can strike out, too, so have put that in the third chart, pretty impressive, huh? I love it, I love this type of work, thank you all for helping us brainstorm and reach out.

ginny

I did some grazing through a resource on government grants this morning, which raised some points that need clarification.

Under what auspices will this grant be presented? Is SeniorNet sponsoring the grant? Is the 'Book Community' of SeniorNet the presenting group? Or will one of our associates in these activities be the presenting group?

If it is SeniorNet, we need to identify just what type of organization we are. Eligible groups for the grants I looked at are: Public/Private non-profit org.; Educational or Cultural Inst. or Org.; a quasi-public non-profit org.; a 'Special Group'?

Among grants available, there are some interested in the transition of discharged prisoners back into the community. These are primarily directed at either post-discharge monitoring or provision of services/employment opportunities. However, we might successfully present an argument that in-prison education and development of skills and coping abilities is also a program that would aid in transition back into the community.

...Babi

Heard from Wally last night -- our story is scheduled to run first, right at the start of the show.

Later!

NANCY, and a good presentation it was. Steve Croft did a fine job, I thought. It was a treat seeing and hearing Wally Lamb as well as the three spokeswomen whose stories we read with a heavy heart.

It seemed those responsible for the temporary suspension of the classes hemmed a bit, but it is truly gratifying that the issue concerning repayment of prison costs was settled (= $500 per capita) and that the writing program was started anew.

Now the entire country is aware.

How wonderful that the inspiring story of the writing project was brought to the attention of our nation on the 60 Minutes program.

Babi, a grant that you all develop can be submitted by SeniorNet. We are an educational nonprofit organization but it's often a challenge to see where we fit in various funding guidelines. For example, some mean "schools" when they say they support education. I can try to help with sorting through the categories when you all identify a funding source.

Great, thanks Marcie, we can use your help! Thanks Babi for all that research. I'm off in the morning and will be back mid June but have written several people including Joe Lea, the Librarian at York, to find out some of the needs, if you all can, please do the same and in mid June we'll congregate and see which needs we think we can move to fill, very exciting to get this rolling in such a focussed way!

See you in June!

Thanks, Marcie. I have an address for one government grant fund that might possibly find our grant proposal acceptable, once we get it outlined and drawn up. It would take some convincing to persuade them that our approach would also meet some of their goals.

More about it later. ...Babi

Hey Lou,

You mentioned a little while back that you'll be traveling through Louisville in June -- when? Also, where in MN will you be heading to? My family lives on MN border of WI.

UPDATE: I heard back from the Texas Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD), who explained they are only involved in post-discharge activities. They very kindly sent my letter on to the Correctional Institutions Division, and say I should be hearing from officials of that Division shortly.

...Babi

Just wondering if anyone is checking in here these days.

My copy of "Grant Writing for Dummies" has arrived. Although I doubt I'll have time to get into it over the next couple of days, I'll be going out of town for a work-related conference Thurs. and Fri. of this week. We'll have a 4 hour drive each way (w/out me being a designated driver), so I'll probably be able to get some reading and studying of the book in then.

Nancy, I think it's kinda slow around here 'til Ginny returns. Can't get much down without our Lady. ...Babi

I am subscribed so I have Not left. Safe journey to you.

I'm here, too, NANCY, just trying to figure out how I can help.

Mal

Me, too.

I have heard from the Texas DCJ, and they are putting me in touch with Janice Warren, the Library Consultant Administration, in care of the Windham School Dist. in Huntsville (site of one of our largest prisons). She is expecting to hear from me, and I hope to have a letter to her in the mail tomorrow.

I plan to put her in touch with Joe Lea, the librarian at York, as he already has a head start on this and can put her in contact with the appropriate people at Pen/Faulkner.

JOAN, is there someone at SeniorNet that she also needs to talk with? I don't know the details of how the book donation program is being implemented.

Inching forward, ...Babi

Babi, as far as I understand our current situation, there was one book donation from the PEN/Faulkner Award group to the York Correctional Institution. I don't think that you all have decided on a program or process for donations to other institutions.

I don't know if you all have decided if "book donations" is the program (or one of the programs) you want to initiate. Whatever program(s) you decide upon, you all will want to figure out the details of how you will implement it.

Yikes, Marcie! I was encouraged to go ahead and contact someone in the Texas Prison system about receiving books from us. I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking we are going to be sending them books if we're not! According to the heading at this site, prison librarians in Kentucky have also been contacted about receiving books.

I wrote to Joe Lea first (in the mail this morning), so that he would know what it was about when the librarian from Huntsville contacts him. I have not mailed the letter to her yet, as I wanted him to receive his letter first. WHAT DO I DO NOW??!! Are we sending books to prisons, or not? ...Babi

Good question, Babi. I think we're all just feeling our way here. I only know what I've read here in this discussion so please don't take my word as an authority on this. Some of you and Ginny know more about what you are doing here and what's been arranged or might be arranged. It was my understanding that you all are determining needs and making suggestions about how you can have an impact. I don't know that any course of action has been decided yet.

I thought that some of what you all were doing was to ascertain if there is a need for books and if so, what channels donations may need to go through to make those donations. There was some discussion about submitting a grant to support whatever you decide to do.

There may be other sources of books that Ginny or some of you have already identified.

I didn't mean to make you or anyone anxious about this.

BaBi: Ginny, back on May 11 said in her post...

to find out some of the needs, if you all can, please do the same and in mid June we'll congregate and see which needs we think we can move to fill

Since you've not emailed Janice yet about a definite book exchange, perhaps you can ask her what the greatest need is at the prisons she works with? I've read Ginny's message above, and those in the header to indicate that right now everyone is collecting what is the greatest need at the various prisons.

Ginny 5/11/04 11:19am

I, too, thought that the Pen/Faulkner was a one-time thing that happened to work out with York, given the publicity there and the Pen Award to Barbara Lane, etc.

I don't think any decision has been made on what the project will be...just getting ideas of the needs and then looking for possible grants to fund whatever the project might be to meet one/some of those needs???

This is just what I see from reading here, but maybe somebody else understands it much better. Ginny will be back in a couple weeks, so we can sit tight here until then, too, I think.

jane

One more thought concerning grants. In order to apply for a grant, you have to have a clearly defined need for the money.

I think what is going on here is an attempt to discover what the needs are in various prisons, then to determine how we can help, then to figure out what monies are needed to provide that help. It's a long process.

Maryal

Joan...BaBi is talking about Janice Warren...see her post here:

BaBi 5/23/04 10:39am

jane

OK, I'll delete my post...didn't understand. Thanks

NANCY & JOAN, I revised the letter to Janice Warren before sending it. I described the book outreach as a 'proposed' program. I told her about the Pen/Faulkner gift to York Correctional Inst., but explained that we were looking for other sources for future gifts.

I referred her to Joe Lea as being the recipient of the initial book gift, as someone of her own profession who might be able to answer any questions she had about us or the project.

I think the letter was sufficient to establish an first contact, w/o making commitments we can't back up. ...Babi

That sounds great, Babi. Thank you!

Babi, what you've come up with sounds great. Sorry I've been so delayed in responding, but due to multiple weekend storms, we've had no electricity for 3 out of the past 4 days!

By the way, I'll be meeting up with Lou2 this Thursday when she passes through Louisville, on her way up north for vacation. I'm soooo excited to have the opportunity to be able to meet (face-to-face), a SeniorNet friend. We'll have dinner together and hopefully do a little talking about grant writing too.

I've been a bit distant lately, only because my husband and I have been strugging with many health issues. Things are finally getting better with me, though, and the wicked fatigue I experienced for weeks on end is beginning to remiss. Over the past few days I've begun feeling much like my old self :0), so maybe now I can start getting back into the swing of things in this forum too!

ARE GRANTS AVAILABLE TO CALIFORNIA PRISON INMATES

I don't know, Boxer. You'd need to do some real internet searching to discover that, I guess.

People here are interested in trying to find what the greatest needs are in prisons that could possibly become a project and then if there would be any grants available to fund such a project.

This group is still investigating and trying to identify the greatest needs.

jane

Welcome, Boxer! We're very glad to see you here, pull up a chair and help us organize!

Gollly Moses, Jane, that heading looks very impressive and organized, thank you SO much and thank you ALL for all you've done!

Well I'm baaack and very heartened to see you've not sat still one moment.

I hear Nancy has tons of ideas and heard from Lou2 that she did so enjoy their visit together, she's still on the road till next week, but when she gets in I want to hear all about it, we want to hear EVERY MINUTE!

Thank you Jane, yes, that's absolutely right, thank you Maryal, we're in the Gathering Information Phase, exactly right, finding out the needs, so we can seek funding or ideas to address them.

Thank you very much Babi for your efforts, let us know what you hear back, you're a natural at this!!

I am so impressed with the efforts you all have made here, this discussion is not a puff pleasure discussion, it's serious stuff (but very rewarding) and I'm very proud of what you all have done.

I heard from Dale Griffith right before I left, (the teacher at York CI) and she said she and Joe Lea the Librarian would get with Wally Lamb and the writers group and they would all collaborate and figure out a wish list of needs they think would help!!!!

And THAT would be wonderful, a big step ahead for us and I'm very grateful to them.

Once we get our list of needs, and ALL our ideas, we will have a better idea of how to focus, what to focus on, and what to be planning for. We are going to have to someday address WHO we are aiming all this at?

Who are our intended recpients? Any and all prisoners in the world?

THIS one is going to be tough and we're going to be in "fish or cut bait" time, let's see what the reports come back saying, let's hear Nancy's ideas and about Nancy and Lou's wonderful meeting, (I'm so jealous, wouldn't it be fun we we could all get together!!) and thank you, each of you who contributed anything here in the last month.

Nancy, I am glad to hear you are feeling better and hope John is the same, you are a wonder.

I AM sorry to tell you all, however, of some bad news, and that's that Lou has lost her mother recently, and I would like to extend to her my sympathy in her great loss, so sorry, our Lou.

So far, I haven't heard back from anyone, which isn't necessarily surprising. The reponse from the first government official I wrote to was slow as well. I'm sure they have a great many items of higher priority on their desks. ...Babi

I have received a reply from Janice Warren, Library Coord. of the Windham School District. She tells me that all book donations are received thru' her office in Huntsville. Library holdings are primarily hardbacks, tho' some paperback reference books are kept. Any paperbacks received are given away thru' the prison population with Warden approval.

All shipping charges and delivery arrangements are the responsibility of the donor. She includes a "Library Services Donation Form" that must accompany all donations. Further details, inclu. address for delivery, are included, but that is the gist of her letter.

Any prospect at this time of books available for this project, GINNY? I'll hold onto the letter meanwhile, of course.

Things have been very quiet around here. Are we still proceeding? ...Babi

OH yes, we're proceeding, sorry for the quiet, we're waiting for more responses, but wasn't that grand, Babi, you're incredible in writing these people.

We'll put her response in the heading, let me be sure I'm clear now,

All book donations are received (for the prisons, too?) thru her office?

OK what does this mean?

All shipping charges and delivery arrangements are the responsibility of the donor. She includes a "Library Services Donation Form" that must accompany all donations. Further details, inclu. address for delivery, are included, but that is the gist of her letter. Does that mean it's a charitable donation which you can write off?

What does this mean?

Library holdings are primarily hardbacks, tho' some paperback reference books are kept. Any paperbacks received are given away thru' the prison population with Warden approval. Does this mean that the prison libraries (she?) oversees uses hardbacks only, and only keeps paperback references but then gives the paperbacks to the prisons? I hate it I'm somewhat dull this morning!

The donation of the PEN/ FAULKNER books to us for use in York Correctional Instution was a one time only thing, apparently, and we're very grateful for it.

But there are a lot of awards out there, book awards, and publishers, and if we can get up a list of needs from every source we can, we can then approach the possible donors and be in a better state to apply for a grant for shipping (I see the donating and shipping as going to be our biggest problem)??

When Nancy gets here, I hear she also has some ideas, so when we hear from York, when we add that to your response, (thank you!!) we will begin have a nice list of demonstrated needs! And that's what we wanted, many thanks.

Now I need to do some writing of my own, and follow your example.

Would we run into a problem, do you all think, if we tried to aim our donations at Women's prisons? Or women prisoners or classes?

Your questions are entirely reasonable, Ginny. I hope my understanding of the letter, and explanations, are correct.

1: Huntsville prison is located in the Windham School District, and Ms. Warren is the coordinator for all prison libraries in the Texas prison system. The "Library Services Donation Form" is basically to make sure the donor understands the terms under which donations are accepted. For one, the contributions may, or may not, be added to the inventory of the library we might specify. So, the books might, or might not, go to a women's prison.

2. Only hardback books, and some paperback references, are maintained in the prison library. Paperbacks, if approved by the warden, are given away to the prison population to be passed around at will.

She also says that they cannot make a dollar evaluation of gifts, and that if the donor wishes to have a list of books being contributed, it should be made before the materials are delivered. I really don't know whether that means the books can, or cannot, be written off as a charitable donation.

One of the bases for decision as to whether a book goes to a certain library does depend on whether the unit needs that item. Whether Ms. Warren's office could supply us with a list of their needs, I also don't know. Perhaps another letter is in order, asking that question. I'll put it on my agenda. GINNY, should I also ask her if it would be possible to target the women's prisons?

Babi

Babi, you are a wonder, can we clone you?

That’s a wonderful response, thank you.

We haven’t here decided who we want to target, IF we want to indiscriminately just send books to all prisons and prisoners, or if we want to, for instance, target those taking courses and trying to improve or in writing groups, etc? OR if we’d like to target women in prison? WE need to decide that first.

She’s really in charge of a lot, isn’t she? Would you be willing to ask her if SHE has a list of needs which she thinks either one of the classes might benefit from or maybe some of the teachers or librarians have identified that would help them?

Perhaps rather than just thinking of sending books, we might be able to tie in with the librarians themselves (if she’ll help) and address in some way their own needs?

Nancy, I hope you and John are all right. When you get in, let us know if we’re aiming here in the right direction?

I think we need a list of needs so we can then talk about how to address them. We can list this very important contact as willing to receive books, many thanks, Babi!!

Thank you for adding that to the heading so well, Jane. Looks very impressive, to me.

So far, but we're not through!

I thought you would like to know that OUR shipment

of books, 150 new hardback prize nominees for the prestigious PEN/FAULKNER Award books, will be shipped the day after tomorrow, by Joan Pearson, who arranged this donation and transfer!

THANK you, Joan!

Joe Lea, the Librarian at York Correctional Institution, is very excited about receiving the books, and we are very proud that we have, through Joan, been able to do this.

BLESS YOU, JOAN! WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT YOU?

Amen, Babi, and there's more if you can believe it!

BIG news big news big news,

Stay tuned, stay tuned stay tuned!!

Hi Folks,

Just want to let everybody know I'm still here -- have been all along, just very quietly present as of late!

I've had to pull back here (and in all other areas too) because life got really, really hard for a little while, with John and I both going through serious health-related situations simultaneously. Unfortunately, we even ended up having to cancel our planned vacation to Connecticut, which was to have taken place this week :0(.

The good news is that I'm (finally) feeling much better, and I'm fast approaching "full-throttle" once again. I've even picked up a ten hour shift in our college's writing center one day a week. The extra work, however, in addition to the mountain of accumulated and neglected paperword, bills, and correspondences keeps me feeling (still) a bit overwhelmed. Slowly but surely, though, I'm chipping away and seeing the light from my old desk lamp glowing over the top of the pile!

I did meet with Jonny (Lou2) several weeks back, when she passed through Louisville on the way up to Minnesota. We had a nice lunch and visit together, and I shared some ideas and NET printouts with her. I've pulled everything out this morning and will either find links (didn't bookmark any of it, for some reason) or I'll send hard copies to anyone interested.

I've found organizations and programs that receive and distribute used books (even paperbacks) to inmates. Also, I've come up with some interesting ideas for funding such things as postage, etc. Hopefully I'll finally come up with a little free time over my upcoming 4-day (holiday) weekend.

Unfortunately, most of my own personal liason or contact people for our local local prison education program (college professors and other related personnel) are off on summer release/vacation time and won't return until mid-August, but I have several ideas for projects "on the back burner" that have already been discussed with several of them.

Great news about the PEN/Faulkner books going out. I'll get with some of my CT contacts to see if the donation received any media attention. If so I'll send links or details.

Well, it's about time for me to head out for work. Thanks to all who have remained around and who want to try helping to make things happen. I believe soon I'll be good as new and ready to roll again!

Peace, love, and best to all -- NAB :0)

So glad to hear you are feeling better, Nancy. I understand about the 'overwhelming' feeling...been there...but bit by bit you do get on top of everything again. I don't know your personal feelings about prayer, but you and John have had one from me, anyway.

I'll be interested to hear more about the lists of places that donate books to prisons. We may find a source there for contributions to the Texas prisons.

...Babi

Well, the books have been shipped - 220 of them went out on Tuesday, Media rate - so there is no telling when they will arrive at the York Facility. It seems that the number was greatly underestimated, which is why we have so many more books than expected. Here's a photo of Janice Delaney, the Executive Director of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation - standing in front of the two large book cases brimming with books. She is so happy to be partnering with SeniorNet. You may know that PEN/Faulkner and SeniorNet are both Reading Promotion Partners at the Library of Congress Center for the Book... which is how this connection was made at the annual meeting in March.

Janice Delaney in front of the books which are now en route to York.

Keep fingers crossed the books are appropriate for this population.

Thank you so much, Joan, your wonderful initiative has provided us with quite a supply of books and I know Joe Lea is very excited, he's written even tho on vacation, that he's over the moon about this. Many thanks to you and Janice Delaney (thank you for providing that photo) and the PEN/FAULKNER organization for this splendid effort.

As Nancy says in the PEI above, we will soon have lots of requests for these books and it's very fine to see an onine effort making a real difference in the world. Since these two discussions somewhat overlap each other, I'll post this in the PEI as well.

In addition Joe writes that the list we requested from him as to the needs of prisons and prison librarians is now ready and he's sending it to us by regular mail.

We so appreciate his taking the time, on his vacation, to get this ready and to mail it, as it will give us some idea of the needs we can fill, along with Babi and Nancy's input here, we'll have a real basis to apply, as we will be needing some kind of funding in order to do all this shipping, we can talk more about that later on.

There's more to Joan's story than she lets on, it's better than a movie and in the coming weeks we'll be telling you more of the details, such fine inspiring work here this morning! Thank you ALL, and especially Joan P and Janice Delaney of the PEN/FAULKNER!!

Wonderful news about the books sent to York. Thank you to Joan and all involved.

I've been very busy revising and editing three of the novels I've written (for the millionth time!), so haven't had much time. One novel has been accepted for publication. Two more are being considered for publication. Very exciting for me. I'll do better, though, and will try to contact some people associated with the prison system here in North Carolina.

Mal

I received the following response to my last communication with Janice Warren. As you can see, it will not be easy to determine what books/materials are needed, or where.

In response to your last email, I do not have lists of books needed at each unit. There are 42 librarians across the State that cover 85 libraries. Our libraries are not automated with each other so there is not a state-wide link nor are there computers in our libraries. When our office receives donations, we usually make a list of books received and send this list out through our mail system. The librarian then contacts me on what books they want accessioned into their libraries. Our libraries are primarily all hardback books. We do have some paperbacks that are in our reference section that only come published in that format.

Please contact me if you have further questions.

Thanks- Janice Warren Windham School District

Perhaps our best route would be to identify particular prisons we would be interested in assisting...women's prisons were mentioned in earlier posts. Then, perhaps Ms. Warren would agree to our contacting the appropriate librarian for that prison to ask about their needs. Q: Do we want to target women's prisons, at least for now???

Babi

Our Ohio Historical Society has taken a different tack when it come to the Women's Correctional Institute here in Ohio.They have inmates making(sewing) hoopskirts, knee breeches and empire gowns to be used at different historical sites here in the state.

Making period-correct clothing requires the use of extremely tedious construction detail that isn't used when sewing today's clothing. A single female garment can take anywhere from two hours to 35 hours to produce. Despite these intimidating facts, the women at the reformatory are eager to help. While most of the women have never had any formal training in tailoring, the OHS historian said their craftsmanship on the costumes is superb and the women learn a great dea. as they sew. She trieds to give a history lesson with each pattern so it is a learning experience for ladies and by sewing the clothing, the women are learning new techniques that they can take with them into the job force.

Although the women can choose the jobs they perform at the prison, sewing jobs are truly a labor of love. Unlike other jobs at the institution, costume making is unpaid. However, when the women leave the prison, the Ohio Historical Society will provide letters of recommendation for everyone who was involved in the project.

The women have told Hewitt Schuricht, the OHS historian/education specialist, that sewing the costumes helps them feel like they are making a contribution. " They look forward to my visits and they thoroughly enjoy working on the costumes. You can't sew the way they do without enjoying it," says Hewitt Schuricht.

I know our initiative here is all about books but I thought you all would like to know what else is being done to help these women do something with their lives while they serve their time in prison.

These 2 Prison discussions are overlapping and Ginny thinks it would be best to continue our posting in this discussion here.

The other discussion, ---Prison Education Initiative; Congratulations Wally Lamb, Barbara Lane, Nancy Birkla, and Authors on winning the PEN Feedom to Write Award and being named Connecticut's "One Book" of the Year!, will be archived and I will put a link to it in the heading as soon as the archiving is finished.

What a great story, Ann. It's good to know of those type of programs and the enthusiasm of some of the imprisoned women for those opportunities.

Sounds like Ohio has a much better approach than some of the prison systems we've heard about here. I'm still aghast at the prison that uses women to train seeing eye dogs, giving them a highly useful skill, and then refuses to give them any documentation attesting to their skill and experience. How idiotic is that?!!

...Babi

I agree, Marcie and Babi, thank you VERY much, Ann for that news of what is being done in Ohio, that's lovely, somebody has been very forward thinking, it's good to even read it, very uplifting!

As you all can see from reading the Prison Education Initiative, we are going to combine these two discussions, as we think we can bring here now news of what's being done like Ann did, which will inform what we're trying to do here.

I agree, Babi, that does not seem to make too much sense.

Although it may appear that not too much is going on here, actually the reverse is true, and I hope by combining these two discussions we can not have such gaps in the conversation, essentially it's this way, we now have for our own use approximately 350 books donated by the PEN/FAULKNER Library, Joan Pearson having arranged and implemented that shipment, 220 sent to the York Correctional Institution and 150 sent to me. I already had assembled apparoximately 100 from another donor so we have about 250 books on our own SeniorNet PGI shelves, which are ready to be shipped, once we make the right connections with the right people, and that will take a while, as some of those who coordinate prison education programs, as Nancy has noted, are not going to be back at their university until September.

Meanwhile we await the list, which IS ready, from Joe Lea of the York Correctional Institution Library, (he's on vacation) of what they see there, as the needs that people might help with, and I'm not sure if that's the same one Dale is working on with the class and Wally Lamb or not, I thought I'd wait and get the list from Joe and see? And once we get armed with all of the lists of needs, we can then see where we want to focus, and, more, what WE can do.

I do so appreciate all of you and your help with this project, and will be sending out a letter to the mailing list of interested people when the change is officially made in combining the Prison Education Initiative/ Prison Grant Initiative into one discussion.

Malryn, congratulations on your novel being published, who is the publisher?

I know you are excited!

Babi, thank you so much for that feedback from Janice Warren, we need to get that in the heading, even tho they don't have computers or a list, the way she is going about it, I think, is very good, we'll keep that on file also, it makes sense for the librarians to get what they would like.

Honestly, Babi, I have really been thinking that, especially since we've heard the stories of Wally Lamb's class, that we SHOULD focus on women and women's prisons? I am not sure if you CAN do that with a grant, tho, we would need to find out, if you can target, Lou, what do you think? Can you target a specific part of a population by sex?

You know what I've been sort of idly turning around in my mind? (Having no idea of course what the Librarians and the Prison Writing Classes REALLY want or need) it occurred to me that probably one of the best books to give incarcerated women would be Wally Lambs? I mean it has women dealing with all sorts of horrendous things in their lives, paying the price, how that feels, and emerging triumphant, look at Nancy! And so I can't help but wonder, that instead of sending a thriller or something like it they might not be able to relate personally to, it might help more to send Couldn't Keep it to Myself or maybe some of the books recommended in the back of it? Maybe inscribed with a personal note from us? I'm just thinking out loud, but I keep hearing from people whose prison classes have read that book and it's as if a light has broken over them or something, I just wonder ....using literature and books to inspire...thinking out loud here but that's what this room is for.

What are YOUR thoughts?

Hi Everyone. Believe it or not, I haven't abandoned ship; I really haven't. After two months of my husband and I being ill at the same time, I finally began feeling much better and "on track" again when last week my husband experienced a life-threatening complication from the chemo, which was scary and caused much sleep deprivation over the course of about 5 days. After his emergency hospitilization, we both began feeling really well again (and quickly too; it's amazing what a couple of nights of good rest can do).

We had a rather peaceful (though busy) weekend, and then on Monday somebody stole a credit card, 3 bank cards, my drivers license and some cash from my purse (which was in my office at work). Needless to say, the past two days have been a chaotic, non-stop series of reporting, affadavit writing, phone calling, taking-care-of-business with banks, etc. For a day or so it even looked like the possibility of attaining a new valid driver's license any time in the near future was about nil.

I'm amazed at what a thief can do in only a few hours with somebody elses' electronic access to bank accounts and credit lines (and that's saying a lot coming from a gal whose been around the block a few times)!

Fortunately, we always seem to manage chugging with the flow!

Along with all these crazy and stressful situations has come unexpected and great stuff, over the past couple of weeks too, with the best being the news last Friday that after only eight weeks into his 48 weeks of treatment, John is already in full remission (he's in week 12 now). Doesn't really get any better than that, does it?

Then I got a huge raise at work, so huge that I was sure a mistake had been made, but it really wasn't an error. All mid-management student affairs officers were raised to entry level faculty pay, which for me means better than 40% raise.

This past week I received word that I'll be receiving an additional (sizable) bonus payment in my next paycheck, the result of my yearly performance evaluation. Today I received verification that although it may take a little while, all the fraudulent activity against our bank accounts are covered and we will be reimbursed.

THEN, and I was not prepared for this one -- can you believe it -- I received notification today that finally my one remaining civil liberty I'd thought was lost forever when I was convicted of a felony has been restored. KY has a "Disenfranchized for Life" law, which means once convicted of a felony, an individual can never vote again (with few exceptions). But today I received word that my appeal has been approved and my right to vote has officially been restored. So this afternoon I went out an registered to vote for the first time in over fifteen years!

Whew -- that's a lot of stuff about what's been going on with me and nothing at all about prison education, huh? I really, really will try this weekend to get posted some info and links I've put together, along with thoughts and contacts I've made.

I've missed regular contact with everyone here and hope to be back on board again "full-time" very soon!

BTW (sorry Ginny) I don't agree with the focus being on "women prisoners only" idea. I truly believe men's prisons get short-changed when it comes to programs and gifts. And I don't like it when I think I'm being prejudiced against because I'm a woman, so I'd hate to do the same in reverse. I am, however, agreeable to whatever is the majority consensus in this forum. If everyone else agrees they want the focus to be on helping women only, then so be it, I'll still be supportive.

Later (only hopefully sooner than much later), NAB :0)

WHOOP!! Why, Nancy Birkla!! Remission?? 40 percent RAISE?? Another raise?

WHOOOP!!

Congratulations, Nancy!!!

Many many congratulations!!!!!!!!!! You deserve all the good things life can bring, you have certainly been thru it, we are so glad to hear your wonderful news and to hear you're both feeling much better, how wonderful!!

Man's prisons also? I imagine you can't exclude people by sex anyway, that's probably discrmination, I guess I was just so touched by the women's stories I went overboard, what do the rest of you think: aim at women only or include men? (Truly a lot of the books we have now in our SeniorNet PGI Library Stock are what you'd call "men's interest books," if there is such a thing? IS there?

Fireworks for Nancy,

Who continually proves it CAN be done!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee

Nancy, I was very glad to see all the good news to balance out the bad news. (I was about to put you on my emergency prayer list!) But you have emerged victorious!!

If we don't plan to target specific prisons, there will be no way to determine what might be wanted and needed, at least in the Texas CJ system. If we want to send them books, it will be a blind shot. Send a bunch and hope there is something they can use. That seems to me to be a potential waste of books.

Open to suggestions.... Babi

YEAH NANCY

Great after all that pain, some great things. I've been through chemo, and know what a roller-coaster ride it can be, but when it's over, it's over!

What a roller coaster ride, Nancy! I am so glad to hear the wonderful news about your husband, your own health and your salary increase and superb performance review.

Good grief, I finally made time to post some info, links, ideas, etc., but alas -- what I thought I posted is not here! Unfortunately, I was rushed and didn't have time to double-check anything after I hit the "post" icon. Apparantly what I wrote was lost with a POOF -- and not the first time for me, either.

Oh well, not the worst thing that could happen, huh?

This time I did save the links as favorites on my home computer. I'll get it all posted again ASAP, OK? OK! :0).

After last week's fiasco w/the stolen bank cards and my husband's emergency visit to the hospital the week before, things feel downright boring this week (however, boring is just fine with me).

By the way, I received an e-mail from Wally a few days ago. He tells me he's progressing nicely w/the new novel and that he'd even done a public reading of a chapter from the new book, one day last week.

Also, he tells me that the still-incarcerated (CKITM) women have finally (finally, finally, finally) received a little recognition for their efforts, via a book reading/reception held out at the prison last week. The most exciting part of the whole event for them was that they actually were allowed to eat and drink the reception refreshments, which apparantly is not the norm. Usually the inmates have to abstain and just watch while their outside guests eat and drink right in front of them!

If I hear from Barbara or Bonnie about their big day, I'll relay what they say!

I need to run for now -- I'm supposed to be working (shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone I'm messing around on the NET).

Peace and best, NAB :0)

I did a search for the missing post but found none. We All have hit the wrong button a time or two (BG). Thanks for the time you give us.

I'm so sorry you lost your post, Nancy. That is aggravating!

Just to be safe, if you are posting a longish message you might want to type it in notepad/wordpad or your wordprocessor first and save it and then copy and paste it into a message here.

Thank you , Nancy for that wonderful report on the women finally getting some recognition at the prison, this stopped me:

...little recognition for their efforts, via a book reading/reception held out at the prison last week. The most exciting part of the whole event for them was that they actually were allowed to eat and drink the reception refreshments, which apparantly is not the norm. Usually the inmates have to abstain and just watch while their outside guests eat and drink right in front of them!

Jeepers, thank you for that, we forget, with our own freedom, what they are going thru, thank you for this and all the news you bring! A letter from Wally!!! thank you for letting us know his new book is going well, he's incredible.

And there's more news: both Pearson and I have heard from Joe Lea, the Librarian at York, and he's quite excited about the wonderful books, he says the readers tend to circle around if they hear a new book or so has come in, and here, from us, 4 boxes already have arrived and he's unpacking them and cataloguing them as fast as he can, excitement is VERY high!

He told Pearson that usually when prisons get books? They are old cast off and battered books and that these books being new and in their new jackets, say volumes to the women that THEY are not just cast offs, too, apparently it has done a world of good.

And there's one more box in transit.

WE appreciate Joe Lea here, who has been a wonderful go between and contact for us, without him we'd not know of their excitement and the joy it gives us, too. We appreciate Pearson for all her work, she took a lot of time reading each book jacket and selecting the ones she thought they'd like, it's been a labor of love from start to finish, and is such a good feeling we are going to need to do it again, but we can see we need the contacts in the prisons like Joe in each prison rather than just sending books as Babi said to be dumped, let's work on that? Babi has a contact (see heading), Nancy has more than one, let's see who all we can enlist in our efforts here to spread literacy and compassion.

And we do appreciate each of you for trying to help us make a difference right here on the internet, I believe you have succeeded, let's do more!

I started a message but had to get a new password. Any way: Cheers for Nancy. I feel men should be included or we'll be doing to them what they did to us ions ago.

If you all can get your hands on the new issue (August) of Smithsonian Magazine, there is a fantastic article on the Puppy Program like Barbara Lane does, in prisons and they chose the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York to profile. That's the same one that Eve Ensler was shown working in in our PBS Program Clubs special.

The article is about the Puppies Behind Bars program, which has expanded to 6 prisons in NJ, NY and CT, where 52 women and 61 men are currently raising 56 dogs, for the blind, bomb sniffing police dogs and guide dogs.

This is a program entirely funded by donations and costs the states nothing. 300 volunteers do a lot of the outside work.

It's an exellent article about how people who volunteer and want to help can make a difference!

OK that Bedford Hills Facility? That's the one, as noted, with Eve Ensler. We need to write HER and see if there is a Librarian there who might like to collaborate with us, we can give Joe Lea as reference, they seem somewhat enlightened.

Then I'll write, (finally) the Governonr of South Carolina, the state I live in and see what prison librarians we have here I can get in touch with.

In the next month Nancy's contact will be back at University and we can see what she has in mind and we can then see about shipping our supply of books where they might do the most good. They are not doing my barn any good at all (tho being kept safe).

I think for a project of only 7 months life we're on schedule and moving along very nicely and we have another project, possibly, coming up of outreach too, in the Books, in a different venue. One small band of volunteers CAN make a difference, (obviously) let's keep moving forward, everyone reading this is welcome!

GINNY & JOAN: I contacted Janice Warren in Huntsville again with a suggestion. I asked if it would be feasible for her to contact the other librarians in the system and tell them of our project. Then if they wished, they could draw up lists of their 'most wanted' books &/or materials and send them to me. I could pass them on to one of you to see if we had anything on those lists...or could locate items on their lists. The books would still have to be processed thru' Huntsville, but we would know the items are wanted, and who wants them.

I'm waiting to hear back from her. ...Babi

Good for you Babi, you have such good luck writing people out of the blue, you are an expert, were YOU in that PBS discussion by any chance with Eve Ensler?

HOHOHO! Yeah, right. I was prompting her thru a mike in her earring. :>) ...Babi

No I meant were you a participant in that discussion? hahahahah

Hi Everyone,

Well, I’m going to try taking another stab at posting information I’ve been sitting on for more than a few weeks now (and this time I AM typing into a word document first and then cutting and pasting later).

As seems to be the one consistent element in my life lately, though, I don’t have much time right now. But if I keep waiting for that hour or two of absolute free time to magically appear – well, these links and relevant info will never end up getting posted.

This first link concerns a program called Books Through Bars

http://www.abcnorio.org/affiliated/btb.htm l

Granted this is an organization in and of itself; however, you’ll note one method they use for tackling the problem of funds for postage is to solicit donations, not for money, but for postage of varying increments. Could we do something like that -- maybe set up a post office box address for donations to be mailed to? This seems to our greatest short-term problem; we have books but no resources for mailing them out, right?

Moving on . . .

This site offers some other ideas to draw from and (perhaps) might even be a potential liaison between us and some prisons with book needs:

http://www.prisonactivist.org/wpbp/bookdrive.htm

and finally . . .

This last one includes actual contact addresses for prisons that accept book donations, including what types of books, etc..:

http://www.prisonpenpals.net/booksbehindbars.html

That’s all I have time for, except to cross my fingers now that all this will cut and paste into a post without a problem!!!

Some great ideas for collecting books at the Book Donations site, Nancy. And I've jotted down addresses for a couple of prisons in Texas. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

BABI

OH yessss Nancy what would we do without you, wonderful information, let's divvy it up and contact some of these folks, who wants whom??

This is wonderful!

THANK you!

ANOTHER DONATION of Books!!
We've had ANOTHER fabulous donation of many books!!!!

This donation comes from our own Stephanie Hochuli, who is also donating the postage to ship them!!

My goodness, how fine, THANK you, Stephanie, what a wonderful generous thing to do!

Stephanie has moved, and she is donating a bunch of books to our cause which will add substantialy to our own shelves, we need a catchy name for our Library because, believe it or not? We now HAVE A LIBRARY, our own selection of books waiting to be delivered, (can you BELIEVE this?) It wasn't so long ago that we were preparing to go to the National Book Festival and we had no idea what awaited us there, and now LOOK at US!!

Now we have to safely and carefully and with stewardship see them go to good homes, and that's our next goal!

We have a SeniorNet Books Library!

I like the looks of that Women's Prison Book Project, that sounds right up our alley, that Nancy posted above and have printed it out and will follow it up as a possible liason for us. That bottom link, Books Behind Bars also looks like a winner, let me contact them and let you all know what they say: as the commercial says, WE'VE GOT BOOKS and now let's focus on getting them to to the right people.

I don't think you realize how many books we actually HAVE!

Once we make these connections and hear back in September, that's just one month, from all the feelers we have put out, it will be time to start shipping.

Now on our Grant front, here is an index of grants, this is a new site, just up.

The federal government is running a new website called grants.gov. It has a search engine for grants from all of the federal agencies. You can search by keyword, let's give this a shot and see what it turns up, we've become, in a very short time, the collection agency we hoped to be, let's distribute and make liasons and get some money to fund the shipping, and continue this wonderful effort! THANK you all and

THANK you Stephanie for that fine and generous donation!!

Wow, great work everyone here. It's wonderful, Stephanie, that you have made a generous donation to this project.

You might want to look for funders outside of the federal government too. Government grants are usually very difficult to acquire and require a lot of paperwork.

OK good point, Marcie, thanks.

I've written the Women's Prison Book Project, they don't, however want hardbacks and they seem to be getting requests, I think they say 400 per month, from the prisoners themselves, we need to know more about this. I'll write the Books Behind Bars people! We GOT BOOKS!

GOT BOOKS, WILL TRAVEL, we just want them distributed where they are most appreciated and needed.

OK Books Through Bars, in the heading here, does not want hardcover fiction! So that right there knocks off a lot of our library, what they DO want is quite interesting, tho, take a look, the URL is in the heading.

I've had a nice letter from the Women's Prison Book Project, and as you can see they really only want paperbacks, but they do send helpful information which I appreciate, look at this:

Hello.

Glad to hear about the good work you are doing. We send mainly to individual women prisoners, and it is the case that the vast majority of prisons won't allow individuals to receive hardcover books. I'm not sure that's the case with prison libraries, however.

There is a complete list of state prison librarian contact information at the following web address: http://ce.msde.state.md.us/library/Directory/directory.htm

I'd say you'd have more luck distributing hardcovers through the libraries.

If there are other ways we can help with your work, let me know. We certainly serve many senior women in prison, and if you have paperbacks, our project would be a great way to distribute them to individual women.

Good luck.

Corinth for WPBP

Now you see how, as the song says, one thing leads to another? I had not considered Senior Women in Prison! Thought never passed my mind! Wouldn't it be interesting to find out more about THAT, how nice of her to send that link, I'm going to start with the one in South Carolina, and see what we come up with, it's kind of fun in a way, one setback pushes you ahead in another way, I feel like we're closing in on it and if we have any paperbacks, we can send THEM to these folks, nice people.

OK I have written Daisy Lindler (I called her but her voice mail was full) in Columbia SC to see if any of her prison systems would like the books. South Carolina seems well set up, there are several prisons listed with librarians and I hope that this may also allow us to expand, so far we've touched base with Connecticut, Texas, Kentucky and South Carolina, that's not bad, I hope to hear from her when I return next week.

Well, the professors at my college are beginning to roll back in (after being off for the summer), and I'm actively soliciting donations of paperbacks. I'm sure I can come up with tons of textbooks, including various genres and periods of Literature, as well other areas of studies, and more general reading too (including novels).

We should think about not wasting postage through "double mailings" by sending all the books to a set location, and then again to various recipients (in other words, wouldn't it make more sense for me to "catalogue" the books I acquire while keeping them here, for the time being. Then we could compose a "data base" of titles from combined storage points. What do you all think of this idea?

For my part, I think that's an EXCELLENT OUTSTANDING idea, Nancy, no use mailing them here and then mailing them on, we can have more than one "warehouse," and "distribution point!" hahaha Just keep track? And as you say, we can "catalogue" them and have the record HERE? I mean this IS a computer database, right? Genius, that's what you are!

Let's keep a count of what we ship (if we catalogue the ones left we will HAVE an account); but we definitely need to be keeping an accurate number total of books distributed.

I am going to say that we now, estimating Steph's contribution, but it may be more, but all together here in my "warehouse A" (for Anderson ....hahahah.... and you can be B for Birkla) hahahaha, we have about 500 or so books ready to ship, we've had several hundred donated on top of those which were an overflow from the very generous PEN/FAULKNER donation, and when added to those already shipped to York, we have about 750 total that we have dealt with to date, because Joe indicates there are more than 220 sent to him. He's cataloguing them now.

Our next task will be to get money for the postage, because really other than that we're pretty well set up and there is a possibility that if the books here go to SC I can hand deliver them, myself, and that will eliminate the postage entirely. Or to NC for that matter.

I really AM intrigued by Senior Women in prisons, we may want to follow up on that one, also?

Here are a few links to articles/info, concerning aging populations in American prisons:

(Ginny, this first one's for you!)

http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblct/forum/e062/062j_e.pdf

http://www.doc.state.ok.us/INSIDEC/ic9711/ic971102.htm

http://journalism.medill.northwestern.edu/docket/01-1127aging.html

http://www.msccsp.org/publications/aging.html

Last but not least, the one I find really interesting, that also includes contact info for additional questions/answers, etc:

http://www.state.tn.us/correction/pdf/aging.pdf

Hi.

I hope these web sites will help in seeking funds in this project and others -

Don Griesmann’s Grant Opportunities – http://charitychannel.com/articles/grant-opportunities.shtml

Grant Writing Tools Web Sites - http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/19/64.html

U.S. Federal Grants Web Sites - http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/19/63.html

The Best E-Newsletters for Grants and Nonprofit Leaders - http://www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/19/62.html

There is no cost for this material.

Best,

Don Donald A. Griesmann

Well, that was very kind of Mr. Griesmann, to take the time to send us those links. We are meeting some of the nicest people here. ..Babi

Babi: Yes, those are great links and I've put them up.

Thanks, Don!

jane

I agree, Babi and Jane, thank you Don, and welcome to SeniorNet's Books & Literature sections! We are very glad to have you.

If you're still here, it looks like you are very familiar with and knowledgable about lots of grants, do any jump to your mind other than government grants that you could direct us to, that we seem to qualify for?

I did not realize until recently that there are people who do nothing BUT research grants, imagine. We need a grant to fund people to search FOR grants, but we've got our own grant writers!~

At any rate, welcome!

Am still waiting to hear back from the central Prison Library Coordinator in SC, I'll try another phone call this week.

Due to Stephanie's fine post in the Book Exchange we've had other inquiries as to donating books, and I'm going to post this IN the Book Exchange this morning, just FYI:

Thank you Stephanie, for that wonderful idea of donating some of your books, your fine gift has inspired others, as well.

As you indicate, yes, Larry has decided that any books coming from SeniorNet going anywhere do count in our Book Exchange, so Larry please count the 220 books sent to the York Correctional Institution in CT, by Joan Pearson, donated by the PEN/FAULKNER.

We have many more books waiting to go out. Some prisons do have libraries and librarians, most don't. Many do not have computers or access to them, some do. I am beginning to learn prisons are not what we may think they are.

For instance you know that Barbara Lane won a major $25,000 literary award, she's one of Wally Lamb's students, and one of the authors of his book. He could not nominate all of them so sent in her name, it's a triumph for all of them. Nancy has reported that the prison finally did a party for her and the others and this time they were allowed to partake of the refreshments. They were so excited. Apparently normally in a celebration they get to watch others partake. Gives you some idea of the conditions , and this is an "enlightened" prison system.

Our mission to date has been to try to encourage women in prison. Many of these women, as we found in reading Wally Lamb's book, have had entire lives of abuse. I must say, having walked into a door myself Friday morning at 4 am, and having spent several days feeling bruised and battered, I must be honest and say that had that been at the hands of an actual person , and not my own stupidity, that person would be dead and I also would be in prison, I HATE this feeling? This battered feeling? HATE it. And of course you have to go out in public, to the shocked gasps of the clerks in Barnes & Noble, etc.? A double whammy.

It gives me much more understanding of a situation in which a person might snap. We seek to help in a modest way, these women.

I never will forget a woman who I used to encounter at the Drive Thru window at MdDonalds. I was teaching and always late and driving thru, she was gorgeous and friendly and cheery, it was a pleasure to see her, and I went thru McDonald's a LOT more than was good for my weight.

One day, on the way home from my own mother's Mother's Day trip/ luncheon with family to NC, I drove thru for one of those supposedly no fat yoghurt cones?

It was Mother's Day and she came to the window with a black eye.

I nearly fainted in shock. Mother's Day. I have never forgotten that, we chatted of other things, should I have asked? She dsappeared soon afterwards, and I have never forgotten her.

We have no idea, those of the lucky of us, how many people are trapped in this type of situation, and have to live their lives in pain or fear. WE say it would never happen to US, why don't they get out? For instruction you might want to read Wally Lamb's book Couldn't Keep it to Myself. We seek to help those whom the scriptures of all major religious beliefs constantly remind us not to forget. If handwriting is a window on the soul, that Barbara Lane, who is in prison for shooting her husband after years of abuse, when he bragged on molesting their granddaughter, is a better person than I am.

Just wanted to give some idea of what we're about here.

Some prisons have libraries and librarians, some don't.

Some prisons don't want hardbacks. That was why Janice Delaney approached Pearson in the first place, she couldn't get any prisons to take her hardbacks.

We sent 220 books to York Correctional Institution and they were overwhelmed. They have Wally Lamb there, teaching a class, encouraging women through writing and literature, and a good school led by Dale Griffith, and a good librarian, Joe Lea.

Good people working, trying to help others. Joe says the excitement was unbelievable, there are women who routinely scout the library for new additions, imagine the excitement. He said that their donations normally are in very bad shape so the good condition the new jackets made the women feel not abandoned and not cast off, themselves. We now have many more books, and we want more prisons to send them to. We have two "warehouses," now, one in Kentucky with Nancy Birkla, and one here in SC.

We have feelers in several states, we are not going to dump books just anywhere, we want a place where they will be appreciated and do some good, where we can get up a relationship/ liaison with the librarian, maybe we can offer the coordinating librarians some titles from our Exchange? I could pay the postage to me and send it on, these things are still up in the air.

Nancy Birkla, Wally Lamb's cousin, is starting her own drive on our behalf in Kentucky, there are several coordinators there who are involved with prison libraries, we are going to spread out these books and effort to every state and prison we can find who would like them?

I put this here in case anybody is looking in and wondering what our effort here is about, you may be sure any book donated, if in good condition, will be carefully donated to a place where it is most wanted and will do good.

I have been looking at NEH Grants for other projects in the Books and I am thinking this Grant thing is not the mountain we've made of it and it's time to select one and go for it. I'm not thinking the NEH has one that fits us, but you never know, maybe we should look more closely at it!

Our greatest need for money so far is for postage, would you say that's the main issue?

If we want to continue to solicit donations of books, as a Project, we're going to have to pay to have them shipped and shipped again to the instution which is going to receive them. Media rate postage is not high, but it will add up eventuallly.

In addition, I think every shipment of ours needs to contain not only Wally Lamb's book, at least 2 copies, but also a couple of the others he cites in the back.

These are healing hopeful books which speak to the prison experience and give hope. As we can see from the Women Behind Bars project, if you read it, their list of wanted subjects concerns things that they themselves have been thru? They are no different from any other reader, in that regard. I suggest every shipment to women's prisons include perhaps 5 books that we know are healing in that circumstance. To buy these books, hopefully with a publisher's discount, will also take money.

Do we need money for ANYTHING else?

I have heard nothing further from Janice Warren since I last e-mailed her, nor have I heard from any other Texas prison librarians. I must assume she did not wish to pursue my suggestion about notifying the other librarians of our offer and asking for lists.

I still have the addresses of two Texas prison libraries that were said to receive books directly. I'll try and confirm that.

Meanwhile, GINNY, what are the addresses of the two locales where SN books are being collected? I'll have to check and see what I have that might be desirable, and which address is cheaper to send books.

Babi

Babi, thank you for your constancy in this, we do appreciate it. No it's not as easy as it looks, we'll persevere till they all have homes, there's a lot of stuff to go thru, apparently. Thank you for keeping on as well.

The SC address is Pauline SC and Nancy will give the town in Kentucky, so you can compare shipping costs, when you're ready, email Nancy or me for more details.

Media rate is quite reasonable, however. Thank you for considering donating books to the project!

ANOTHER DONATION of Books!!
We've just had a lovely boost from Stephanie's post in the Book Exchange, from the very generous Janet D and Larry and the Book Exchange:

Janet D. - 01:43pm Aug 15, 2004 PST (#492 of 496)

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
What a great idea! I have lots of books piling up, which I need to get listed. Information on where to send the ones that have been on the list a long time would be appreciated.

Janet, you have a great suggestion regarding a lot of the older listings. We still have from back to 1999. Some of these folks may have gone by the way and I am not going to try to monitor continuing availability of the older listings but must depend on the individual with the books to advise when they should be removed.

Therefore, if you have books still listed on the older listings and would be willing to add to Ginny's worthwhile prison project that would be a fine way to lighten your shelves. There are many good titles and authors listed that have been available for long periods of time.
Larry

Janet D. - 03:47pm Aug 15, 2004 PST (#495 of 496) Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

Ginny, I have gathered up and packed 56 books which will be mailed to you tomorrow. Did I understand correctly that they do NOT want any hard back books? I have quite a few, but want to know if they are okay to send.

We're now going to start having to make very careful records of who sent what and the titles we offer!!!

Thank you, Janet, and Larry and Stephanie! The ball is rolling now!

ANOTHER DONATION of Books!!
Janet is on a roll here, she's found another 26 books originally slated for the Book Exchange and is mailing them along as well! That brings her total to 82!

Her husband is proud of her and we are too, Janet, many thanks!

Well done, all of you here. Ginny, your post reminding us about the reasons for this Prison Education grant initiative is so moving. I think it would be helpful to put it in a page and link to it from the heading of this discussion.

LOL Nancy as I did my time with Toko Rose, Axis Sally and gramma the bank robber. (sp) on two names. 51 years ago , I remember as my daughter just turned 51 August 8 of 2004.

The medical things in prison is now worse than it was 51 years ago, but they were not up to par then but were better than now. Some elders think of three meals a day and a bed to sleep in, well they get that but don’t be sick or get sick because we are disposable.

Ginnyit was some where on S/N that it was asked what age would you go back to and I thought none as I am happy at this age as my life has been so abused but I am “very” happy now but did not say any thing and I am so glad that my fingers were still, (bg). I never even thought of being good looking but today I look at a picture hanging on my wall and think no wonder I was abused, molested etc when young, but did Not realize it then.

I have been told by many people to write the story of my life but the last one (a cousin that did Not know about my life and thought that I lived the dream life) hit the nail on the head saying it will help others so I am going for it by just using a tape recorder.

Alright Ginny I have been waiting for the postage money so set it up as I will put in a few bucks and if we all do it will it will surely add up to cover it so as “not” to be a burden on a few persons. This discussion is "very" dear to me. My check will be in the mail shortly. I have your address due to your gracious Christmas cards etc..

Thank you, Ginger, I have two boxes shipped here waiting to be opened from yesterday and more on the way, we appreciate your fine help, we'll soon be listing each book by author and title and condition and hardback, paperback, etc., so the different prisons may have their choice.

Joe Lea reeports the books were excellent in quality and quantity and he's got all HIS catalogued, he's way ahead of us!

He's sending on the list also of possible needs we might talk about addressing.

I"m looking forward to that with great anticipation.

Check has been made out for postage and will be in the mail tomorrow, Please let me know when you recieve it.

Thank you, Ginger, will do. We appreciate that, very much and we'll keep careful track of any monetary donations in the heading.

We've had some very exciting news!!

I knew South Carolina was progressive, well, they are that, in spades. I've had a wonderful call from the Director of Education for the South Carolina Department of Corrections, concerning our effort and the prison libraries and prisons in South Carolina and I'll have more to tell next week but essentially he's coming here Monday and will look over the donated books and advise on what they want, and need (they do want and need books and hardbacks are NOT a problem) and we will also talk about getting up a liaison with prison librarians here in South Carolina.

In other words, our breakthrough has occurred.

There is no women's prison anywhere near me, but apparently three men's prisons. The women's prisons are apparently in or near Columbia, so transporting any books for either men or women sent to me is not a problem, I go to Columbia all the time. We now have willing recipients and they may also, we will find out, want to indicate books of a special type or interest that they would prefer to have, we'll have to wait till next week to find out everything.

We may also go over to the prison near me, and meet the librarian there, and tour the library.

Meanwhile I will get all of the books out of their boxes and catalogued so that I'll have a prepared list when he comes.

I did receive your fine shipment, Stephanie and that of Janet, and I have notice of several more on the way, so all will be tabulated and kept careful records of for the future, this is wonderful! I am VERY impressed with this gentleman and South Carolina! VERY! AND you all.

We need fireworks and next week we'll have some, and more news for everybody.

CHEERS!! Good news, Ginny. It's great to see this kind of initiative from South Carolina. I don't know if Texas has a Department of Education for it's prison system. It would seem like a very smart idea for all prisons.

..Babi

Good for you, Ginger, in taking on writing your life story.

Everyone, it sounds like this initiative is getting underway in a big way! Congratulations.

Ginny, I wonder if you could get some cataloging help from your local high school. Do students there need to do community service for graduation credit as they do here in California?

I haven't checked in for about a week, and look at what I've missed! Things are super chaotic at work, with record enrollment for this fall semester (43 extra classes had to be opened up during the past 2 weeks alone).

So I haven't even had any time available to get busy working on donations, but get this -- I spoke with just two professors in my own faculty office suite yesterday, and already tonight I brought over 100 books home with me (all paperback). There are a variety of textbooks, everything from Norton Anthologies of Literature (American, English, and World), to a couple of dozen small Penguin paperback editions of classical American Literature (Twain, Steinbeck, James, Wharton, Joyce,Melville, etc. etc.). There are books about literary allusions, books on writing successfully (some are student/instructor volume matched pairs) . . . Grimm's Fairy Tales, Shakespearean Sonnets, books about Greek Mythology -- I could go on and on -- and they all look brand spanking new.

I'm going to go on record here saying I'll bet I can get my hands on 1000 books pretty easily, and the few folks I've spoken with want to help me solicit postage donations too.

I guess as soon as things settle down a bit at work (hopefully by the second week in September), I'll get with Ginny concerning exactly how we should catalogue or keep track of all the books. I would suggest by subject or discipline for textbooks, maybe even with sub-categories for various genres -- then maybe by alphabetized titles for fiction and non-fiction (the more contemporary stuff).

Woooo Hoooo, as the kiddos on campus would say, SeniorNet rocks!

Wow, Nancy, "SeniorNet's annex" in your home and Ginny's barn, rocks! This is so fantastic!

Thanks as my relation said it all by saying it will help some people to know how to overcome some things.

Super, Nancy, I agree with you about the need to catalogue them, also, I'm in the process of unpacking all of them here in the house for Monday.

I'm about to find out Monday what types of books they want, and it sounds like you have quite the selection, already. I'll print that out.

We have received a very generous donation towards postage in the shipping of these books, which is much appreciated, from Ginger.

Thank you Ginger, we very much appreciate your generosity!

Whew, things are still really over-the-top crazy at work, although I'm in the process of hiring a couple of student workers to give me a hand, so maybe relief will arrive soon!

I haven't had a chance (yet) to do anything with the books that are living in my downstairs bedroom, as in addition to my chaotic schedule (still working two jobs), I'm also preparing for a huge church yard sale this weekend.

Ginny, I'll drop you an e-mail one of these days; I promise I will. Then we can begin figuring out how to handle cataloging our spread-out-across-the miles library.

Oh, by the way, I received a note from Wally this week (even he's checking up on me, the result of my incommunicado nature of recent months). He always mentions SeniorNet -- and this time was no different.

Things continue to be really tough around our house, especially where John's health is concerned, but we know it could always be much worse -- so we try our best to just take the lickin' and keep on tickin!

Thanks for the update, Nancy. I've been wondering about your health and that of your husband. Your positive attitude can only help!

This project is so wonderful. It's a great model of a "grassroots" effort--where you all started on square one and you've already done so much good... with more to come.

Thank you, Marcie, your steadfast encouragement has meant a lot here.

Nancy I am so glad to see you not only hanging in there but, as per, roaring along like a buzz saw, hope John's health and yours continues to improve.

I do have exciting news, all 367 of the books here in SC are on their way to new homes, they are being catalogued as we speak.

The SC State Department of Corrections is going to take them all, the State Superintendent of Education for the SC Department of Corrections came here and not only would like these, he'd like for us to form a collaboration for the future.

South Carolina is remarkably well organized, almost every prison has a library and librarian, and we're about to give them the opportunity to choose books, they have an inter prison transportation system, so we're all set and they were very excited to have these books. We are to learn more about what kinds of books they would like so we can solicit donations of a particular type. We can work with our own SeniorNet Book Exchange also in this.

Dr. Delaney of the PEN/ Faulkner Award in Washington DC has decided to donate more books in the future to us, which alone is about as exciting news as you can get !!! Thank you, Dr. Delaney!! WHOOPEE and now that we have the entire SC State Prison as wiling recipients, thank you State Superintendent, we are really set up to do some good.

The SC State collaboration will involve both men's and women's correctional facilities.

We have much to do here, but essentially we are well on the way with our own Prison Literacy Project.

Many thanks to all of you reading this. I know there are many interested who as yet have not posted, please don't be shy, come and join us, now that we have willing recipients we can spread out even more and seek more donations, funding, and recipients. Come join us, you can help from right there in your computer chair and make a difference in the real world.

GINNY, I have received no response from the two Texas prison librarians I contacted. I'm beginning to feel that it is their loss, and do not plan to pursue this avenue any further unless someone at that end takes some action.

I hope to go thru' my books soon and see what I can find to send you, since the books are finding a hearty welcome there. Should I be considering HB's or PB's, or both? ....Babi

Thank you for that update, Ginny. How great that they will take all of the books. Well done, everyone!

Babi, is my memory correct that you were the first to write to your local/regional prison system? You got the process rolling. I'm sorry that they are not more responsive. It probably doesn't bode well for a collaboration if they are not communicating with you. How great that you are contributing from your own books!

It's a shame, isn't it, Marcie. I find myself embarrassed for my native State, when I read how responsive and involved South Carolina has proved to be. Pity, but we can only offer. ...Babi

Thank you Marcie, I think the most important thing about our last alliance is the potential for the future: our ongoing association with a willing recipient, an entire state prison system.

Babi, I really think in this, as in everything we do here in the Books, that whether or not your own effort was well received, or succesful, the important thing is you made the effort, and you tried. Your trying, just like Dr. Delaney's fine donation, and Nancy's efforts there in her own area and college, and Joan Pearson's efforts in her own town of DC, and Pat's efforts and Lou's efforts, and the efforts of others we don't know about here but who have written, have inspired others to try and the thing just keeps gathering speed.

We've had a lot of trying here in the Books on SeniorNet in the last 8 years, and some of those seeds fell on really hostile ground, but we kept on, as we can see in you, and we succeeded, this time, in the extremely progressive and organized state of South Carolina. It's all beginning to come together for us, but it would never had, had it not been for all of you and your efforts.

Thank you for that fine offer of donations!!

We are about to find out what SC wants, we know what those Women's Book Project want, SC has some specific types of books in mind they'd like to request and let's wait to see what they want, before we collect any more, we may need to send some books to Nancy or the Women's Book Project, am still listing and boxing these for SC, we've suddenly been jolted on an organized path!

YAY!!

Everyone reading this is welcome to join us.

With so much going on, you may find yourself having to hire some help! A pity I don't live nearby; I'd love to help you catalog books.

Don't wear yourself out, hear? ...Babi

Can you move, any time soon? hhaha Yesterday my friend Sandy and I started putting the books by the annotated list in marked boxes, and while it's time consuming, I think in the end it will be most useful for the librarians to know which book is in which box by title. I'd LOVE to have your help!!! hahahaa

Ginny, I can't recall if I posted this suggestion before. I wonder if there are a couple of students in a school near you or teens who are part of a church group, who could get volunteer credit for helping you pack and catalog. I know that finding those helpers might be more trouble than doing it yourself.

I think that's actually an excellent idea, and something we could and should do in the future, Nancy might recruit at her own college, too, for help.

This time I'm going to try to get it finished today, my DIL and youngest son are helping me, so they can pick them up, we really were taken by surprise by the additional generosity of Dr. Delaney and the PEN/ Faulkner and SC's proactive initiatives, and we weren't ready, next time we can prepare and involve even more of the community, just as you suggest!

Super idea.

I left off Joan Pearson's name in my post above and have amended it to add her, she, also, working in Washington DC, where she lives, aided greatly in this work.

I've responded to a request from a professor (who teaches college English at the KY Correctional Institute for Women) for 15 copies of Couldn't Keep it to Myself, for use as the assigned course textbook in her ENG 101 class. They are ordered and will be sent on behalf of Seniornet's Prison Literacy Project :0).

NANCY!!!! Lookit you!! hhahaa

Well done, do we get a discount from the publisher? Will you ask Gina about that possibility, because I want to put three copies in every women's prison here in SC who would like them, great job, good for you!!!!

This is FUN, everybody is enjoying it, the recipients, the donors, everybody is having a ball here, and doing some good, I've almost got all of SC's typed up!

YAY Nancy!

How wonderful to donate those books, Nancy. Wow, Ginny, you must be working non-stop to get all those books cataloged.

This project is a wonderful service.

Welcome Martha Stewart to my Alma Mater when I should have been in the college of my choice. You are a short timer as I was at a very young age and very vunerable after being raped, being a virgin. Your older and wiser so hope you are wise enough "Not" to fall into a life time educational trap, but what was your hurry to get there I cannot help but wonder if you will be a teacher or a student? (Smile).

Hi Ginger,

Good to see your name appearing in here. It seems like every time mine appears I'm once again apologizing for being so remiss in remaining present and active.

Things at the college continue to run on a shoestring budget, along with record enrollment. My load of students that I work directly with has more than quintupled in a little over a year (and responsibilities that were all on one campus, now include two campuses that are 47 miles apart). Still, despite the overload, I love what I do -- I just don't so much love the lack of free time! I used to be able to squeeze in about 10 hours a week at my second job, DURING THE WEEK, but no more. Extra work means giving up weekend time these days, and unfortunately, we still need the bucks.

The good news is that beginning this Thursday, I'll be on a ten day vacation from work (both jobs), and I'm not going anywhere. The idea of being able to just stay home feels about as exciting to me as any other place I could be in the world right about now!

So, very soon, I promise to get some things caught up here too.

:0) NAB

Me too, Nancy, me too, I'm behind in everything and scrambling to even catch up with stuff a month old, meeting myself coming and going: too many irons in the fire, and grapes in the pot: the grapes have come in with a vengeance. Thank you Ginger, for caring.

I had a call yesterday from one of the local prison Librarians, I was not here and will try to return it today if possible, I owe the SC Department of Corrections a manifest of the books listed, the books are all in their boxes, they are labelled as to donor (the PEN/ Faulkner) or type of books, hardbacks, paperbacks, etc., the lists are made, they just need to be typed into Word and affixed to each carton and emailed to Columbia, why can't I seem to find the time to DO this one simple thing? It's to rain late today maybe I can start then and we're off Wednesday, I will set a goal and have more news at the end of the week!

Thank you all for caring!

Ginny, if I had a fax I'd say send the lists to me and I'll type up the lists on Word. Would it take too long to send them here and back by snail mail? I'm a fairly rapid and accurate typist, and I proof my work.

I assume the lists are handwritten. I suppose I should also ask...Is your handwriting better than mine? Because mine has grown really sloppy. ...Babi

It looks like happy chicken scratching, unfortunately, all I do now is type can't write a sentence, it looks awful, I hope I can read it myself, but I tell you WHAT now!! You're ON for next spring? I will take them and write them more carefully when I box them next spring (if I keep on procrastinating it will BE spring) and then if I can mail that to you and you'll type it up and email it to me by carton that would be a BLESSING!!!

THAT would be wonderful, Babi, if you would? I can take the time it takes to produce something legible, oh JOY!! THANK YOU! can you move here immediately also? hahahaa Oh JOY!! Now we're getting set, thanks to your wonderful innovative ideas and offers to help and the internet! And I like this because it's a real internet project, also, but does real good in the world, I look forward to bringing you all more news in a few days.

Hello, everyone. Thank you, Nancy and Ginny, for the update. You two are WAY too busy!! How thoughtful, BaBi. This is a wonderful group effort here.

Thanks for checking in along with us, Marcie.

Hey, after spending the entire spring and most of the summer fighting chronic fatigue, various neurological pains, and a severe visual impairment, along with numerous other (almost) debilitating symptoms, having my ability restored, to accommodate my incessant need to remain overly-busy, feels pretty doggone terrific. It's me again -- It's really me again!

GLORY!!!

How wonderful to hear you are feeling yourself again, Nancy. Lord knows, as hard as you work, you need your strength and vigor. Now, we need to concentrate on getting your husband well and strong again.

You're on, Ginny. Just let me know next Spring when to expect the lists and I'll start limbering up my fingers. ...Babi

Thanks for mentioning my husband, who (by the way) is doing pretty well. Tomorrow he begins week 26 of his 48 weeks of treatment. He's had a tough time of it, with 2 bouts of "life-threatening" complications and a month of anemia so severe that for a few weeks they thought he might have had leukemia too (gratefully, it wasn't, though).

He went back to work at the end of August (3 full days and one 1/2 days a week, and although it was really hard for a while, with the exception of some bad fatigue, he's felt much, much better over the past couple of weeks. We even had two fairly normal weekends in a row -- HOORAY.

The even greater news is that he's been in full remission for 17 weeks, and every week his viral load and liver enzyme levels remain normal, the odds of becoming fully cured raise even higher (they're calling it 70% now) :0).

Thanks for thinking about us.

Thank you, Nancy, for sharing that hopeful news about your husband. You both are in our thoughts.

NANCY: That's the best news I've had in a long time. Keep us updated.

Wonderful news, Nancy, so good to see your vibrant self again, you energize us all, and I also have great news to report and it's an unlimited possibility for all of us here who would like to help, it couldn't be better.

This past Friday the VERY impressive Superintendent of the South Carolina Department of Corrections and a wonderful Librarian from one of our local men's prisons came out and took possession of our remaining stock of books, 9 boxes worth, here in SC. I thought that Dr. Delaney's fine donation from the PEN/ Faulkner deserved respect, so since South Carolina is so well organized and set up, the prisons have libraries, and the librarians have emails, I put the books into 9 boxes,

, 5 of which were donated by the PEN/ Faulkner Award, and labeled those given from the PEN/Faulkner Award AS donated by them (it made quite a stack:

, emailed the lists per box to the SC Department of Corrections so the librarians could pick and choose, and then laminated the lists and placed them on each box.

They brought three photos with them to share with you and I hope to scan the other two in tomorrow. Here is one of the libraries

we are going to be working with. I am so impressed with South Carolina, and their organization. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity for all of us to help.

The librarian also said they all have wish lists, but they have budgets. She explained that many times their shelf space is limited and so they really would love books also that the prisoners want and request, and that would be read, hence the wish lists

I told her about our own Patwest, who volunteers in a library in Illinois, and she can purchase for us at the library's price of 50 cents each, books which are donated for their sales before they hit the sales floor, she can be on the lookout for requested books throughout the year. They were very excited about this.

The library Pat volunteers at in Illinois is so huge that their receipts from their semi annual sales are in the thousands, at 50 cents per book: an unheard of opportunity for us, thanks to Pat's fine initiative, to be able to find lots of the requested books.

I am to meet with the Library Advisory Council IN a women's prison library on November 16. At that time we will find out specifically what books are needed, isn't this exciting? Did you ever think we'd get this far? I am very grateful to each and every person who has helped in ANY way, it has made all the difference, without you and your support and ideas we'd have gone nowhere!

It seems they may have an inter-library request system in place in South Carolina, as well, so if they have one book in one town they can request it at another prison.

So we have an awful LOT we can do here, our donations will go a LONG appreciated way, and, inspired by Dr.Delaney and the PEN/Faulkner's fine donation, so ably handled by Joan Pearson on the Washington DC end, and the other fine donations already given here by Janet D and Stephanie, and fine donations of money, we can fan out, any or all of us who would like to help, to yard sales or looking in our own Book Exchange, armed with the lists/ categories/ titles supplied by the prison librarians, and being careful of the specific quality they want, we can cheerfully assist these librarians trying to provide reading materials.

I am so excited about the potential here. In addition we are about to learn of the potential of community involvement here on a local level in the boxing and listing of the books which Babi then will type up and email, more on that later on.

The librarian also told me that popular books wanted include those by Grisham, Patterson, religious materials (we need to find out more specifics here before we donate or seek books) westerns, and science fiction, and that she would email me a list asap.

I also want for us to place 2 copies of Wally Lamb's book in every women's prison we serve, I mentioned that, and when the librarian heard the title , she wrote that down as well, Wally Lamb has the respect of the entire nation, I believe. How lucky we are to know him.

There are 3 women's prisons in SC, so once we have furnished them the 6 copies of his book (we will talk to the Publisher about discount donations), we will move on to NC and GA for starters, and see if they would like to receive his book for their women's prison facilities as well.

So thanks to Wally Lamb's kindness in turning aside at the National Book Festival last year, and his goodness in coming in here and talking with us about his book, the exhilarating presence and leadership of Nancy and the exciting coming in of Dale Griffith and Nancy Whiteley and Gina Garza, and YOU, our loyal participants and volunteers here, York Correctional Institution in Niantic Connecticut, a federal prison, has 300+ more books than they had last year (and they are so excited) , and the entire South Carolina Prison System, both men's and women's facilities, has more than 300 other books, thanks to you, our volunteers here in the SeniorNet Prison Library Project!!

And the beat goes on!

Dr. Delaney of the PEN/ Faulkner Award has confirmed we WILL receive books from her next year! We are proud to be associated with this prestigious award!

I am going to get back to Joe Lea at York as he indicated they also have a Wish List for us at our request, and will report here what he says.

I had a letter yesterday from a teacher in the 8th grade who will study Brendalis' Medina's story and she wanted Brenda's address. I asked her to get back with us once they read it and have written to her.

This is a project where people, no matter where they are in the country, can help through the internet, it's almost hard to believe! Once we get the lists, we can do amazing things, the minute I get a list I'll bring it here, and we can see if we have a copy of that book around the house or if we see one at a book sale or Pat can find it in her library donations, or it's in the Book Exchange: maybe Nancy has it out there in KY, let's see how much good we can do here!

Any and all offers of help are gratefully received, let's wait for the lists and see what they ARE!

Congratulations to all of YOU, each and every one of YOU, Wally Lamb, Dr. Delaney, Joe Lea, AND to the State of South Carolina for being such an organized, progressive, intelligent system.

Thank you for the inspiring update, Ginny, and those great photos.

What a great report, Ginny! I can't wait for those lists to start coming in, so I can start hunting. Locating specific books will be fun and games for me! ...Babi

Thank you both! We really have a lot of breaking news here and I will put some of it in now and more next week, we've had a very fine donation of books from Texas which we will need to find a home for IN Texas if we can, that will be a priority in January.

Our South Carolina connection is really taking off, we now have a very good Wish List from "our" prison library in the heading here to go on and we need to talk about how we should approach this?

These are books requested by the prisoners, prison libraries only have so much shelf space so something the prisoners really want and will read is of prime importance. I thought it would be a great focus for the holidays, a nice time to be thinking of others, while people are out and about they could be looking thru their own shelves or at library sales or Pat can be looking in Illinois at her library, and let's see how many of these we can supply.

In addition we have a church in Columbia, SC most enthusiastic and the possibility of two others wanting to join in, we have our own Exchange and I think we can do some real good and make some real difference here, how do you suggest we get started publicizing this?

I am very excited about the potential for us online as managers, and how anybody whether or not they are home bound or climb mountains, through this site can help in this effort: we need to get it set up and the lists made public and for the community which is also involving itself, this is just great.

And of course the PEN/ Faulkner will donate next year as well, that's very fine of Dr. Delaney.

I think we need to get a counter in the heading, I will ask our Tech Teams for assistance, so that we can be counting every book delivered to a prison, we need to keep careful records and careful bookkeeping of every cent donated, as well, we need money for shipping and handling and to buy books.

Who knew all this would come from Wally Lamb's kindness in turning aside and visiting with us at the National Book Festival? How we cherish each person here, each donation and especially the leadership you, Nancy, Babi and Marcie, Pat, Jane, Janet, Stephanie, and Ginger, have shown, and every effort every person has made, through donations and help.

The thing I like the best about this effort, in addition to its inclusiveness of everybody who reads this website, is that everybody involved in it feels good about it? Everybody feels good about what we are doing, the donors, those distributing the books, the recipients, those assisting by donations of money for shipping, those looking for us, Everybody feels good about it: t's a very positive thing, and it has a real potential. I am so glad to be part of it!

GINNY, do you have a list of the books donated from Texas, that you said you would like to go to a Texas prison? If so, it might be simplest to send a copy of it to Huntsville State Prison Library and let the librarian in charge there see what there is on the list they would like.

Babi

Ginny, I talked to two women’s groups at my church and they were excited about the collection of books for the prison libraries. I am sure that once you get a list of the books they want we can start collecting them, and maybe get other churches envolved. This is a wonderful project.

I am a retired Special Ed. teacher and know that many of those in prison can not read well, so would like to check into ways of getting adult books written at a 3rd to 5th grade level. They are very hard to get, but I am sure that the prison system knows about the need.

We look forward to seeing the list of books you may get at you meeting on the 16th. With that we can start collecting books, and get others to collect.

Sandy

That's an excellent suggestion, Babi, I have asked the donor if he would make a list, that list making is very time consuming, that is why we hope to engage another church here in the upstate for that task this next time for you to type up! Are you in contact with that librarian by email?

Welcome Sandy! We are delighted to learn of your church's involvement, I agree with you this is a wonderful project, and am excited about the potential YOU bring here, many thanks!

Yes I'm looking forward to the 16th also and am taking with me some copies of Wally Lamb's book of course, for the women's prisons, I can't wait to see what they want to do in terms of collaboration, will have more to say here on the 17th. I think you are right about the general reading level tho they stress they have people at all abilities, I will be interested to see what you can find out, I know that was your field, high interest books at a lower reading level, I think it's a good idea!

We need to see what they want, first, you are right.

And I agree with you, yes, this IS a wonderful thing, I don't know anybody connected with it who is not happy about their involvement. I'm also going to take a list of the Exchange books available, too.

Actually, I dropped that contact when it appeared that she was not prepared to make any effort whatever toward letting us know what was wanted. If we wanted to send books, fine. She would look them over and keep what was wanted. That seemed to be the extent of it.

I can, however, get the proper address and send them a list of what we have available to offer. That way, we don't waste books and postage sending unwanted material. They can check the list and let us know who would like what. I assume they would do that much. ...Babi

That being the case, Babi, let's concentrate now on South Carolina, and do a good job there, before we branch out to other states? South Carolina is a state beautifully organized as to prison libraries and librarians, and which eagerly and earnestly desires our books and assistance!! They really want our help.

On November 16, I was invited to the South Carolina Library Advisory Council meeting in Columbia SC. This took place IN a prison, a women's prison, the first one I have ever been in, and I was just totally impressed, with the State Superintendent for the SC Department of Corrections, the librarians themselves, the Library Coordinator, and what they are trying to do.

The library there is very fine and welcoming, the prison has lots of classrooms and cheerful women students learning computer skills so when they are released they can have a good foundation for office work, and in studying for the GED, there were volunteers also helping with the GED, a greyhound training program where dogs which would have been euthanized are made familiar with humans and, quite frankly, Wally Lamb was right, it's no different from any other school once you get through the gates.

He was right, it reminds me of several Technical Colleges I have been in, there was no difference, truly. Everybody is cheerful and welcoming.

The Superintendent's obvious commitment to literacy and education and rehabilitation was a wonder, we must help all we can, and the librarians are so excited about our involvement, it's exhilarating! This is such a good thing!

At our specific request they drew up, by facility, as you can see in the heading, and in general by author, what their populations and libraries most want. The space in the libraries is limited, and if they can fill it with books the prisoners WILL read, they are that much ahead.

Therefore we, in SeniorNet's Prison Library Project, are acting as brokers or….I don't know what you call it, a conduit for the books they want. When we get them we make careful records on the boxes which prisons they are to go to, they are super organized on their end and will take it from there, it's wonderfully set up now, all we need are books!

Sandy has put all of these titles on both an Excel Sheet and on a Word document and Jane has put them in the heading, so you can see if you have any, thank you , Ladies! These lists by author and by facility directly requesting them, so you can print them out and see if you have any of these books.

You can see several of the librarians said ANY popular fiction, ANY book by John Grisham, Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, etc., etc. so there is a ton of stuff they want and can use.

They mentioned that sometimes books are stolen. I said how can a book be stolen and they said there are no sensors on the doors of the libraries, as there are in public libraries. Now these books can't GO anywhere, so they are kept hidden under mattresses, etc., and they always come back. But when they DO come back they are read to the point that the pages are thin and the book often has to be secured with a rubber band. The librarians said they do a LOT of gluing. Imagine somebody reading a book that much!

In addition, often times they will give a prisoner a book. This prisoner may never have owned a book in his life, thus you can see the value here of books most wanted and what that book standing on your own shelf collecting dust might mean to others.

If you'll post here what you have, we'll get ourselves organized, send you the mailing address, (all books come thru and to us and the Superintendent will collect them at one spot here in SC once he's notified we have some boxes of books for him. All books will be sent Media Rate which is cheap. )

We'll need a lot of help here keeping records, keeping track of the funds donated, the postage donated, so it's very important that every person note HERE what they have or are sending. Please let us know how you can help, there is much to be done!

Jane has agreed to strike off the book titles as they are found in the lists in the heading, thank you, Jane! We need more volunteers, is there something YOU feel you can do to help?

If you'd like to donate funds to reimburse postage, checks for the Prison Library Project may be made out to SeniorNet and sent to:
SeniorNet
121 Second Street, 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Attn: Prison Library Project

Let's show the power of the Internet, as we begin a national campaign to help. Let's put those unused books in a place where they will be totally appreciated!

Just to briefly mention again, just to let you all know, I am at present the only person posting now but the actual activity behind the scenes is a beehive of industry, we have people in our own Books Exchange going thru the lists above and finding a LOT of the desired books ARE on their shelves and they are writing they are preparing to send these on, it's really a great beginning.

Just to be clear also on the GENERAL LISTS, that is ANY book by XXX here, once again, is the list, prepared by Jane from Sandy's Excel Sheet above:

Brown, Sandra (Any Books)
Clancy, Tom (Any Books)
Clark, Mary Higgins (Any Books)
Collins, Jackie (Any Books)
Conroy, Pat (Any Books)
Cornwell, Patricia (Any Book) (not the Jack the Ripper book)
DeMille, Nelson (Any Books)
Dickey, Eric Jerome (Any Books)
Escher, M.C. (Any Books in Series)
Griffith, W.E.B. (Any Books)
Grisham, John (Any Books)
Hiassen, Carl (Any Books)
Johnstone, William (Any Books)
Jung, Carl (Any Books)
Kellerman, Jonathan (Any Books)
King, Stephen (Any Books)
Koonz, Dean (Any Books)
L'Amour, Louis (Any Books)
Ludlum, Robert (Any Books)
Margolin, Phyllis (Any Books)
Martini, Steve (Any Books)
McMurtry, Larry (Any Books)
Morrison, Toni (Any Books)
Roberts, Nora (Any Books)
Sanford, John (Any Books)
Sheldon, Sidney (Any Books)
Spencer, LaVyrle (Any Books)
Weis, Margaret (Any Books in Series)
Woods, Stuart (Any Books)

Popular Fiction (Any Books)
Westerns (Any Books)

"Any Popular Fiction" is a broad category, isn't it? Almost everybody has one book in that category gathering dust on their shelves. In essence here's what to do?

Post here if you have any book in the list here or in the heading that you are willing to donate. Books must be in good condition.

If you have a book that is NOT on any list, please post it here anyway and we'll write the Prison Library Coordinator and a couple of the various prison librarians and see if they want them, we'll need to indicate by box which prison each book is for? They have limited shelf space so we do want to offer only what they want. So if you have, for instance one of the categories is Any Popular Fiction, so if you have a title like The DaVinci Code, post it here and we'll write them and let you know, we are really having a SUPER response, you'll be surprised how many books we've already been promised.

We'll send you mailing instructions when you post here, you'll send it Media Rate and we'll reimburse you the cost the minute we get it or before if you prefer.

Please feel free to post here what you're sending so we can keep an accurate account: VERY important!

If you're donating money toward this cause, we're going to keep a separate count in the heading of the funds donated and the postage dontated as well, every cent will be accounted for and so will every book. We think organization is the key here and can use all hands on deck, if you want to volunteer to help, please do, we will soon be putting the names of the volunteers in the heading as well, there's a LOT to do! Thank you for your interest!

GINNY, your note about "any popular fiction" made me start casting my eyes around again. I immediately thought of one book that though very popular, has some violent scenes in it. From your earlier posts, I know that the prison libraries do not want violent books (among others). There is so much violence in popular fiction, especially in mysteries and action stories, that we might have to think twice about anything we consider sending.

Babi

I brought home today ( from my sorting job at the library)

Dreamcatchers by Stephen King ©2001
The Shining by Stephen King ©1977

I'll take Ginny's list next week, but I remembered anything Stephen King.

Pat's two books added to the total brings that to 579 books.

I have 4 books by Nora Roberts -- Dance Upon the Air, Heaven and Earth and Face the Fire and PURPLE SAGE has Stephen King's Bag of Bones in a large print edition. I can report a count of 5 to the Book Exchange when I actually mail them.

Marjorie...what's the 4th Roberts one? I seem to see only 3?

Dance Upon the Air
Heaven and Earth
Face the Fire

Thanks! I've added yours and Purple Sage's

jane

Wow, this is great, things are really beginning to take off!! Already!!

Babi, yes thank you so much, you are absolutely right about certain things not being wanted, here's that list again:

Books not accepted by the SC Department of Corrections:

Books whose covers show full frontal nudity

Books on the Martial Arts.

Books about true crime

Books depicting violent murder or any detailed descriptions of violence (the Patricia Cornwell book about Jack the Ripper was brought up as an example, although non fiction it certainly fits the bill: extremely detailed descriptions of why he was called the ripper (he ripped out body organs) etc. Not acceptable?

The reading level of many of the prisoners is quite low, however, books for children are not desirable.

I think the issue here is the extended depictions of violence, the Jack the Ripper book is a good example, although not fiction, we've all seen gratuitous violence and that's not wanted, for obvious reasons.

Some of the librarians want ANYTHING, as you can see in the heading, these standards above are for the entire system.

Thank you so much, Pat, we are so thrilled by your being our Representative there, two books ALREADY!!

Thank you Jane for keeping such good track, Pat is going to handle the donations, both those of cash, and those of postage donated.

Marjorie, bless your heart, THANK you for those wonderful donations!

We have received another shipment of 34 books in excellent like new condition from Marjorie which we are very proud to have, thank you, Marjorie!!!

If YOU are reading this and have something you'd like to donate, please post it here. If you would rather be an Anonymous Donor, that works, too, just click on my name and email me and it's done! THANK you for considering this, we're already up to 583, see heading!!

with Marjorie's additional 34 books, the total is now 617.

HO! That's pretty darn good to be originating out of people's dens and computer rooms, YAY and YAHOO for the generosity of those who are responding, SeniorNet, the Books, the Power of the Internet, and for all of us!!

Thank you Jane!

<GRIN> GINNY, You really ought to let Laura Bush know about this Prison Library Project. She might want to be a sponsor. (Might even help us with postage costs? Pay for some husky teenager to do the heavy stuff? Hey, It never hurts to try.)

BABI

Babi, of course Mrs. Bush must know, she already knows about the PEN/Faulkner and the books going to York CI in Connecticut, we've written her about that becuase of course, it was HER National Book Festival and another Partner in the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress, the PEN/ Faulkner Award and Dr. Delaney that approached Joan Pearson at their meeting, that's a collaboration in spreading reading and literacy which of course is what is wanted. So now, thanks to the SC Superintendent of Education for the Department of Corrections and his initiative and organization, the entire state prison system of SC will be receiving books as well.

None of this would have happened without Laura Bush's wonderful National Book Festival or the MAN Wally Lamb stopping by, it's really been something else!

We'll definitely tell her, with thanks.

Seen on SeniorNet:

From the Book Exchange:

tomereader - 10:21am Dec 3, 2004 PST (#687 of 687) 12-3-04 - Larry

Please remove "Emperor of Ocean Park" as it has been donated to the Prison Library Project and mailed out today!

Thank you very much, Tomereader, and Pat, that's $1.87 cents donated to the Postage Fund. (Pat is going to keep track of all funds donated, and we'll keep separate those donated for postage and those cash donations).

Have just received a wonderful edition of Ford's The Keeper of Dreams in the mail from Babi, thank you VERY much, Babi, that's in splendid condition!

Emperor of Ocean Park

Keeper of Dreams

JANE: I don't know how many Nora Robert's books you counted from me. The one I forgot to list is Carolina Moon.

Carolina Moon makes 620, Marjorie. Thanks!!

jane

I have the following, all but one paperback, all in good condition:

Janet Evanovitch:

Two for the Dough
Hot Six
To the Nines (hardback)
Full House
Full Tilt

Goodman, Carol: The Seduction of Water

Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Jin, H.: Waiting

It will take a few days to send, as we're home with colds. Let me know if you don't want any of these.

Joan K's brings total to 628.

Joan, how wonderful, thank you so much! Every ONE of those is wanted and every one on the list! THANK you!!! Hope you feel better!

Pat please add $15.00 in cash donations and remove $11.00 from that fund for postage reimbursement. Please add to the Postage Donated funds (Pat will soon put up two new boxes on top of the page here for Funds Donated (Cash Donations) and Postage Donated) Postage Donated of $1.84 this morning, thank you, Tomereader!

We have received the following new donations from a Donor:

Stuart Woods: Choke

Maya Angelou: Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now.

Thank you VERY much!

Have received word of two more donations, Mind Prey by John Sanford, and On Writing by Stephen King, thank you VERY much!!

Ginny .... Are these four Anonymous donations or do you have a name I should be recording for them?

Thanks!

jane

Yes those are donated by A Friend, let's call our Anonmymous Donors "A Friend," because that's what they are!

PURPLE SAGE has found 3 more books on the list: Still-watch by Mary Higgins Clark (in hardback); The Heart is a Lonely Hunger by Carson McCullers; and Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. Did someone already find Mystic River? Do they want more than 1 copy?

No one has mentioned Lehane here, Marjorie.

Thank you Marjorie and Sage, that is very kind of you! This spirit of giving puts me in quite the holiday spirit!

Thank you, Jane, for keeping such good track and for ALL your unsung work behind the scenes!

I have 3 more to send from the list.

The Full Cupboard of Life -- Smith, Alexander McCall
Revenge of the Middle Age Woman -- Buchan, Elizabeth
The Time Travelers Wife -- Niffenegler, Audrey

And 2 not on the list

The No. 1 Ladies"Detective Agency -- Smith, Alexander McCall
Cold Mountain -- Charles Frazier

THANK you, Pat! Thank you Jane, this is wonderful and we're just getting started. I can't wait to write the librarians and tell them, they will be so pleased.

If anybody used subscriptions to get to the PLP Project, be sure to click on that again. We're in a new location here in this Volunteerism folder and so you need to subscribe to this discussion again.

jane

GINNY: The list said Any Popular Fiction. How do you determine what is Popular Fiction? Does the author need to be on a Bestseller list? The book title on a Bestseller list? Some other criteria?

Thank you, Jane!

Thank you for asking , Marjorie. The librarian who made that particular request, meant anything, I think, it need not be a bestseller as long as it adheres to the list of things NOT wanted.

They gave us quite a list, at our urging, of what they did want, we asked several times, so those books on the list are those either the prisoners, or those which the librarians have asked FOR the prisoners.

If we receive titles we have not asked for we will write the Coordinator first and make sure they do want those books, as long as they meet the criteria that they gave us. That seems a good plan! Thank you for asking!

So if somebody has a book not on any of the lists that they are considering donating, if you'll post it here FIRST we can contact them and see if they want it or not! Thank you!!

I have a hardback copy of James Patterson's Sam's Letters to Jennifer. A couple of his other titles were requested but not this one.

I also have two paperback mysteries: Kate Wilehlm's Desperate Measures (about a woman private investigator) and Karen Robards' Walking After Midnight (this book is in great condition except for one corner of the cover being bent.

Please let me know if they would like any of these books.

Kellerman, Jonathan - The Clinic
Roberts, Nora - Key of Knowledge.
Roberts, Nora - Key of Valor.
Roberts, Nora - Key of Light.
Roberts, Nora - Birthright.
Spenser, La Vyrle - Then Came Heaven.
Clancy, Tom - Patriot Games.

Not on the list:.
Coulter, Catherine - The Deception.

Hi Everyone,

I thought I'd finally try to squeeze in a minute to tell you all that I'm still here, although I realize I've been awfully silent lately.

For those interested in what's going on with the writers of "Couldn't Keep it to Myself," here's a link to our BIG news scoop from this week :0)

http://www.pen.org/freedom/pressrel/bpl_parole.html

I sent an e-mail to Ginny about a week ago explaining why I needed to pull back from many projects, volunteer efforts, etc. (one after another, after another, after another family crisis lately, which has involved much support on our behalf, many, many hospital visits, and also some long distance travel too).

As for John and me -- we're doing pretty well despite all the terrific stresses and pressures of life over these past 9 months. The condensed version is that I am feeling fine again -- full remission from all the crazy neurological wackiness I went through during the spring and summer months (my vision even finally returned to normal). John is in his 32nd week of chemo, and everything is going well with him too. His viral load has been zero, and his liver enzymes and white and red blood cell counts have been completely normal again for over two months. He has to remain on the stinky treatment until the end of April, but his longterm prognisis is looking better and better all the time. Sooooo, despite the difficulties of this past year, we enter this holiday season feeling amazingly peaceful and blessed in life.

Although I haven't been posting lately, I have been keeping up and quietly working from my end. I have about 400 books collected that are currently living in my basement. Many of them are very expensive, current textbooks, which we're working on finding a prison home for. There are also many books that fall into the current categories of needs. Hopefully over the next few weeks, while on vacation from work, I can get some pulled out that are contemporary fiction or that fall into other categories that have already been requested.

I have to run for now, but I've intended post for a couple of weeks with an update, and what better time could there be than to do so when I could share the good news about my friend Barbara Lane!

I am so deeply touched by and immensely proud of all of you at SeniorNet who have taken to heart the ultimate value of compassion and unconditional love. During the months I struggled over whether I really wanted to publish what I wrote or not (which meant exposing a past that many individuals in my present did not know about), I prayed so hard to do what God would have me do, rather than what was my own will. Thanks greatly to SeniorNet, I know my prayers were answered, and I'm so grateful that I finally did sign that publishing contract! I think my doing so has resulted in many other people believing that we really can help change this crazy world around us, even if we have to do it just one person at a time. I promise that is what all of you are doing.

Peace, love, and best to all, NAB :0)

Oh, Nancy, Barbara, how wonderful!! The best Christmas presents of all, to hear Barbara is paroled and you and John are doing so well!!

Nancy, it is so good to hear that you and John are rapidly returning to normal health. That is the best news of all. ...Babi

Nancy, I am so glad to see you again, how beautifully you write!!! Thank you for those wonderful words, what a beautiful thing to say, how happy we are for you and John!!! Golly!! And how glad we are to hear the news of Barbara Lane!!!

You may not know this, but you yourself are a very uplifting person and it's been almost a year to the day that you came into visit us, with Wally Lamb, God bless him, and Dale Griffith and Nancy Whiteley, what a red letter day that was for all of us!

And it's such a wonderful feeling to see our Prison Library Project take off like a rocket, we are literally swamped with books that we are so grateful for!!!!! I am totally behind, I have books coming in every day, stacked up in their wrappings, how generous SeniorNetters are! (And as you can see Nancy has about 400 in her own home!) Now many of those donated to Nancy are textbooks and we can't use them in SC, so we're open to offering those to other states, if any of you want to inquire??

Thank you ALL, please click in the heading and see if you have a book lying around on your shelves in good condition that you would like to see sent to somebody who really wants it and will appreciate it and has asked for it!

This is such a good thing, I am so proud to be associated with it: it's very heartwarming. They say it's like Christmas every time they get a book donation, this way we can keep the spirit all year long.

Thank ALL of you!! Nancy, seeing you again is like a gift, itself!

Good grief, 90 more psychology textbooks were dropped off outside my office yesterday, most of them worth close to $100.00 retail. Many are also paired student/instructor copies.

During my upcoming 17 day break from work, I will concentrate on communicating with prisons and trying to find a few that would like to have need these books! Good thing I now have a little handheld NET device that enables me to search the web and e-mail from anywhere -- like from my car during the loooong drive up to Wisconsin and back Christmas week!

I'll also make time to go through the other books that are down in my basement bedroom; many of them are novels and books that address writing.

I need to run for now -- blessings to all!

WOW, Nancy, listen books that talk about WRITING are definitely wanted in South Carolina, that's on their list, will you please separate all of those out for SC? Are there any on geting published, etc? THOSE are wanted too!

I will come up after the holidays or this spring, when you are free and take delivery of those myself if you like, or maybe we can figure out a cheap shipping method, you can ship up to 70 pounds per box Media rate and it IS reasonable, that's how the PEN/ Faulkner books got here, but SC wants those books on WRITING? BADLY!

And I'm not 100 percent sure they don't want those on psychology, I'll find out! THANK you for your continuing good works!

GINNY, would an old textbook on technical writing be wanted? It was published in 1994. Its paperback, not in perfect condition but still perfectly usable. "TECHNICAL WRITING", by John M. Lannon.

I also have the "Harbrace College Handbook", 11th Edition, described as "a comprehensive guide for writers". Let me know if you want them.

Babi

I posted this in the wrong folder earlier today (duh!), so here it is again:

OK, are you ready for this one? I have an English instructor friend who has written two textbooks and is currently working on volume 3 of "Writing Successfully." These are paperback texts that give comprehensive instruction concerning how to write college essays and research papers and are used for College English 102 classes.

He is offering to donate up to 500 copies of "Writing Successfully," volumes 1 and 2, if we can find homes for them in prisons. All he wants in exchange for what he gives us is a letter verifying the donation that he could use to write the cost of the books off on his taxes. In a little aside from the fact that these are good books, two of my own college essays are published in these volumes. Do you think we could come up with any takers?

Good heavens, Nancy! I nearly fainted when I saw that. Let me write South Carolina immediately, the only thing that might be a drawback is the college level of the instruction, but I will copy over faithfully your letter and let them say definitively on that and the deduction issue, and the minute I hear I'll let you know.

Thank YOU for your wonderful initiatives, you are a power!

I am so excited to hear news of Barbara Lane, and have been trying to find the articles about this to bring here also, more....

500 TEXTBOOKS!! Now that is the kind of friend to hav, Nancy! This whole project just gets more marvelous all the time!

Babi

Oh I agree, Babi and there is a lot more good news to come!! Today we have a group of books from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church which is very exciting!

Thank you, St. Timothy's!!

Ballard, Mignon F. Shadow of an Angel

Barron, Stephanie Jane and the Man if the Cloth

Berg, Elizabeth Say When

Binchy, Maeve Evening Class

Binchy, Maeve Firefly Summer

Binchy, Maeve Tara Road

Clancy, Tom The Sum of All Fears

Davidson, Diane Mott Catering to Nobody

Gilman, Dorothy A Nun in the Closet

Green, Tim The Fourth Perimeter

Grimes, Martha The Five Bells and Bladebone

Grisham, John The Runaway Jury

Haines, Carolyn Buried Bones

Harris, Robert Pompeii

Hart, Carolyn G. Death on Demand

Iles, Greg 24 Hours

Jance, J. A. Paradise Lost

Kellerman, Faye Stalker

King, Cassandra The Sunday Wife

Kingsbury, Kate A Bicycle Built for Murder

MacPherson, Rett A Misty Mourning

Martin, Nancy Some Like It Lethal

McCarver, Sam The Case of Compartment 7

Muller, Marcia The Shape of Dread

Niffenegger, Audrey The Time Traveler's Wife

Norman, Diana A Catch of Consequence

O'Marie, Carol Anne Advent of Dying

Page, Katherine Hall The Body in the Basement

Page, Katherine Hall The Body in the Cast

Page, Katherine Hall The Body in the Vestibule

Paige, Robin Death at Darmoor, A Victorian Mystery

Perry, Anne Highgate Rise

Perry, Anne The Cater Street Hangman

Powlik, James Sea Change

Roberts, Nora Truly Madly Manhattan

Stewart, Mary Wildfire at Midnight

Truman, Margaret Murder in Georgetown

Westfall, Patricia Tichenor Mother of the Bride

These were hand delivered so there is no postage, Pat.

Many thanks to all of you!!

L'Amour, Louis any titles

It just happens that our son looked over his book collection while he was home... He has quite a collection of LL books that he is willing to donate "to a good cause"... Can't think of a better one!

Now, I put them in a box... and mail them, where? Ginny, any alternative to your house? I'd hate to swamp you with more... we'll do whatever...

Lou

Oh Lou, that would be WONDERFUL, that's the VERY most desired author there IS and it IS a good cause. Yes it's best to send them here for SC, because the Superintendent is picking up all of our donations here.

Actually I have a box ready for the Tyger River Facility next week and that librarian is coming by to get them then, also, every one is what she asked for, won't she be pleased!

THANK you, and thank your good son, for this fine donation, email follows! And Merry Christmas!

December 16:

Brown, Sandra - Sunset Embrace - PB
Brown, Sandra - Hello Darkness - PB
Cornwell, Patricia - Unnatural Exposure - HB
Cornwell, Patricia - Point of Origin - HB
Wheeler, Richard S. - Drum's Ring (western) - PB
Demille, Nelson - The Lion's Game - PB
King, Stephen & Peter Straub - Black House - HB

December 23

Koontz, Dean - The Door to December - PB
Koontz, Dean - Icebound - PB
Koontz, Dean - Shadow Fires - PB
Koontz, Dean - Intensity - PB
Koontz, Dean - Hideaway - PB
Koontz, Dean - Darkfall - PB
Koontz, Dean - The Voice of the Night - PB

I need to get these mailed as soon as the holidays are over.

Thank you SO much, Pat, what FABULOUS authors and your shipments are of incredible quality and the KOONZ!~! And the KING and DeMille! They wil have a fit over those, many many thanks for your very valuable initiative there in Illinois!

We have received the following books, most of them hand delivered, the others' postage about to be noted, of the following books which are boxed and labelled and ready for the Tyger River Facility to pick up:

1. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

2. Seabiscuit by Laura Hellenbrand

3. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

4. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (2nd copy)

5. The Soulforge by Margaret Weiss

6. Black Wolf by Dave Gross

7. Lord of Stormweather by Dave Gross

8.The Halfling's Gem by R. A. Salvatore

9.The Brethren by John Grisham

10.Streams of Silver by R.A. Salvatore

11.The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

12. Brothers in Arms by Margaret Weiss and Don Perrin

13.Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

14. The Star Beast by Robert A Heinlein

15.Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey

16.Starman Jones by Robert A Heinlein

17.The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore

18.Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

19.The Late Child by Larry McMurtry

20.In Sylvan Shadows by R. A. Salvatore

21. Heart of Darkness/ The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad

22. Amber and Ashes by Margaret Weiss

23.Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

24.The Portable Carl Jung by Joseph Campbell

25. Answer to Job by Carl Jung

26. The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King

27. The DaVinci Code

Thank you for those wonderful donations!! When Jane gets back her little fingers will fall off trying to list them all! YAY! (not on her fingers but for your incredible generosity!)

We need her fingers and yours: we're just getting started! What do you have YOU can donate??

Lou2: Can you give me the titles and number of books you've sent to Ginny by Louis L'Amour?

Thanks!

jane

Jane, I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't count or make a list... a box full is all I can say...

Lou

I've got them!! A whole box full and it's HEAVY and I'll get them listed here asap, can't wait, for me this is like opening Christmas presents! Thank you SO much Lou, that's wonderful!! Thing weighs a TON!

Thank you Jane for this wonderful record keeping, you can tell Jane was a librarian, so organized, and it makes such a difference, I'm so proud of the way we present this to the state.

The Librarian from Tyger River (shown in the photo above) is coming out in the morning to get HER box and every book is one she asked for, this is just super! THANK you all for your generosity!

YAY for you all!!

I have three more to add, not previously noted, Bag of Bones by STephen King, sent by Marjorie, thank you very much, Marjorie, Song of Susannah by Stephen King, Dark Tower VI series, and The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, both from me.

JANE: I think you have already counted the Stephen King book I sent because I mentioned it in an earlier post.

Marjorie...Yes, I counted it on 12/02/04 as coming from Purple Sage.

Ginny....are the Stephen King and the Dan Brown additional copies of the books you mentioned here on 12/27?

JANE: I pack all the books here whether I send them or SAGE does. You have the list correct.

I have many books, both hard and soft cover, all in excellent or very good condition, that I'd like to donate. How do I go about it? Do I send the boxes to SeniorNet? Do I e-mail you first with a list of titles, or do I enclose a list in the box, or both? Jacqueline

Baroque!! Jacqueline!! How wonderful! Thank you for your generosity! We are delighted to learn you have books to donate! I'll send you an email and fill you in on all the details!

This morning the librarian of the library pictured above came out and took a box we had ready for her and she brought with her a new librarian I had not met, from a new facility in the Upstate of SC, and she was so full of enthusiasm and joy, it just made my day, both of them are fabulous. I wish you could meet these people, they would have you bouncing around for weeks.

This new librarian says her facility has NOTHING and she wants EVERYTHING and was so excited she said she could not wait to get back on Monday to tell everybody, there is REALLY a lot of enthusiasm here over reading and books, you'd not believe it, and really the joy that you get from this experience is just….it's a really good thing?

I told them I had a new box just in (thank you Lou2) of Louis L'Amour and they nearly had a fit and likewise the like new Koonz Pat is sending (thank you, Pat) on the way in, and they were just... really excited. Truly truly any donations made here are so gratefully received and appreciated, it is a joy to be connected with this effort! Thank you ALL! I will be the messenger and hope I can convey half of the excitement and gratitude well!

Jane, well done! Yes those are duplicates, thank you Marjorie and Jane, we'll get that bag of bones straightened out soon, but I'm very glad we're keeping such careful records, it matters.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Will books put in a garage draw termites?

I am not sure, Ginger, but they might get damp, not sure? I just picked up another box from the mailbox, can't wait to open it. I have taken the donations out of the barn and brought them in the house, my spare bedrooms look like loading docks ahahaha, but I can keep them better controlled climate wise that way. I was also worried about mice in the barn, this way they are safe.

What are you thinking of? Collecting in your area?

Ginny, it is times like this that I deplore my lack of space. Tho' I'm normally quite content, your mention of extra rooms in which to keep the books safe has me sighing. I don't even have an extra cabinet or drawer! Still, your description of the delight of the librarians cheered me up again.

Babi

GINNY: Your Post #244 makes me think that a box(s) of books in great condition by any author in any genre would be welcomed by the new librarian. Does her library serve a men's or women's prison?

haha Babi, if you could SEE those rooms you would say thank goodness I don't have that in MY house! Yes yes this is truly wonderful!

Marjorie, it's a men's facility and I'm thinking that we will first concentrate on the list above which they said they would like (and another list is on the way apparently) and then offer this new facility their choice of what was not spoken for? Not sure, we'll wait to see how best they want to manage it, but it DOES look like no book will go unassigned, or unwanted (of course with the exception of those noted in the Wish List as unwanted or those in poor condition) which is a very good thing.

Ginny: Just want to assure you that I'll be sending the books over the next few weeks. I plan to collect cartons from my office (we get shipments of material regularly), bring them home, pack up the books, and get them shipped to you. Baroque

Wonderful, Baroque! How exciting, can't wait to see them, thank you!!!

Your description of the excitement of the librarians is wonderful, Ginny.

Thank you, all, who are contributing to such a good cause. What good work here!!

Hi Friends,

Because I know many of you are great fans and supporters of Wally Lamb, I thought I would let you know that his father (and my uncle) Walter Lamb passed away this week. His funeral will be held tomorrow. So if any of you wish to send some prayers and positive energy in the direction of Connecticut, I'm sure Wally and the rest of his family will feel it!

NANCY, I'm sorry to hear of this loss. Please let your cousin know that the sympthies and thoughts of many here will be with him.

Babi

Ah, Nancy, I am so sorry to hear that, thank you for letting us know. Please extend to Wally Lamb and his famioy and yours condolences from all of us at SeniorNet Books in his great loss. So sorry.

Hi Nancy,

I'm very sorry to hear about the death of your cousin, Wally Lamb's, father. Sympathy is extended to Wally Lamb, all family members and friends of the family.

I also would like to extend my sympathy to Wally and all the family on the sad loss of Wally's dad.

Carolyn

I am sorry to hear that Wally's father has died. My prayers and sympathies to Wally, his family, and extended family.

December 30

Paretsky, Sara - Total Recall - HB
Koontz, Dean - Shadow Fires - HB
Koontz, Dean - Seize the Night - HB
Koontz, Dean - Intensity - HB
Koontz, Dean - The Face of Fear _ HB
Kellerman, Jonathan - The Murder Book - PB

January 6

Cornwell, Patricia - Post Mortem - PB
Grisham, John - The King of Torts - HB
L'Amour, Louis - End of the Drive - PB Western
L'Amour, Louis - The Ferguson Rifle - PB Western
L'Amour, Louis - The Firt Fast Draw - PB Western
Johnstone, William W. - Law of the Mountain Man - PB Western
Cole, Jud - Dead Man's Hand - PB Western
Evans, Tabor - Longarm - PB Western

My thoughts and prayers are with Wally Lamb and his family. I am so sorry for their loss.

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Wally Lamb's father. All of us in Seniornet who have been with Wally and you, Nancy, through the experiences of the past year feel that you are both members of our family. Please know that our hearts are with you at this time.

I may be overlooking it, but where do we send books for the prison project?

Scarecrow, please email me at gvinesc@bellsouth.net for instructions on where to mail and thank you for your generosity in asking!

Thank you SO much, Pat for that wonderful shipment from Illinois, tomorrow I will start listing the contents of all these boxes which surround me, so generous of all of you!

I had a call from the Coordinator of the SC Prison Libraries Monday and it appears there are 19 SC Prison Libraries who have not been represented in our meetings and who have not sent a list. Due to budget cuts, those 19 are manned by officers not Librarians, she is MOST anxious to get books for them TOO! We have a truly receptive grateful population here who desperately want your books, if you have a best seller, good book, or ANY book NOT on the list above, send it, if it's in good condition and does not violate the stated standards listed on the Wish List, they want it, they really do. If you do not have any books to send or can't get to the Post Office, but wish to send a cash donation, or check, it's tax deductible and Jane will put the SeniorNet address in the heading today. We ARE running out of funds to reimburse postage, so every cent is needed and every book and dollar is carefully annotated, thank you Jane for that new count, that's pretty impressive, each day next week I'll add the contents of another box!!

THANK you all!

Thank you Jane for your new count and your adding the new books to our list, I appreciate the careful way we're going about this. Very organized.

Ginny, Am bringing a big bag of books to the beach party. Thought I could share if anyone wants them and if there are any left, would you take them back home for the Prison project??

How generous of you, Stephanie and what a good idea! Yes I certainly WILL! Thank you!

Are the librarians accepting paperback books, GINNY? As I recall, the initial requests were for all hardback, with the exception of some paperback texts and references.

Babi

Yes they will take paperbacks in good condition. Thank you for asking.

Ginny, sent off a contribution for postage today. Funny, it has to go clear across the country and return to you..

Stephanie, aren't you kind, thank you so much!!!! That's what makes the donation tax deductible, when you mail them to SeniorNet.

When you come to the beach, would you mind if we got a photo of you bringing your books for our Volunteering page?? We need to show our SeniorNetters in action, maybe some of you could send us a photo of you mailing books if somebody (maybe the PO?) would take it?? We really would like/ need some??

OH my goodness yes, starting today you can all share with me in an extended holiday as we open daily and bring here the wonderful donations, day by day, each day a new one of the boxed shipped already and oh my goodness LOU an entire box of Louis L'Amour!!!! OH!!

THANK you and your dear son for his/ your generosity, the Librarian and the Teacher just were sOOO excited to hear, Louis L'Amour IS one of the most highly read authors they have.

So Jane, here we go!!

All these by Louis L'Amour unless stated differently?

The Walking Drum (looks so good I want to read that one myself)

Jubal Sackett

Gallaghen

The High Graders

Matagorda

The Proving Trail

The Outlaws of Mesquite

Education of a Wandering Man

The Rustlers of West Fork

Three books in one:

Ride the River
Lonely on the Mountain
Jubal Sackett

Four in one volume:

Galloway
The Sky- Liners
The Man from Broken Hills
Ride the Dark Trail

Four in one volume:

The Sackett Brand
The Lonely Men
Treasure Mountain
Mustang Man

Four in one volume:

The Daybreakers
Sackett
Lando
Mojave Crossing

The Sackett Companion

North to the Rails

Son of a Wanted Man

Down the Long Hills

The Rider of Lost Creek

Bowdrie's Law

The Man from Skibbereen

Conagher

Tucker

Dark Canyon

Gallaghen

The Iron Marshal

Bowdrie

The Mountain Valley War

Bendigo Shafter

The Lonesome Gods

Fair Blows the Wind

Last of the Breed

Utah Blaine

The First Fast Draw

Hanging Woman Creek

Crossfire Trail

Borden Chantry

Taggart

The Empty Land

Silver Canyon

The Strong Shall Live

Westward the Tide

Last Stand at Papago Wells

The Man From Broken Hills

Over on the Dry Side

The Shadow Riders

These books are packed with beautiful precision and…it appears there must be an entire SET of Louis L'Amour here, I didn't know there WERE so many Louis L'Amour books, but I do know in looking for them in the stores how RARE this is, they are all in excellent condition, thank you LOU for your wonderful generosity!!!!

Pat please remove $7.19 from the postage budget, thank you LOU!!

AWESOME!!

There were TWO copies of Gallaghen?

Total with books donated by Lou = 787

Yes there were two copies! I took each one out carefully and then because they were packed so nicely,just returned them to the original box, where they fit like a bug in a rug!

Wow, 787 and the floor littered with unopened boxes, another one tomorrow, AWESOME!!

Thank you, Jane!

Oh, no, please, no refund on the postage... there's no need for that, but thank you. It was our pleasure.

Lou

Thank you SO much, Lou, that's very good of you and your son, we appreciate every bit of it, too, very much. I'll let you know the reaction from the librarians when they see that box of Louis L'Amour, you'll hear it in your own home, hahaha I must get them in here, they are so inspiring.

Day 2!! Opening Box #2:

This box is from Mippy and contains, oh a beautiful hardback edition of John Grisham's The Brethren and another of The Pelican Brief, and yet another of The Street Lawyer, and yet another! of The Client and every ONE of them a beautiful hardback and looks brand new, thank you so much, Mippy!! WE have one librarian who prefers hardbacks and these will thrill her! Pat will you add Lou's donation to the postage donated counter when you have time?

OK the postage on that and I don't remember Mippy's instructions but have written to find out, is $3.94, Pat. We do appreciate your fine generosity, all of you, in taking the time to donate your books, wrapping them and mailing them, they are a gift , we will gladly reimburse the postage but we can't reimburse your time and trouble, and they are desperately needed and VERY much appreciated! Thank you! A new box tomorrow!

In Edit: Mippy has generously donated the postage, thank you Mippy!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Mippy for your donation of postage.

Lou2 for your donation of postage.

Total postage donated to date - $14.83.

Ginny. Of course you can take apicture. I promise not to hide, although my least favorite thing is pictures of me.. I always sort of cringe and promise to lose that stupid 10-12 pounds.. Same pounds, I am always trying to lose of course.

10-12 pounds? Is that all?!! You lucky woman!

Babi

Babi.. that is a realistic loss.. Unrealistic back to my early 20's??? it would be 20 pounds, but I know I cannot do that.

Sigh -- I've been trying to lose the same 10 pounds for years. Oh, well, I guess my days as Ms. America are over LOL

Actually, I gratefully lost some pounds this past year, but it was primarily due to the fact that my gut was usually so troublesome. I figure as long as I have to deal with the problem, I might as well rejoice over the silver lining!

...Babi

I have 30 books packed to send. Three were mentioned (and counted) in Post 218. They will come in 3 boxes and we will pay the postage. The rest are:

Buchan, Elizabeth Good Wife Strikes Back, The

Camp, Candace Scandalous

Cannon, Julie Mater Biscuit

Casper, K.N. Her Brother’s Keeper

Casper, K.N. Major Comes to Texas, The

Cassidy, Carla Rules of Engagement

Chiaverini, Jennifer Master Quilter, The

Clements, Marcelle Midsummer

Crandall, Susan Back Roads

Crowe, Evelyn A. So Hard to Forget

DeVita, Sharon Family To Be, A

Galgut, Damon Good Doctor, The

Gibbons, Kaye Divining Women

Hatcher, Robin Lee Firstborn

Hoffman, Alice Blackbird House

Marquis, Christopher Hole in the Heart, A

McBride, James Miracle at St. Anna

McMahon, Barbara First Day, The

Namu, Y & Mathieu, C Leaving Mother Lake

Orwig, Sara Mad, The Bad, & The Dangerous, The

Ross, Ann B. Miss Julia Meets Her Match

Rutland, Eva Child’s Christmas, A

Thayer, Nancy Three Women at the Water’s Edge

Thomas, Jodi Texan’s Dream, The

Thomas, Jodi To Wed in Texas

Thompson, Vicki Lewis Colorado Kid, The

Title, Elise Meg & The Mystery Man

Thank you SO much Marjorie!!!! What wonderful books and how generous you are: thank you for those books shipped and the new donation of postage, that is very good of you, when it comes, Pat I will let you know how much it was.

I have a lovely big box here from Linda Brown, thank you, Linda, who has also donated the postage, $8.97 which we also appreciate, thank you for your generosity, so much!

Here is a list in this super box from Linda! A beautifully wrapped box and if we had to reimburse Linda for the tape we'd be in the poorhouse, but what wonderful books:

The Christmas Box: Richard Paul Evans

Pompeii by Robert Harris

How to Make an American Quilt (novel) by Whitney Otto

How to Tame a Wild Boar,by Cathy Grizzard Schmook

The American Looseleaf Dictionary

Head First: The Biology of Hope: Norman Cousins

Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden

The Life and Death of Petra Kelly by Sara Parkin

If it's Going to be Up to Me by Robert Schuller

New Passages by Gail Sheehy

Understanding Men's Passages by Gail Sheehy

Grizzardisms: The Wit and Wisdom of Lewis Grizzard

Me by Katharine Hepburn

A Book of Angels by Sophy Burnham

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

The Infinite Plan by Isabel Allende

Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White

Never Stick Your Tongue Out at Mama by Max Davis

Me and My Baby View the Eclipse by Lee Smith

Three big issues of Poets and Writers Magazine, July –December 2004

Thank you VERY much, Linda! Wonderful books!

Quite a year for Plums by Bailey White.. Must look that one up. I love her writing.

GINNY, I found a few books on the library 'sale' table that fit into the lists. When I explained to the librarian about the prison library project, she didn't charge me for the books I took! Serendipity!!!

I found a box and there is a list of the books incuded (only five). A couple of Graftons, a Grisham, a MacInnes, and M. Evans "The Horse Whisperer". I should be able to get them mailed off tomorrow.

Babi

Babi: Could you post the titles and authors so I can add them to the list of books donated?

Thanks,

jane

Sorry, JANE. I put a list in the box for Ginny and didn't realize you would need a list, too.

Evans, Nicholas:"Horse Whisperer 
Grafton, Sue: 'M' Is For Malice" 
  "       "  : 'O' Is For Outlaw" 
Grisham, John:  "The Summons" 
MacInnes, Helen: "The Salzburg Connection"

Babi

Thanks, Babi! Helen MacInnes was the BEST in espionage, I thought. Her books were something else!!

jane

Babi, that is just wonderful, how great of the librarian when she heard your cause, to not charge! This is very exciting and those look super, thank you for those.

I thought since I had some time this evening I'd open the boxes waiting here and list the books. I'll do it in separate posts so each can be counted separately! Thank you Jane!

First off here is a box from Patwest and the postage on it is $4.84. Now Pat acts as our own emissary in this with her local library and so these are not her own books she's sending but she's doing this for us, and so she needs to be reimbursed for these costs. So that's (and the tape, too!) $4.84, Pat, that will be paid and let's see what's in the box!

Oh boy it's a whole box of Dean Koonz!

Darkfall (all by Dean Koonz unless stated differently)

Intensity

The Door to December

Icebound

The Voice of the Night

Shadow Fires (looks like new, hardback)

The Face of Fear

Hideaway

Shadow Fires (paperback also looks like new)

Seize the Night

Intensity another hardback by this title, looks like new

The Murder Book by Jonathan Kellerman

Total Recall by Sarah Paretsky

Wonderful choices, Pat!! Thank you so much!! More…

We have a very nice box here from JoanK and she has very kindly donated the postage of $7.44, thank you so much, Joan.

This is a real outpouring, the costs of shipping and the boxes and the tape and the BOOKS, all much appreciated, I believe we're nearing 1,000 books! Already!!

Let's see what's in this box…

Oh great stuff!

The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman

Waiting by Ha Jin

Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

These all in beautiful condition, they will have a FIT these are all on the lists!

To the Nines, hardback looks new Janet Evanovich

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

wow

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Full House by Janet Evanovich!

Wonderful box of great books, thank you so much, JoanK!!

Our Man in the Mid West is on the case again and here is another box from Patwest, with the postage needing reimbursement of $3.55.

Pat's getting very creative with these boxes!

Oh my goodness they look brand new! Big hardbacks and beautifully packed, thank you so much Pat for your care in this, we need to reimburse more than the postage!

Sunset Embrace by Sandra Brown

Hello Darkness by Sandra Brown

Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell

Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell

Drum's Ring (Western) by Richard S. Wheeler

The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille

Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

GREAT box of books, Pat and so many on the list!!

Thank you!

And the last box I have is also from Pat, so all the boxes have been opened, this feels like Christmas in so many ways, they say it's like Christmas when the books are taken IN! But anyway, we have postage needing reimbursement of $3.10 and in this box we have, oh boy…

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

The Clinic by Jonathan Kellerman

Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts

Key of Valor by Nora Roberts

Key of Light by Nora Roberts

Birthright by Nora Roberts

Then Came Heaven by La Vyrle Spenser

Thank you Pat for your very careful packing and your including in the box a list of the contents. I'm learning a lot about packing books and the transit of books and when you see how carefully each of these boxes of books has been packed, it really fills you with respect for what we're doing and the people helping us.

Thank you all! This is now all of the boxes now received, I know several more are in shipment. I am very excited about hitting that 1,000 mark of SeniorNet Prison Library Project Books donated!

I think Jane has already counted the books in my boxes.

Shall I send more - or bring them with me when I go to the Beach?

I have 20 to bring.

20 boxes or books? If you're driving please bring them!!! THANK you!!

Oh my --- 20 books.

Super!! Thank you!!

haah I have to ask because I think we've got at least 20 boxes on the way, it's very exciting! And every one, every book, so desperately needed and appreciated.

A special thanks to Linda Brown -- 22 books -- and donated postage $8.97.

AND

A special thanks to Joan K -- 8 books -- and postage donated $7.44.

And thanks to Babi and Marjorie, whose books are on their way.

Pat's lists and JoanK's have already been counted and are on the spreadsheet. Joan K's are on the list for 12/3 and Pat's for 12/30 and 1/6, so we're current.

Out total is at 847.

jane

Thank you Jane for your careful record keeping, almost 900 books in SUCH a short time, this is wonderful! Thank you all!

Well, I just opened up a letter from Wendell J. Blanton, who is the Superintendant for the Education Services Division of the SC Dept. of Corrections.

He thanked me for sending him a copy (to review) of a book titled, WRITING SUCCESSFULLY,2nd Edition, by Dr. Richard Hanson.

Professor Hanson is a good friend of mine who works here at the college and has generously agreed to donate all of the leftover copies of Edition 2 of his book, to various prisons (he has around 1000 copies left).

So, as per Mr. Blanton's request (he asked for 250),around 275 copies of the book will be mailed out ASAP.

He (Mr. Blanton) supplied me with the address of his headquarters. Should I have the books mailed to him directly? Also, please advise me concerning postage, as I certainly am not going to ask Dr. Hanson to pick up the cost of mailing.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Blanton told me that he will take care of writing up a donation notice for the donor to use for tax purposes.

That's it for now. I'm currently working on listing several hundred other textbook donations, and I have some books to donate personally too -- someday I'll get it all done!

Congratulations, Nancy and well done! I am so glad SC can use those text books, how wonderful of you to constantly take the trouble solicit these texts, to be on the lookout for our Prison Library Program, to watch for opportunities and to seize them when they come along, good for you and MANY THANKS!! We appreciate your taking your own busy time to help in this way!

Have sent you an email about where to mail and the shipping and I think, especially considering the subject matter, hundreds of people will mentally thank you every time they pick one up!! You can warm yourself by the fire with those thoughts, because books on Writing were one of the things most wanted.

Good job and AHEM, we need some fireworks, Jane, we have just passed our FIRST but not our LAST 1,000!! Hooray!

Thank you Nancy, for your constancy and dedication to our cause here, and all of the effort you have donated, yourself: you are a power: much appreciated!

Hmm, Picked up the paper the other day and in the donations area,, the juvenile authority in Osceola county is asking for donations of childrens books and easy books for juveniles.. Are we interested? If so when I get back from our bash, will contact the juvenile authority and see what is happening.

ooo, why ever not? See what you can find out, when you get back home, Stephanie?

GINNY: I just finished packing some more books from PURPLE SAGE and me for the Project. I have 39 books in 4 boxes to be mailed this week.

Anderson-Dayatz, Gail Cure for Death by Lightning
Armstrong, Campbell I Hope you Have a Good Life
Arnold, Judith/Jensen, Muriel/Hutchinson, Bobby All Summer Long
Barnett, Jill Sentimental Journey
Battle, Lois A Habit of the Blood (2 copies)
Benedict, Elizabeth Almost
Benedict, Elizabeth Slow Dancing
Berg, Elizabeth True to Form
Braselton, Jeanne A False Sense of Well Being
Bretton, Barbara Mother Knows Best
Brookner, Anita Bay of Angels
Bryson, Bill The Lost Continent
Chappel, Fred Farewell, I'm Bound to Leave You
Chappel, Fred The Gaudy Place
Childress, Mark Crazy in Alabama
Coomer, Joe Dream House
Coomer, Joe Loop, The
Coomer, Joe Sailing in a Spoonful of Water
Creel, Ann Howard The Magic of Ordinary Days
Cunningham, Michael Hours
Daugharty, Janice Like a Sister
Daugharty, Janice Paw Paw Patch
De Bernieres Corelli's Mandolin
DeMarco, Kathleen Cranberry Queen
Dew, Robb Forman Dale Loves Sophie to Death
Dorris, Michael The Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Douglas, Ellen Lifetime Burning
Harris, Joanne Five Quarters of the Orange
Larson, Erik The Devil in the White City
Leigh, Allison Home on the Ranch
Minn, Anchee Red Azalea
Price, Reynolds A Whole New Life
Quinn, Tara Taylor Nothing Sacred
Quinn, Tara Taylor The Secret Son
Rivers, Francine The Last Sin Eater
Sparks, Nicholas Three Weeks with My Brother (large print)
Stone, Jean Beach Roses
Thomas, Jodi Finding Mary Blaine
Wiggs, Susan The Drifter

THANK you, Marjorie!! How kind of you and Sage!!

We have received the following donations from the Books at the Beach trip:

The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

The Best American Essays, Louis Menland, Ed.

The Clinic by Jonathan Kellerman

From Stephanie and we have a super photo of her with her books, thank you Stephanie:

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

Aunt Dimity Digs In by Nancy Atherton

Good Morning Killer by April Smith

Law of Gravity by Stephen Horn

Isle of Palms (Autographed Copy) by Dorothea Benton Frank

Trading Up by Candace Bushnell

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Garrder

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

The Legacy by DW Buffa

Designer Knockoff by Ellen Byerrum

Stephanie had brought these books to share and then the rest could go to the prisons, very kind of you Stephanie I wish I had had time to pay more attention to them, several of them look fabulous.

Pat brought a huge box as well and I found another here when I returned, more on them later, thank you all VERY much for your generosity!

I came home to find boxes of books donated, and we are very proud of your generosity, thank you all so much, these are much wanted and greatly desired.

Marjorie, thank you for already listing all of your books here, do I understand that everything I have received so carefully packed, thank you again, is already listed? If so many thanks!!

I have received a lovely box of books from bimde, and we greatly appreciate her generosity. Wonderful hardbacks of

Texasville by Larry McMurtry

Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz

The Parsifal Mosaic by Robert Ludlum

Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz

and in paperback

The Key to Midnight by Dean Koontz

Many thanks, bimde, for your very generous donation of these great books in super condition!

Pat, we owe bimde $4.24 from the Postage fund, please remove it from our total?

MANY thanks Marjorie and bimde. This is wonderful and we are truly grateful! More news to come, but let me finish unwrapping these boxes!

Pat brought with her to our recent Books at the Beach Gathering the following books: she is the second person (Stephanie also brought quite a few as mentioned above), to bring books for our Prison Library Project to Books at the Beach, our Gathering and meeting with the bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe and the State Aquarium photographer Barbara Bergwerf.

Pat acts as our Agent at the Library and really selects some good ones for us, many thanks, Pat!!

Have these also been counted, previously, Jane?

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by MC Beaton (HB)

Sunny Chandler's Return by Sandra Brown

Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy

The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy (HB)

Dead Man's Hand (Western) by Jud Cole

Isle of Dogs by Patricia Cornwell

Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell

Long Arm by Tabor Evans (Western)

The King of Torts (HB) by John Grisham

Law of the Mountain Man by William Johnstone Western

The Funhouse by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas (HB) by Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas (PB) by Dean Koontz

Westerns, all by Louis L'Amour

Beyond the Great Snow Mountains

Mustang Man

Over On the Dry Side

May There Be a Road

End of the Drive

The Ferguson Rifle

The First Fast Draw

These are WONDERFUL books, Pat, thank you much!!!!

I have a wonderful shipment here from Babi, who has gone to a library sale. Babi is also going to donate the postage, so that's another $4.24, Pat that needs to be added to the postage donated. The generosity of our SeniorNetters here is heartwarming and really is touching, so you went out, Babi, and looked for these items at a sale? Bless your heart!!

Here are the super books so carefully packed:

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

M is for Malice by Sue Grafton

O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton

The Summons by John Grisham

The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnis

Many thanks, Babi!

GINNY: All of the books I have sent you have been posted here prior to my mailing them. You will be receiving 5 more boxes shortly.

We are donating the postage for the books we have sent since the New Year. I don't know if the postage for the boxes GINNY already received has been counted. Those 3 boxes were sent on Jan 18 and cost $14.07. The 5 boxes I sent on Feb. 7 were $20.23 in postage.

I've now caught up with Marjorie's list and with Pat's list, Stephanie's and bimde's donations. Babi's were counted previously when she listed what she was sending.

jane

THANK you Marjorie, you AND Sage for those wonderful donations, I can't wait for them to come, thank you also for your very generous donation of the postage!!! That's very fine of you!

Thank you Jane for keeping such good track of the books donated, I hear we have two more boxes coming from St. Timothy's, it's a wonderful thing.

Thank you ALL!

GINNY, I think you've already counted my box of books once. You may find your arithmetic off if you count the postage again.

Babi

Thank you so much Marjorie for that most generous donation of postage and yesterday 5 BOXES of books came here and all from you, it's very good of you and Sage, thank you!

Thank you Babi, that's why we have Pat and Jane. Jane keeps track of the titles (we really have to keep a strict record here of everything) so there's no duplication, she's a whiz, and Pat , now recovering from the flu, keeps track of the postage donated and removed for reimbursement, all I do is joyfully receive, open the boxes, and deliver them to the SC Prison authorities!! It's a wonderful thing!

I have just received today two great boxes of books from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, THANK YOU, St. Timothy's!

We appreciate your continued efforts, thank you very much!

Here are the books delivered to me by hand today, so there's no postage and thank you Sandy B for typing up all this list so nicely, saved me a lot of time!

Author... Title
Holt, Victoria ...The Black Opal
Rice, Anne ...Interview with the Vampire
Roberts, Jane... Seth Speaks
Crichton,, Michael... Rising Sun
Peters, Elizabeth... The Last Camel Died at Noon

King, Stephen ...Pet Seminary

King, Stephen ...Dolores Claiborne

Rice, Anne ...Lasher

Sanders, Lawrence... The First Deadly Sin

Crichton,, Michael... A Case of Need

Turow, Scott ...Presumed Innocent

Grisham, John ...The Client

Siddons, Anne Rivers ...Hill Towns

King, Stephen ...Thinner

Clancy, Tom ...Without Remorse

Clancy, Tom ...The Sum of All Rears

Hepburn, Katherine... Me: Stories of My Life

Crichton,, Michael ...Jurassic Park

Whitney, Phyllis A.... Feather on the Moon

Gibbons, Kaye ...Charms for the Easy Life

Holt, Victoria ...The India Fan

Campbell, Lady Colin... Diana in Private: The Princess Nobody Knows

Cannell, Dorothy... The Thin Woman

Perry, Anne... Bethlehem Road

Holt, Victoria... Snare of Serpents

Fielding, Joy ...See Jane Run

Clancy, Tom ...Red Storm Rising

Higham, Charles ...The Duchess of Windsor: The Secret Life

Clancy, Tom ... The Cardinal of the Kremlin

Barnard, Robert ...Fête Fatale

Sherwood, John ... Flowers of Evil

Waller, Robert James ...The Bridges of Madison County

Holt, Victoria ...The Landowner Legacy

Grisham, John ...A Time to Kill

Steel, Danielle... Kaleidoscope

Parker, Robert B... Pale Kings and Princes

... Moutsatsos, Kiki Feroudi The Onassis Women: An Eyewitness Account

Kaufman, Pamela ...Banners of Gold

Gabriel, Hayden ...Where the Light Remains

Berendzen, Richard ...Come Here: A Man Overcomes the Tragic Aftermath of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Vine, Barbara ... Grass Hopper

Dodge, Mary Mapes ...Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

Adler, Mortimer J. ...We Hold These Truths: Understanding the Ideas and Ideals of the Constitution

Boos, Claire ...Scandinavian Folk and Fairy Tales

Moyers, Bill ...Healing and the Mind

Eco, Umberto ...The Name of the Rose

Clark, Mary Higgins ...Loves Music, Loves to Dance

Whitney, Phyllis A.... Silverhill

Holt, Victoria... Daughter of Deceit

Grisham, John ...The Runaway Jury

Folan, Lilias M. ...Lilias Yoga and You

Sanders, Lawrence ...The First Deadly Sin

Grisham, John ...A Time to Kill

Grisham, John... Skipping Christmas

Margolin, Phillip... Ties That Bind

Erdrich, Louise ...Love Medicine

Jansson, Ingmar... The Viking Heritage

MANY thanks for these great titles!

Thank you, Jane, that seems a lucky number, 1234 and just had word of another shipment on the way!!

We've had two wonderful donations received, one to SeniorNet's Prison Library Project from Stephanie, thank you so much Stephanie, and it was made for postage.

You all may not know that if you send your donation to SeniorNet itself, (see heading) that that will be considered a charitable donation for your tax purposes, and that will help us so much in reimbursing postage, much needed, especially with some mammoth shipments from institutions coming up.

So please do not send postage money to any individual but instead to SeniorNet, see the address in the heading above, and please indicate on it carefully it's for the Prison Libray Project, as Stephanie did, and we do appreciate every cent, very much.

THANK you Stephanie!

This morning we've received a wonderful box (this is really just like Christmas) from Pieter. Just beautifully packed, thank you SO much Pieter, and he's also donated the postage, Pat, which has come to $5.14, so please, Pat, add that to the postage donated.

This is very fine of you Pieter, and much appreciated. I will ask one of the librarians to come in here in the next few weeks, and tell you all herself how much this means to them.

Let's see what's in this beautifully prepared box, I can tell Pieter needs to come straighten out my own house here!

OH my gosh, what beautiful books!!!

All big beautiful new hardbacks but one, and it looks new, too, all look brand new!

OH golly. HUGE books.

The King of Torts by John Grisham

Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

Needful Things by Stephen King

The Waste Lands, (pb) by Stephen King

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

The Brethren by Stephen King

Wow, those are beautiful like new books, thank you SO much Pieter, I know which library these are going to, I can't wait to see their faces, many thanks.

We feel so grateful for each and every book you all have donated, (I wish you could SEE how much they are appreciated) we want to get up an "Honor Roll" for those donating. It will take us a while but you all deserve it, we are so proud of this initiative and you. Thank you!

I hear another shipment is on the way, too!

Ginny, just in from the Library of Congress Reading Promotion Partners meeting...will share three notes that pertain to this project

Janice Delaney has retired as Director of the Pen/Faulkner Board...a search committee is now looking for her replacement. In the meantime, I've been reassured that SN will probably get the prize submission copies as we did last year for the Prison Project...but that the final word will have to come from the new director. (who might have other ideas) So those books are in limbo for the time being. They won't announce the Pen/Faulkner award until May, so they are in no hurry to empty the shelves yet.

Tom Phelps, a Senior Program Officer for the National Endowment for the Humanities slipped me his card with the name of the director of the National Book Foundation...another major prize source. He told me the National Book Award might do the same thing that Pen/Faulkner is doing - donate the prize submissions to SN's prison project. I'll write to him in the morning and see where that goes.

During a break in this morning's presentations, I was approached by a young woman from the American Printing House for the Blind. They have 50 books on tape (can supply a list of titles which is being compiled right now) - Can you find out if the prisons accept books on tape for those unable to read?

Good News, I think. The new director may well be anxious to continue with the status quo.

I hope you can follow through with Tom Phelps.

Thanks for the report.

Thank you Joan, for that report.

The National Book Award books would be wonderful! That was really good of him to give you his card, great job!

No unfortunately, they will not be able to use books on audio tape, I'm sorry, we took that up earlier with them.

Great news, thank you!

Such a shame. I would bet there are a lot of people in prison who either cannot read or cannot read well enough to read for enjoyment.

Yes, it would seem so but I think they have good reasons for their regulations. Maybe we could find another group of recipients?? I am just so proud of South Carolina, in that they are willing to work with us so well and are truly so pleased to receive the books. We have some news for you on that front coming soon, too!

We've also had a request from a 4th Grade Librarian, of the donation of children's books, do you all want to branch out in these two new ways as well? After all, we're About Books!?

I've been watching everybody ELSE donating books and saying thanks and I realized I have some I can give, too! I've been doing some spring cleaning here and I have some books to offer, as well. (h=hardback, p=paperback)

On Paradise Drive, David Brooks, h

Anagrams, Lorrie Moore, p

The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner (p)

Santa Clues, Martin Greenberg, ed, p

Close Quarters, Marissa Piesman h

Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl p

The Maltest Falcon, Dashiel Hammett, p

The Infinite Plan, Isabel Allende, p

A Murder is Announced, Agatha Christie, p

Bobo's in Paradise, David Brooks, p

Single Wife, Nina Solomon, p

Women of the Silk, Gail Tuskiyama, p

Seeing is Believing by Suzanne North p

Fox Evil, by MInette Walters, p

Making Times Better, Anita Brookner h

Gaudy Night, Dorothy Sayers p

The Franchise Affair, Josephine Tey p

The Headmistress, Angela Thirkell, p

The Light in the Piazza =, Elizabeth Spencer, p

Eureka! What Archimedes Really Means, Michael Macrone, p

The World of the Shining Prince, Ivan Morris, p

The Heart of the Country, Fay Weldon, h

Birds of the Carolinas, Eloise Potter, p

Animals of the World, DP books h

Tailspin, Bernard Conners, h

Total Control , David Baldacci, p

The Crossword Murder, Nero Blanc, p

The Fugitive King by Sarah Shaber, p

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, P

The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman p

The Way We Never Were by Stephanie Coontz, p

Horse People by Michael Korda, h

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, h

A Crossworder's Holiday by Nero Blanc, h

A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds, h

If it's Going to be up to Me by Robert Schuller h

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder p

Taken to the Clearners by Dolores Johnson h

A Passage to India by EM Forster p

Using Feng Shui by Antonia Beattie, h

The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren h

Much Ado About Nothing by Jill Churchill h

Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews, p

The Good Remains by Nani Power, h

Handling Sin by Michael Malone p

I Claudius by Robert Graves p

South by Ernest Shackleton p

The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey p

Becket by Jean Anouilh p

The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston p

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler p

Risking it All by Ann Granger p

I Should Have Stayed Home, Roger Rapoport,ed, p

The Godfather, Mario Puzo p

Sacred Clowns by Tony Hillerman p

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow p

The River Midnight by Lilian Natel p

Caesar and Christ by the Durants h

Horse Heaven, Jane Smiley p

Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen, p

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand p

Prizzi's Mondy by Richard Condon h

The Distinguished Guest by Sue Miller h

Family Pictures by Sue Miller h

WOW!! What a line-up, Ginny. It looks like you are stripping your shelves. I'm getting eyestrain here. :>>

Babi

hahaha would you believe I am NOT stripping anything, unfortunately but my sons think it's time that we did some major moving of stuff around here, so I thought I'd start with my youngest's former room, that's from those shelves hahahaha I am such a pack rat! And these books are SO appreciated, I hate for them to stay ignored and unwanted on my own shelves, shut off in a storage room.

I like this feeling so much of organization that I'm going to keep it up!

Thank you, Jane!

Glad to do it!

Ginny -- Wow, typing that list was a chore in itself, much less moving them and boxing them.

hahaah Pat, there's a whole LOT of boxing and moving going on here, thanks to the generosity of our SeniorNet Members, and YOU and your work there in the Library, as our agent sending us the good books which have been donated, is much appreciated also!

AND!!! Here's a HUGE shipment I just got word of, in the mail today and I'm going to break with tradition and put the titles here first before the books actually come, because it's so exciting to see and anticipate! I declare, this is BETTER than Christmas!

This person prefers to be listed as Anonymous but let me tell you, we appreciate EVERY SINGLE book and are proud to be associated with you!

THANK you for this fabulous list of books, just LOOK!

Author... Book... Title...

Brown, Dan Deception Point

Clancy, Tom Clear and Present Danger

Clancy, Tom Op-Center Balance of Power

Clancy, Tom Patriot Games

Clancy, Tom The Cardinal of the Kremlin

Clancy, Tom Red Storm Rising

Clancy, Tom Clear and Present Danger

Clancy, Tom The Hunt for Red October

Clancy, Tom Patriot Games

Clancy, Tom Patriot Games

Clancy, Tom Debt of Honor

Clancy, Tom The Sum of All Fears

Clancy, Tom Shadow Watch

Coonts, Stephen The Red Horseman

Cornwell, Bernard Rebel

Cornwell, Patricia Hornet’s Nest

Crichton, Michael Prey

Crichton, Michael Disclosure

Crichton, Michael Rising Sun

Deaver, Jeffery The Bone Collector

Deighton, Len Spy Line

Deighton, Len Faith

DeMille, Nelson Up Country

DeMille, Nelson The Lion’s Game

DeMille, Nelson The Talbot Odyssey

Donnelly, Jennifer The Tea Rose

Flynn, Vince Term Limits

Foster, Alan Dean Outland

George, Elizabeth A Traitor to Memory

Gillespie, Donna The Light Bearer

Griffin, W.E.B. Final Justice

Griffin, W.E.B. Blood and Honor

Griffin, W.E.B. In Danger’s Path

Grisham, John The Pelican Brief

Grisham, John The Chamber

Higgins, George V. Outlaws

Korda, Michael The Fortune

LeCarré, John A Perfect Spy

LeCarré, John The Russia House

Ludlum, Robert The Road to Omaha

Ludlum, Robert Matarese Countdown

Ludlum, Robert The Matarese Circle

Ludlum, Robert The Hades Factor

Ludlum, Robert The Bourne Supremacy

Ludlum, Robert The Road to Grandolfo

Ludlum, Robert The Holcroft Covenant

White, Randy Wayne Everglades

Good heavens, isn't that something! THANK YOU!!! I was just thinking on my way back from the grocery how can we think up ideas to get more churches and church groups and community groups involved in this, and came home to this lovely donation from one of our own SeniorNetters!!

Many many thanks!

SeniorNet Rocks!!

Wow!

Thank you, Jane, I love this entire thing, one book, one step, or 300 books at a time, love it!

What next, I wonder!?!

A great byproduct of this site is that we get to see what each other have read. So many books, so little time!

Yesterday I had the most exhilarating day, I wish YOU could have been here, as one librarian and one teacher from the SC Prison system came out to get some of the hundreds of books you all have donated and I wish I had a video of their joy and delight, it was just wonderful.

It's really a pleasure to me just to watch them pick each one up and exlaim over them, this whole thing is a joy.

I was so proud of the quality of the books you have donated and so were they and they went away with their back seat full! One of them had brought a Wish List of eagerly sought after books, on Monday I hope to type some of them in, we had several donated already, to their great joy.

If you are a book lover you can't help loving this enterprise, it's a good thing, no matter which side you are on, very good thing.

One of the librarians said that she had had a call from another librarian in the lower part of the state asking if she'd come by and get some for that library as well, they REALLY want these books? They really do, and your donation is MUCH, I wish you could see how much, appreciated. Next week they have both agreed to come in and say something about how great this is, so stay tuned for that and the new list. YOU may have on your own shelves, the very thing most desired.

Another thing now very desired is the poetry of Maya Angelou so if you have any of her books around she is most sought after.

I was still opening boxes when they got here, and they were amazed at the manifests or list of the contents that some of you put on the boxes. I need to say I had just opened up some of Purple Sage's boxes, so beautifully and carefully wrapped and the contents were greatly exclaimed over.

SeniorNet Online is the perfect venue for an effort like this, we can reach so MANY people this way we would never have locally, and we are so grateful to each of you for the time and care you have generously taken to wrap and send these wonderful books, so greatly appreciated, each one of them, thank you all!!

GINNY: After reading your message about the response of the librarians, I looked at my crowded bookshelf and wondered what else I might have that would be of interest. I came across a bunch of crossword puzzle magazines. Many of them have one or two puzzles completed (if all were done, they are not still here). Would the librarians be interested in unused crossword puzzle magazines? If a hardback is in good condition except that the cover has been torn, would that book be wanted?

Well I got the note about the prison library and was astounded. In or about 1964 or 65 I lived in Columbia S.C. in the St. Andrews area. I belonged to the Women's Club there and our project was to help organize a library at the Women's Prison. I have always been proud that I was involved with that project. If I find some of these books I will send them. My books usually go to the schools here that need them so badly. Keep up the good work and I will try to help! Flo Jean Schlosser

I am not sure Marjorie, thank you for your fine response your books were snapped up and I will ask the next time I hear from them, thank you for your wonderful spirit here.

Welcome, Flo Jean! We are delighted to see you here and I have heard of the great work the Women's Clubs did there. In touring the Camille Griffin Graham facility, I met many dedicated volunteer teachers too and I wish I lived close enough to volunteer, I live more than 2 hours away.

Congratulations to you for establishing a library in a women's facility, you are ONE of us now!

SC is truly one of the most impressive set ups I have ever seen. The librarians are a delight, wonderful. The Superintendent of Education for the prisons is incredible: a wonderful man and he has it organized very impressively: it's a VERY good thing. I am proud to be part of this, and to welcome YOU, also, we need books!

Early next week PURPLE SAGE will be sending you

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M Auel and

Flirting with Pete by Barbara Delinsky.

I will be sending you

Stuck on You by Patti Berg

Her Stand-in Groom by Jackie Braun

Home to Family by Ann Evans

Oh Baby! by Pamela Ford

Mom's the Word by Roz Denny Fox

The Farmer's Wife by Lori Handeland

Want Ad Wedding by Nessa Hart

For the Love of Mike! by Muriel Jensen

Husband in a Hurry by Muriel Jensen

Along Came Zoe by Janice Macdonald

The Takeover Bid by Leigh Michaels

Rescued by a Rancher by Mindy Neff

The Real Father by Kathleen O'Brien

Two in the Saddle by Vicki Lewis Thompson

The House on Creek Road by Caron Todd

Surprise Partners by Gina Wilkins

Open in Nine Months by Leanna Wilson

The Wrong Brother by Bonnie K. Winn

You will be receiving 3 boxes. More to come in a couple of weeks.

Good heavens, Marjorie, thank you so much, bless your heart! And please thank Purple Sage for us, too, your shipments are always wonderful!

I also just got a super box from Patwest, which I hope (we've been without phone lines here for 4 days and I see them STILL sitting down there again!). Once I get caught up I can then print here, many thanks, Pat.

My DIL is going to be bringing some great new books also to our effort here, bless HER heart, and I FOUND the list from one of the prison teachers, we need to see if any of you have any of those books.

I have three hand delivered the other day, and want them added here as well, thank you very much for this donation!

Angels and Demons, Dan Brown

Gather Together in My Name by Maya Angelou

Poems by Maya Angelou

In addition I have word that St. Timothy's has more books for us, thank you, St. Timothy's. I wonder if any of you want to contact some churches or organizations in YOUR area and see if they would like to collect books?

THANK you all!

Thank YOU Jane! We are closing in on 1400 books, can you believe that!?!

Ginny, I sent my list to Jane, to save you going through them and re-typing the list.

Thanks, Pat!

I have it and have added the 21 books to the spreadsheet and listing in the header.

jane

Great!~! Well done, Pat , love all these lists people are sending, Jane can you list the titles here as well? I can't wait to open it!

Griffin, W. E. B. - Retreat Hell! - -HB

Clancy, Tom - The Sum of All Fears - PB

Coonts, Stephen - The Read Horseman - PB

Coonts, Stephen - Under Seige - PB

Coonts, Stephen - Final Flight - PB

Grisham, John - The Rainmaker - HB

Koontz, Dean - Cold Fire - PB

Morrison, Toni - Song of Solomon - PB

Tyler, Anne - The Accidental Tourist - PB

Grisham, John - The Street Lawyer - PB

King, Stephen - The Tommyknockers - PB

Clancy, Tom - The Bear and the Dragon - PB

Spencer, LaVyrle - Small Town Girl - HB

Grafton, Sue – P Is for Peril – PB

Hoag, Tami – Dark Horses – PB

Cornwell, Patricia – Blow Fly – PB

Kellerman, Jonathan – The Murder Room – HB

Koontz, Dean – By The Light of the Moon – HB

Turow, Scott – The Laws of Our Fathers – PB

O’Shaughnessy – Motion to Suppress – PB

Gilman, Dorothy – Incident at Badamya – HB

Wonderful! Thank you Pat, we need to get up a list in the heading for our honor roll, we'll work on that too, applause for you AND Jane! AND all of those of you who have contributed ONE thing!

Thank you!

Six boxes went out yesterday from PURPLE SAGE. All are hardcovers except as noted. They are:

Anderson, Catherine's Forever After (paperback)

Arnow, Harriette's The Dollmaker (paperback)

Bingham, Charlotte's The Chestnut Tree

Carey, Lisa's In The Country of the Young

Deveraux, Jude's Legend

George, Elizabeth's In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner

Hoffman, Alice's Local Girls

Hoffman, Alice's The Ice Queen

Howard, Linda's Cry No More

Kelly, Susan S.'s How Close We Come

Kincaid, Nanci's Balls

Korda, Michael's Curtain

Leavitt, Caroline's Lifelines

Macomber, Debbie's The Shop on Blossom Street

Marquez, Gabriel Garcia's One Hundred Years of Solitude (softcover)

McCorkle, Jill's Tending to Virginia

McLeay, Alison's Sea Change

Nasar, Sylvia's A Beautiful Mind (softcover)

Naylor, Gloria's The Women of Brewster Place (softcover)

Neilson, Melany's The Persia Cafe

Pierce, Veronica S.'s The Chinese Oxymoron

Shaffer, Louise's The Three Miss Margarets

Shields, Carol's The Stone Diaries (softcover)

Stonich, Sarah's These Granite Islands

Thayer, Cynthia's A Certain Slant of Light

Tsukiyama, Gail's Night of Many Dreams

Winston, Lolly's Good Grief

Yoshikawa, Mako's Once Removed

Thank you, Marjorie. Listing them as you do by author's last name, then first name, then title makes it so easy for me to copy and paste into the spread sheet we keep of these books.

I'll be back to add the total when I get them all listed.

jane

WHOO 1422, THANK you Marjorie AND Sage for your very generous donations, I can't wait for them to come!!

And I just got word yesterday that our Marine home from Afghanistan has come thru again and more books are on their way, you must hear this story, more when they come!

AND I have Pat's wonderful heavy box here to open, I declare it's better than Christmas, this really IS such a good thing.

AND I have the "most desired list" from a new prison, just waiting to type up, so stay tuned, we're smokin' here and thank you Jane for all this hard work!~!

Hi Ginny, and all. Just a quick one to report that 288 copies of a writing textbook titled WRITING SUCCESSFULLY have been sent off to the SC prison system. Awhile back, I sent a review copy to the education superintendent, who responded with a YES -- that he would welcome the books. After some weeks of making arrangements (like for instance, the books had to be picked up from another state) and then drumming up enough money to cover the postage, they have finally been shipped out.

The postage cost (donated) was $91.52.

Well, as always, best to all of you -- hopefully my crazy work schedule will soon be reduced, and I'll be able to be more "on board" with this project. In the meantime, know that I'm wearing a BIG smile just thinking about this huge effort that has resulted from our little book discussion last year. I remain both grateful and touched by the kindness and generosity of each and every one of you :0).

I thought those of you who participated in the Couldn't Keep It To Myself book discussion (of Dec. 2003 Jan. 2004) would like to know that Barbara Lane, who now goes by Barbara Parsons, was released from prison a couple of weeks earlier than her set parole date of May 3, 2005. She's still settling into post-prison life, but I plan on contacting her soon and will send her links to archives of discussions that have included amazing support of her and the other women from the York writing group.

I'd like also to invite anyone who can find the time (and wishes to) to write to Bonnie Foreshaw. Barbara was her best friend in prison, and although of course Bonnie feels happy for Barbara, she's also going through a really hard time over Barbara's departure, especially so soon after Dale Griffith had left too.

For the donated postage.

Good news about Barbara (Lane) Parsons. We wish her the best as she adjusts to her post-prison life.

Great news on Barbara. My thoughts will be with her.

And with Bonnie, who has had such a hard time. Any hope for her release?

I keep hoping that someone influential will take up Bonnies cause, but I would guess not. She really presents no threat to anyone as far as I can see. I really feel for her.

I received a nice thank you letter from Wendell Blanton, the Education Superintendant for the South Carolina Dept. of Corrections, after he received the shipment of 288 copies of Writing Successfully textbooks that were donated by a professor friend of mine from the college where I work.

In part, the letter reads as follows:

"Providing excellent tools for our students to enhjance their learning, is a valuable part of the rehabilitative process."

and . . . "The large quantity of books you provided has enabled us to send books to all of our institutional schools across the state. You can rest assured the books will be put to good use."

I'd like to thanks to all of you, too, for your amazing efforts in making this entire project a success.

Peace and best, NAB :0)

I forgot to offer a BIG thank you to Dr. Richard Hanson, from Louisville's Jefferson Community College, for his generous donation!

Nancy, that's lovely, thank you so much, isn't that beautiful of him AND you, and Dr. Hanson, this is such a good thing!

I'm home at last and found some lovely boxes of books here waiting for me, can't wait to dig into them and see what you've all sent!! More anon, trying to get over jet lag.

GINNY: I put two boxes of books in the mail today:

From PURPLE SAGE:

Brown, Dan - The DaVinci Code

Caute, David - Veronica or The Two Nations

Clark, Nancy - The Hills at Home

Evanick, Marcia - Blueberry Hill

Lyons, Genevieve - A House Divided

Picoult, Jodi - Vanishing Acts

Saxton, Judith - Family Feeling

Steel, Danielle - Granny Dan

Thomas, Jodi - Beneath the Texas Sky

From me:

Bretton, Barbara - Operation: Husband

Campbell, Bethany - Home to Texas

Campbell, Bethany - P.S. I Love You

Graham, Darlene - An Accidental Family

Rolofson, Kristine - A Man for Maggie Moore

Thomason, Cynthia - Your House or Mine?

Thank you SO much Marjorie, you and Sage are SO generous, many thanks. One of your last boxes was snatched up by the librarians in a heartbeat!

I have enough unopened boxes here waiting that it seems like Christmas, I will report on one per day starting tomorrow, and THANK you all for each and every one you've sent, more later on!

Ginny, Tell Nancy that I received her message about Bonnie, but since I am on the road and wifi is being its normal cranky self, I keep getting bounces on email.. I am very interested however and am keeping many good thoughts that Bonnie will be freed.

Ok Steph, will do, where ARE you??

Thank you Jane, let's see if we can't hit 1500 with what I have to unwrap, starting tomorrow! I was surprised to find so many boxes upon my return, time to open them up and see what you've all sent!

Let me know when you are ready for more, Ginny.

Andy is out of school and can help me pack and mail them.

We have more books to pack and mail here also.

GREAT! Send them ON!! And thank you both VERY much!

Sandy also sends word from St. Timothy's Yard Sale (St. Timothy's is a church in the lower part of South Carolina) that a lot of books that we'd love were available, so she snapped them up also, to go with those still being received, thank YOU, St. Timothy's and Sandy.

It's lovely to see people on the lookout for books for this great project.

We also have an author who has written to donate some, WHEEEEeeee and many thanks!

Gotta get cracking here, they're coming to get our latest group of books on the 20th, and I need to open all these boxes, and so today I've opened one from Lou and they are the most beautiful big hard cover books, in great condition, best sellers, and some of them from libraries, THANK you Lou, what a thrill to open them and look at them, it's like being in a book store!

Here's the list!!

Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark

Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

The Russia House by John Le Carre

Protect and Defend by Richard North Patterson

Executive Orders by Tom Clancy

The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

Degree of Guilt by Richard North Patterson

Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy

Saving Faith by David Baldacci

Shock Wave by Clive Cussler

The First Victim by Ridley Pearson

First to Die by James Patterson

Guardian of the Horizon by Elizabeth Peters

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy

The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy

GREAT books, box weighs a TON! Many many thanks! The postage on this box to be reimbursed is $13.50, (lots and lots of pretty buffalo stamps) haahaha

Whoo, thanks, Jane, 1455 and a BUNCH of boxes to open tomorrow! YAY, I predict we make 1500 by the weekend!

This is exciting! THANK you to all of you! I've got one in the car so big I can hardly lift it, I'll see you all tomorrow with more!

Wow wow wow, and WOW! Right before I left a huge box came, it's almost more than you can lift and I had to leave it because I was on my way on on my trip and have just opened it today and it's jam packed with THE most super books you ever saw. This box is from Pat S, and we do so appreciate it, thank you so much! What a treasure and so nicely packed.

Here are the books within, and the list was nicely sent in a lovely file, I wish I had that ability to make a great looking page like that!

Postage of $11.74 to be reimbursed.

Author first, then title:

Brown, Dan….Deception Point

Clancy, Tom…Clear and Present Danger

" _______Op-Center Balance of Power

" _______Patriot Games

" _______ The Cardinal of the Kremlin

" ________Red Storm Rising

"___Clear and Present Danger

" ______The Hunt for Red October

" _________ Patriot Games (2)

" ________Patriot Games (3)

" _________Debt of Honor

"_________The Sum of All Fears

" ____________Shadow Watch

Coonts, Stephen…….The Red Horseman

Cornwell, Bernard….Rebel

Cornwell, Patricia…..Hornet's Nest

Crichton, Michael……Prey

Crichton, Michael….Disclosure

Crichton, Michael…Rising Sun

Deaver, Jeffrey…The Bone Catcher

Deighton, Len….Spy Line

De Mille, Nelson….Up Country

DeMille, Nelson,…The Lion's Game

De Mille, Nelson…The Talbot Odyssey

Donnelly, Jennifer….The Tea Rose

Flynn, Vince…Term Limits

Foster, Allan Dean…..Outland

George, Elizabeth…….A Traitor to Memory

Griffin, W.E.B……Final Justice

"…………………………..Blood and Honor

" …… In Danger's Path

Grisham, John….The Pelican Brief

Grisham, John…The Chamber

Higgins, George V….Outlaws

Korda, Michael…..The Fortune

Le Carre, John….A Perfect Spy <LIL "…………The Russia House

Ludlum, Robert…..The Road to Omaha

"………Matarese Countdown

" …………The Matarese Circle

" …………The Hades Factor

"……………The Bourne Supremacy

"………..The Road to Grandolfo

"----------The Holcroft Covenant

White, Randy Wayne……….Everglades

Wow! Looks like Pat went right down our prison Wish Lists, too! Clancy and Ludlum fans, not to mention De Mille, will be in hog heaven!

I count 46 books!!! Is that what you get, Jane? I hope I have not missed one, I'll double check, if so, we've made 1,500!!!

1,500!!!

THANKS to ALL of you!

Whoop!?~! Whoop!

1,500?

I couldn't stand it and opened up another box! WE're on a roll here, how HIGH can we go?

Many many thanks to ALL of you!

This box is from Patwest who gets them at her local library drive for books to sell, and sends them to us. The postage (box weighs a TON) was donated and is $7.54 and these are just GORGEOUS books, Pat, thank you SOOO much, how on earth do those of you who pack these get them so neat and tight? I never could. It's in a box like an …let me guess….it's in an HP box that might hold an APC unit that's what it looks like.

GREAT books in super condition, thank you so much!

I must say I love this aspect of the project. While we reimburse the postage, we can never reimburse every person's care and time in packaging, and mailing, we do appreciate all of you so much!

Here are the books and TA DA!! We're over 1,500!!!

Griffin, W. E. B. - Retreat Hell!

Clancy, Tom - The Sum of All Fears -

Coonts, Stephen - The Read Horseman -

Coonts, Stephen - Under Seige -

Coonts, Stephen - Final Flight -

Grisham, John - The Rainmaker -

Koontz, Dean - Cold Fire -

Morrison, Toni - Song of Solomon -

Tyler, Anne - The Accidental Tourist -

Grisham, John - The Street Lawyer –

King, Stephen - The Tommyknockers –

Clancy, Tom - The Bear and the Dragon –

Spencer, LaVyrle - Small Town Girl –

Grafton, Sue – P Is for Peril –

Hoag, Tami – Dark Horses –

Cornwell, Patricia – Blow Fly –

Kellerman, Jonathan – The Murder Room –

Koontz, Dean – By The Light of the Moon –

Turow, Scott – The Laws of Our Fathers –

O’Shaughnessy – Motion to Suppress –

Gilman, Dorothy – Incident at Badamya – HB

Now I hear from our very careful Jane that these were already counted (I've had this box for a while, but it's not the only one), but they're coming to get them soon, so 1,500 it is, and

Thank you ALL!

YAY

Wow, I go away for two weeks and the site goes nuts. We got home today. Discovered that although it rained every day for two weeks in Northwest Georgia,, it also did in Central Florida. Our townhouse is just fine, but two of our neighbors got leaks from faulty flashing. Wow., guess just once we were lucky.

hahaa Stephanie, welcome back! Sounds like you were lucky, indeed, but I'm glad everything is OK.

The books continue to pour in, several more boxes from Marjorie yesterday and Sage, thank you BOTH, that's $20.00 in postage, Pat, to be reimbursed, that is a LOT of boxes, thank you.

Also had word there are several more boxes coming from Pat, so we're, when you add up all those coming from the bottom part of SC, going to have a great stockpile for the next visit, this is a VERY good thing!

GINNY: I have the following books packed up and ready to take to the Post Office next week:

from PURPLE SAGE

Blunt, Judy Breaking Clean
Buckley, Jr., William Happy Days Were Here Again
Conroy, Pat Beach Music
Fletcher, Susan Eve Green
Gilchrist, Ellen Starcarbon
Gutcheon, Beth The New Girls
Hendricks, Judith Ryan Isabel's Daughter
Hornby, Nick About a Boy
Kelly, Susan S. Even Now
Kidd, Sue Monk The Mermaid Chair
Landvik, Lorna Oh My Stars
Landvik, Lorna Welcome to the Great Mysterious
Leavitt, Caroline Living Other Lives
MacDonald, Ann-Marie The Way the Crow Flies
McCorkle, Jill Carolina Moon
McCorkle, Jill Final Vinyl Days
McGhee, Alison Rainlight
Minatoya, Lydia The Strangeness of Beauty
Murray, Victoria Taylor Friendly Enemies
Steel, Danielle Leap of Faith
Swerling, Beverly City of Dreams

from me

Dalton, Margot In Plain Sight
Eberhardt, Anna Sweet Any Jane
Fox, Roz Denny Family Fortune
Galbaldon, Diana Outlander
Jekel, Pamela She Who Hears the Sun
Joyce, Brenda After Innocence
Siddons, Anne Rivers Fault Lines
Stewardson, Dawn Mixed Messages
Stewardson, Dawn The Want Ad

Wow! Thank you SO much Marjorie, you guys are wonderful!

I think they will be super pleased with all the great books we have for them tomorrow!

Many thanks to all of you, the first thing I'm going to do when I get back is get up an Honor Roll of those to whom we're so grateful for their donations, in the heading, each one give ONE book, it really counts and it really matters!

Thank you all!

As I was putting books in the car today, I found 2 more boxes that I forgot to report here:

from me

Brashear, Jean Forgiveness
Browning, Dixie Driven to Distraction
Campbell, Bethany A Little Town in Texas
Fox, Roz Denny Family Fortune
Gaddy, Eve Somewhere in Texas
Graham, Heather Triumph
Smith, Deborah Silk and Stone
Stone, Katherine Home at Last
Winston, Anne Marie The Marriage Ultimatum

from Purple Sage

Chamberlain, Diane Cypress Point
Chamberlain, Diane Keeper of the Light
Chamberlain, Diane Summer's Child
Chamberlain, Diane The Courage Tree
Frank, Dorothea Benton Plantation
Frank, Dorothea Benton Sullivan's Island
Medicott, Joan The Three Mrs. Parkers
Smith, Deborah Blue Willow

P.S. I pack books in small boxes so that I don't have a problem lifting the boxes. I also recycle boxes constantly. It becomes a challenge to see how to reuse boxes we receive since we order from catalogs frequently and get so many boxes.

Thank you, Marjorie!! My goodness and what super condition they are always in, I opened the last 3 yesterday and they are beautiful. Many many thanks!

I love your method of creative packaging and housecleaning! Very creative and we are very appreciative!

Thank you Jane, we need to add one more I don't think we have, The Sign of Four in hardback added yesterday, our books are all ready for pickup today and I must say it's a very impressive sight and selection, thanks to YOU all!

The Sign of Four...by Arthur Conan Doyle... donated by whom?

Sorry, Jane, my bad, it's the Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, a new book in hardback.

I've donated it as well as The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian, I guess I had Doyle on the brain!

I thought sending the eight boxes of books to GINNY Media Mail would take a little time and she wouldn't get them until she got home. I used Delivery Confirmation and just checked and the books were delivered yesterday. It took just 6 days from California to South Carolina! I hope there was someone to receive the boxes.

I think that her husband stays home when Ginny goes away..

Thank you Marjorie, and Stephanie, and again Marjorie for your wonderful generosity, yes all the boxes and more besides were waiting for me upon my arrival home, safely stowed out of the rain, and we really appreciate your and Sage's fine donations!

We have a Friends of the Library giant sale coming up this Saturday and I'm going to take some of our Wish Lists to it and see what I can do. The hardbacks, some of them new, are going for a dollar and the paperbacks for 50 cents, so I'll contact the librarians of the prisons here locally, and see if there is anything in particular they would like. We did get a new Wish List from one of the local libraries, and I need also to paste IT up soon, I'll take it as well, sounds like a fun thing to do~

Happy Fourth of July!!! And thank ALL of you for your wonderful donations, it's always a thrill to come in here or open my email and find another wonderful donor. We need an Honor Roll here and that will be one of my first priorities next week, many thanks!!!

We have great and breaking news to tell you all about, two huge new donations coming, will tell you more next week, but first we have a new list from the Librarians, a Wish List, and those of you thinking how you can help, maybe YOU have one of these authors?

Or subjects?

I'll ask Jane when she can to somehow make this available in the heading:

Authors and Subjects Wanted: New!

Authors:

Boylan, Jenny

Brockman, John

Bryers, Richard Lee

Compton, Ralph

Cussler, Clive

Dylan, Bob

Escher, M.C.

Gilden, Mel

Greenwood, Ed

Hamilton, Laurell K.

Heinlein, Robert

Johnson, Steven

Johnstone, William

Kemp, Paul

LaHaye, Tim

L'Amour, Louis

Martin, George R.

McCaffrey, Anne

McMurtry, Larry

Niles, Douglas

Niven, Larry

Officer, Charles

Pier, Ouelette

Saionji, Masami

Salvatore, R.A.

Sheldon, Sidney

Smedman, Lisa

Tanenbaum, Robert K.

Whitney-Robinson, Veronica

Yeomens, Matthew

Zelazney, Roger

Titles or Subjects:

Any Pencil Drawing or Charcoal Drawing Books

How a Child Becomes a Scientist

Maybe YOU have a book by one of these authors or on one of these subjects, you can send?

New donation noted -- Cash total $ 253.41

I went to the Post Office today and mailed the following books in 2 boxes:

Barrett, Linda The Daughter He Never Knew (larger print)

Bevarly, Elizabeth Society Bride

Carmichael, C.J. Together by Christmas

Casper, K.N. The First Daughter

Delinsky, Barbara Cardinal Rules

Duquette, Anne Marie She's the Sheriff

Greene, Jennifer Lucky

Krahn, Betina The Soft Touch

Leigh, Allison Montana Lawman

Macdonald, Janice Keeping Faith

Major, Ann Shameless

Mallery, Susan There's Always Plan B

Mott, Brenda To Protect His Own (larger print)

Rustand, Roxanne Operation: Katie

Stone, Lyn The Wilder Wedding

Style, Linda Daddy in the House

Watson, Margaret In Her Defense(larger print)

While I was at the Post Office, the young clerk asked me about what I was mailing and when I said the books were for the prison, she wrote down GINNY's address and said she had books she would send her!!!

Thank you so much, Marjorie, you are a true Ambassador for our cause here, well done!!!! And thank you for your and Sage's generosity. I always love opening your wonderful packages, and they did remark last time on what quality books we had given them! Many thanks!

Thank you also Jane, and we have more exciting news like Marjorie's, in that while attending a Book Sale for the Friends of the Libraries of Spartanburg County the first week of this month, I was just blown away by their organization, their bookstore, and the professionalism and truly helpful attitude of the Volunteer Friends. It's an incredible organization and makes volunteering really look good. One thing led to another, and thanks to the efforts of those involved on behalf of the Friends, we've formed an alliance with the Friends which is already a total joy to the Prison Librarians of South Carolina. This September the SC Prison Library Board will meet here in the Upstate, and then be able to go to the store where the Friends of the Libraries keep their donated books and books from the library itself, (alphabetized!! In sections! And in stacks like the library) and they will be allowed, due to the generosity of the Friends, to select books for their own prison libraries!

We are all tremendously excited about this new development and very grateful to the wonderful Friends of the Libraries. This is a great thing that has happened with serious repercussions for the future. I just wish you could SEE these books they have, it's like being in the middle of a Barnes & Noble, I have never seen anything like what they're doing in my life. It's truly a model for the nation.

So it's fitting today that we have these two bits of news, the one from Marjorie, because the backbone of our work here is BY volunteers mailing in books, and news of another alliance of great benefit to the 19 prisons and 22,000 prisoners of South Carolina. AND we have even more news, coming soon and it's a BIG one too, so if you don't see something going on here, then don't assume nothing is, and YOUR donation, both of books and/or funds, is most needed and wanted.

The Superintendent did caution me that they would prefer books with limited profanity if that is possible, so that's something to keep in mind.

Here are 92 books which are like brand new that I got for the prisons on the 9th of July:

Books from Friends of the Library Sale July 9, 2005

Days of Grace- Arthur Ashe

In Search of Stones- M Scott Peck

Winning Every Day- Lou Holtz

Rosey- Roosevelt Grier

I am Third- Gale Sayers

Living the Dream- Kareem Olajuwon

My Life- Magic Johnson

The Best Science Fiction of 2004

The Magic: Earvin Johnson by Bill Morgan

Rebound: the Odyssey of Michael Jordan by Bob Greene

Heroes, Fools, and Other Dreamers by Dave Kindred

Armageddon Tim LaHaye

Naked Prey- John Sandford

Reversible Error- Robert K Tanenbaum

The Sands of Time, - Sidney Sheldon

Draw Now by Ruth Glenn Little

The Art of Pencil Drawing by Gene Franks

White Death by Clive Cussler

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

The Skies of Pern by Ane McCaffrey

Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon

If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon

Windmills of the Gods by Sidney Sheldon

The Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon

Falsely Accused by Robert K Tanenbaum

Chosen Prey by John Sandford

Coffee Will Make you Black by April Sinclair

Aint Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice by April Sinclair

Downtown by Anne Rivers Siddons

The Stars Shine Down by Sidney Sheldon

The Sky is Falling by Sidney Sheldon

Windmills of the Gods (copy 2) by Sidney Sheldon

Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon

Are you Afraid of the Dark by Sidney Sheldon

The Doomsday Conspiracy by Sidney Sheldon

Master of the Game by Sidnay Sheldon

Memories of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon

Memories of Midnight (2) by Sidney Sheldon

Nora, Nora by Anne Rivers Siddons

The Best Laid Plans by Sidney Sheldon

Lovely Bones by Alice Siebold

Beast by Peter Benchley

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Mexico by James Michener

The Charm School by Nelson DeMille

2010 by Arthur C. Clarke

2010 by Arthur C. Clarke (2nd copy)

The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

The Doomsday Bullet by Ray Hogan

2061 by Arthur C Clarke

Scruples Two: Judith Krantz

The Doomsday Trail by Ray Hogan

The Dodge City Trail by Ralph Compton

Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller

Crown Jewel by Fern Michaels

Power of a Woman by Barbara Taylor Bradford

The Integral Trees by Larry Niven

The Lonesome Gods by Louis L'Amour

A Creed for the Third Millenium- Colleen McCullough

The Dancing Floor – Barbara Michaels

Shock Wave by Clive Cussler

Mirror Image by Danielle Steel

Naked Prey by John Sanford

Everything to Gain by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Saharah by Clive Cussler

Blessings by Belva Plain

Galilee by Clive Barker

One by Richard Bach

McNally's Risk by Lawrence Sanders

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler

Flood Tide by Clive Cussler

Wings by Danielle Steel

Leaving Home by Garrison Keillor

Beast by Peter Benchley (2nd copy)

Almost Paradise by Susan Isaacs

10 lb. Penalty by Dick Francis

Spencerville by Nelson DeMille

Timeline by Michael Crichton

The Number of the Beast by Robert A Henlein

The King of Torts by John Grisham

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

A Painted House by Joah Grisham

Flirting With Pete by Barbara Delinsky

Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler

Iceberg by Clive Cussler

Inca Gold by Clive Cussler

Dune by Frank Herbert

Iceberg (2nd copy) by Clive Cussler

Shattered by Dick Francis

Reflex by Dick Francis

Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs

Fault Lines by Anne Rivers Siddons

Our Honor Roll of Book Donors

Have I missed your name? Please post if I have.

Thanks!!

jane

Ginny ~
I just went to the P.O. with a box of books for the project,
and the postage is a donation. Please do not worry about a thank you!

MIPPY! My goodness, thank you SO much, I can't wait to get them and thank you also for the donated postage, that's very generous of you and we appreciate it.

Can't wait to see them, many thanks!

Mippy, your box came! Many thanks, wonderful books, here is

Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy and that's so big it takes up the whole box!

They all look brand new, thank you SO much!!

Pat that's $2.68 more in donated postage and we appreciate it because we have a - $145.00 withdrawal from the funds Pat for the shipment of the huge PEN/ Faulkner donation, and THOSE are almost ready to list here as well, and some of THOSE are to die for !! As well as all of them are prize nominees and brand spanking new! I see one of my favorite books in there, The Shadow of the Wind! I'll wait and let Pearson tell more about those when she gets back.

I will say the people at the PEN/ Faulkner are wonderful and they wrapped each box of those books with such care that it really touched me, they are wonderful people, and we really appreciate their generosity.

Thank you again, Mippy, these are gorgeous!

Yes, the Pen/Faulkner Foundation under its new director packed and shipped all the prize submissions. I didn't even have to go down there to box them and drag them to the mailroom this year. Ginny did ALL the work on the Pen/Faulkner books on our end...counted and LISTED all 304 of them! A big round of applause for Ginny is in order!

Ah you're too modest, Joan. You're the one who made the contact with the PEN/Faulkner, and the new director, and arranged the shipping, and they really have been wonderful. We're in your debt. Applause due to YOU!!

My Daughter in Law has been a big help also in listing each book by title and author and we should have that here Monday, they are wonderful brand new books and we're very grateful for your help and representing us so well.

I had a wonderful meeting yesterday at a Barnes & Noble bookstore with a new donor to our Prison Library Project, Linda, and we had a great time, she's very well read.

She also went to the trouble to make a typed list which we appreciate for the books she is donating, and they look brand new, I don't believe they have ever been read. MANY thanks, Linda!!

Killer Dust by Sarah Andrews

Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown

Nighttime is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark

The Narrows, by Michael Connelly

Liars and Thieves by Stephen Coonts

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell

Blow out by Catherine Coulter

Blow out by Catherine Coulter (2nd copy)

Sahara by Clive Cussler

Garden of Beasts by Jeffrey Deaver

Always by Jude Deveraux

King of Foxes by Raymond Feist

R is for Richochet by Sue Grafton

Missing Pieces by Gareme Hague

The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman

Havana by Stephen Hunter

Sleep no More by Greg Iles

One False Move by Alex Kava

Day of Atonement by Faye Kellerman

The First Mistake by Merline Lovelace

The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum

Final Justice by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

Identity by Steve Vance

Thank you so much, I believe that the PEN/ Faulkner's fine and generous donation and Linda's wonderful donation puts us over 2,000! We'll see on Monday, isn't that amazing?

Thank you Jane! My count shows us 6 books short, when we add the PEN/ Faulkner donation, of our 2,000th book!!! We'll see, Monday will tell the tale.

Here are the latest wonderful donations from the PEN/ Faulkner which Joan Pearson was speaking of, and they are glorious. There are so many good books here it's a miracle that they are escaping my own houshold hahaaha

My Daughter in Law and youngest son helped me list these and I had quite an enjoyable time with both. All I can say is never ever do this with a reader, it was hilarious. Every book was taken out, and in most cases this long pause ensued while I anxiously waited for the title and author, and all I heard was boy now this one looks interesting and another long pause ensued. I believe we'd have been thru a month ago had some of these not been really interesting looking, I've gotten up my own list for possible reading, too. After all, these were nominated for prizes and I know there's one prize among them, the Shadow of the Wind, our latest Read Around the World Bookclub voting winner!

At any rate, here they are:

PEN/ Faulkner Book Donations, 2005:

1. A Death in Brooklyn Terry Quinn

2. Useful Girl Marcus Stevens

3. The Turk and My Mother Mary Helen Stefaniak

4. Double Stitch John Rolfe Gardiner

5. Half in Love Maile Meloy

6. Animal Crackers Hannah Tinti

7. Fire Point John Smolens

8. The Perfect Age Heather Skyler

9. Greene’s Summer Thomas E Kennedy

10. The Outside World Tova Mirvis

11. Bring Your Legs With You Darrell Spencer

12. A Black Englishman Carolyn Slaughter

13. Getting Mother’s Body Suzan –Lori Parks

14. The Commissariat of Enlightenment Ken Kalfus

15. Pushkin and the Queen of Spades Alice Randall

16. Tijuana Straits Kem Nunn

17. Wonder When You’ll Miss Me Amanda Davis

18. Confinement Carrie Brown

19. Liars and Saints Maile Meloy

20. Not Where I Started From Kate Wheeler

21. Dancing with Einstein Kate Wenner

22. The Doctor’sWife Elizabeth Brundage

23. A* hole Hilton Obenzinger

24. Suburban Renewal Pamela Morsi

25. Since You Ask Louise Wareham

26. The Woman Who Knew Gandhi Keith Heller

27. The Basket Maker Kate Niles

28. Sparrow Hawk Book IV: Empire Edward Cline

29. Tigor Peter Stephan Jungk

30. Marmalade Elizabeth Muldrow

31. Coswell’s Guide to Tambralinga Scott Landers

32. The Cat’s Pyjamas Bradbury

33. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green Joshua Braff

34. Had a Good Time Robert Owen Butler

35. The Pearl Diver Jeff Talarigo

36. Like the Red Panda Andrea Siegel

37. A Handbook of American Prayer Lucius Shepard

38. Washed Up With a Broken Heart in Rock Hall Peter Svenson

39. Eve Aurelio O’Brien

40. Flowers of the Dinh Ba Forest Robert David Clark

41. Fidelity Michael Redhill

42. The Dark Tower Seven Stephen King

43. Venus of Chalk Susan Stinson

44. My Brother’s Passion D James Smith

45. A Century of November WD Weatherill

46. Safelight Shannon Burke

47. When Did You Stop Loving Me Veronica Chambers

48. Sunset and Sawdust Joe R Lansdale

49. The Dark Tower 6 Song of Susanna Stephen King

50. This Room is Yours Michael Stein

51. Her Name Was Lola Russell Hoban

52. The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon

53. The Geography Lesson Madeleine Parrish

54. Minyan Eliezer Sobel

55. Wolves Eat Dogs Martin Cruz Smith

56. Potential Weapons Jocelyn Lieu

57. Travel in the Mouth of the Wolf Paul Fattaruso

58. Losing my Espanish H..G. Carrillo

59. The Work of Wolves Kent Mayers

60. Quick Stories T.M. McNally

61. Chango’s Fire Ernesto Quinonez

62. Last Stands Gordon Weaver

63. Las Cucarachas Yong Soo Park

64. Marie Marie Hold on Tight Terri Brown Davidson

65. The Way I Found Her Rose Tremain

66. Bandbox Thomas Mallon

67. All Over Creation Ruth Ozeki

68. The Finished Man Sean Murphy

69. The Immensity of the Hear and Now Paul West

70. Translations of Beauty Mia Yun

71. Broken as Things Are Martha Witt

72. The Pink Institution Selah Saterstrom

73. Accident of Birth Heather Neff

74. I’ll Never Leave You H.E. Francis

75. The Persistence of Memory Tony Eprile

76. My Wife and My Dead Wife Michael Kun

77. Resistance Barry Lopez

78. A Week in Winter Barth Landor

79. The Soft Room Karen Heuler

80. The Confession Olen Steinhauer

81. Heaven Lake John Dalton

82. The Summer Guest Justin Cronin

83. Last Lullaby Denise Hamilton’

84. Mortal Love Elizabeth Hand

85. Going to Bend Diane Hammond

86. The Tarnished Hand Judith Guest

87. Codex Lev Grossman

88. Happy Baby Stephen Elliott

89. Damned if I Do Percival Everett

90. An Unfinished Life Mark Spragg

91. The Snow Fox Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

92. Angels Crest Leslie Schwarz

93. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters Elizabeth Robinson

94. In the Hope of Rising Again Helen Scully

95. The Painting Nina Schuyler

96. Transmission Hari Kunzru

97. Strange But True John Searles

98. The Perfect American Peter Stephan Jungk

99. In the River Province Lisa Sandlin

100. Seriously Lucia Nevai

101. The Road to Makokota Stephen Barnett

102. Vamped David Sosnowski

103. Our Darling DA Brockett

104. Abundant Light Valerie Miner

105. The Real Minerva Mary Sharratt

106. Call Me By My Rightful Name Isidore Okpewho

107. Woman With Dark Horses Amie Parkinson

108. Departures Elizabeth Oness

109. The Moon in its Flight Gilbert Sorentino

110. Ideas of Heaven Joan Silber

111. Last Encounter With the Enemy Greg Johnson

112. The Bad Boy’s Wife Karen Shepard

113. Love and Hydrogen Jim Shepard

114. A Girl Becomes a Comma Like That Lisa Glatt

115. Departures Lorna J. Cook

116. Apocalypse Then Rick Demarinis

117. The Wreck of the Twilight Limited Joe Formichella

118. Donorboy Brendan Halpin

119. Coming to Terms Warren Carrier

120. An Ornithologist’s Guide to Life Ann Hood

121. The Pokhraj Trina Gajjar

122. The Second Death of Unica Aveyano Ernesto Mestre-Reed

123. The Wasp Eater William Lychack

124. The Importance of a Piece of Paper Jimmy Santiago Baca

125. What to Keep Rachel Kline

126. Someone Not Really Her Mother Harriet Scott Chessman

127. The Vanishing Moon Joseph Coulson

128. Gumball Hill Ellen Cooney

129. Riding With the Magi Thomas Russell

130. Liberating Paris Linda Bloodworth Thomason

131. Shooting the Heart Paul Cody

132. A Prayer for Dawn Nathan Singer

133. Fateful Davitt Sigerson

134. Here Kitty Kitty Jardine Libaire

135. Caramba Nina Marie Martinez

136. The Havana Room Colin Harrrison

137. The Wedding of the Two Headed Woman Alice Mattison

138. Corpus Christi Brett Anthony Johnson

139. The Book of Randolph John McNally

140. Poe and Fanny John May

141. Leaving Cecil Street Diane McKinney-Whetstone

142. The Laments George Hagan

143. Early Leaving Judy Goldman

144. The War Lord’s Son Dan Fesperman

145. An Almost Perfect Moment Binnie Kirshenbaum

146. The Good Neighbor William Kowalski

147. The Coal Tattoo Silas House

148. The Fifth Sun Mary Helen Lagasse

149. Welcome to the Fallen Paradise Dayne Sherman

150. Saints at the River Ron Rash

151. The Light Possessed Alan Cheuse

152. Douglass’ Women Jewell Parker Rhodes

153. The Dark Path of the River Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

154. The Good Life Erin McGraw

155. The Honey Wall Karen Latuchie

156. Meritocracy Jeffrey Lewis

157. A Hole in Texas Herman Woulk

158. Crossways Sheila Kohler

159. What Happened to Henry Sharon Pywell

160. Sea Boy Gene Thompson

161. Sailors on the Inward Sea Lawrence Thornton

162. No Ordinary Matter Jenny McPhee

163. Passionate Spectator Eric Kraft

164. Roads of the Heart Christopher Tilghman

165. The Clovis Incident Pari Noskin Taichert

166. The Gardens of Kyoto Kate Walbert

167. Hair Styles of the Damned Joe Meno

168. Saving Stanley Scott Nadelson

169. The Paris Review by Various

170. Off Magazine Street Ronald Everett Capps

171. Moira Orfei in Aigues-Mortes Wayne Koestenbaum

172. Confessions of a Bigamist Kate Lehrer

173. Lost Souls Michael Collins

174. The Seas Samantha Hunt

175. Conspirators Michael Andre Bernstein

176. The Autobiography of God Julius Lester

177. Most of us Are Here Against Our Will David Levinson

178. West of Rehoboth Alexs D. Pate

179. The Secret of Goldfish David Means

180. Jokerman 8 Richard Melo

181. In the Company of Angels N.M. Kelby

182. Jackpot Tsipi Keller

183. Lost Souls Michael Collins (2nd copy)

184. Cheat and Charmer Elizabeth Frank

185. Playing Out the String B. J. Leggett

186. Coyote Morning Lisa Lenard-Cook

187. The Conversation Scott Hicks

188. The Wind Done Gone Alice Randall

189. Belmolndo Style Adam Berlin

190. Snakepit Moses Isegawa

191. The Race Dave Shields

192. Madeline is Sleeping Sarah Schun-Lien Bynum

193. How the Sun Shines on Noise Matthew Deshe Cashhion

194. What You’ve Been Missing Janet Desaulniers

195. The Circus in Winter Cathy Day

196. The Cloud Atlas Liam Callanan

197. World Famous Love Acts Brian Leung

198. Limbo and Other Places I Have Lived Lily Tuck

199. Splendid Omens Robley Wilson

200. Clay Center Phil Condon

201. Madras on Rainy Days Samina Ali

202. Wake Up Sir Jonathan Ames

203. Collage Ted Wogtasik

204. Sea Dogs John Bensko

205. The Green Age of Asher Witherow M. Allen Cunningham

206. Sparrow Hawk Book III Edward Klein

207. Camilla’s Roses Bernice Mc Fadden

208. Human Capital Stephen Amidon

209. The Island of Bicycle Dancers Jiro Adachi

210. Firethorn Sarah Micklem

211. Port Mungo Patrick McGrath

212. My Story Being This Pamala-Suzette Dean

213. Shifting Through Neutral Bridgett M. Davis

214. The Executioner’s Mask Dick Cady

215. The Summer I Dared Barbara Delinsky

216. The Confessions of Max Tivoli Andrew Sean Greer

217. Whirlwind Michael Grant Jaffe

218. Hunger and Thirst Daniella Kuper

219. Our Savage Matt Pavelich

220. Fogtown Peter Plate

221. We Should Never Meet Stories Aimee Phan

222. The Laws of Invisible Things Frank Huyler

223. The Place Will Comfort You Naama Goldstein

224. Love in the Asylum Lisa Carey

225. Skels Maggie Dubris

226. Smoke Dancing Eric Gansworth

227. Lux Maria Flook

228. Desire Lindsay Ahl

229. The Divine Husband Francisco Goldman

230. The Virtues of War Steven Pressfield

231. Buddy Chopper Finds a Way Neil O’Boyle Connelly

232. The Book of Flying Keith Miller

233. Revenge Mary Morris

234. The Age of Sinatra David Ohle

235. The Honeymoon Justin Haythe

236. Transmission Hari Kunzru

237. The Egyptologist Arthur Phillips

238. The Full Matilda David Haynes

239. White Boys Stories Reginald McKnight

240. Cruisers Craig Nova

241. Osprey Island Thisbe Nissen

242. Why I Won’t Be Going to Lunch Anymore Douglas Atwill

243. Do the Blind Dream Barry Gifford

244. Pale Morning Dun Richard Dokey

245. God Clobbers Us All Poe Ballantine

246. Father’s Day Philip Galanes

247. The King of America Samantha Gillison

248. Ask Me Anything Francesca Delbanco

249. The Winemaker’s Daughter Timothy Egan

250. Offshore Don Corace

251. Happy Baby Stephen Elliott

252. My Life With Corpses Wylene Dunbar

253. The Turtle Warrior Mary Relindes Ellis

254. Maybe Baby Tenaya Darlington

255. An Egg on the Three Sticks Jackie Moyer Fischer

256. Hard Revolution George Pelecanos

257. Cheat and Charmer Elizabeth Frank (2nd copy)

258. The Grave of God’s Daughter Brett Ellen Block

259. The Dog Fighter Marc Bojanowski

260. California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker

261. Leadership 101 John C Maxwell

262. Between Two Rivers Nicholas Rinaldi

263. Ordinary Wolves Seth Kantner

264. Prince of Thieves Chuck Hogan

265. Island of First Light Norman G. Gautreau

266. The Woman Who Knew Ghandi Keith Heller

267. Fragments Tom Sterling

268. Broken for You Stephanie Kallos

269. Prince Edward Dennis McFarland

270. Inheritance Lan Samantha Chang

271. Those Who SaveUs Jenna Blum

272. Tearjerker Daniel Hayes

273. Incantation Stephen M. Greenberg

274. The First Desire Nancy Reisman

275. But Come Ye Back Beth Lordan

276. Our Kind Kate Walbert

277. Victorine Catherine Texier

278. Down Here Andrew Vachss

279. The Siege if Salt Cove Anthony Weller

280. Outside Valentine Liza Ward

281. Every Night Ladies Night Michael Jaime- Begerra

282. Above the Thunder Renee Manfredi

283. The Divine Husband Francisco Goldman

284. Offshore Don Corrace

285. The Sound of Blue Holly Payne

286. The Chidren of a Fireland Gary Pak

287. Rear View Pete Duval

288. Here Beneath Low-Flying Planes Merrill Reitell

289. The Daydreaming Boy Micheline Marcon

290. After Claire Tristram

291. The Distance Between Us Masha Hamilton

292. When the Nines Roll Over David Benioff

293. True North Jim Harrison

294. Sammy and Julianna in Hollywood Benjamin Sanez

295. D. B. Elwood Reid

296. This is not Civilization Robert Roseneberg

297. Joy Comes in the Morning Jonathan Rosen

298. O’Brien’s Desk Ona Russell

299. It’s all True David Freeman

300. Firethorn Sarah Micklem (2nd copy)

301. Eventide Kent Haruf

302.. Harbor Lorraine Adams

303. Ibid: A Life Mark Dunn

304. Desire Lindsay Ahl

Thank you VERY much for your generosity, PEN/ Faulkner, what a joy to be able to be involved with this wonderful donation!

Pat, we've also just sent a reimbursement check for $60.07, so please remove it from the cash remaining, thanks. That should make our little fund quite small at this point for reimbursements!

We also have had a shipment donated of $6.04 from Marjorie, thank you very much Marjorie so that needs to be added to the total postage donated!

What a joy this all is, thank you all so much!

My -- we are really humming along here.

Check back. I'll go balance the books and list donations and disbursements.

Thank you, Jane, thank you Pat, yes we're smokin' here, (so much for my math hahaahah 2,000 remains not quite reached yet but there's more on the way, I hear!

WOW! What a list. I want to read "Dancing with Einstein"

Where is the list of books that the prisoner's requested?

Under 2. A above, Judy:

http://www.seniornet.org/php/default.php?PageID=7633

And that is an older list and some prisons/ librararians/ prisoners would like any new bestseller, any poetry of any kind, any Maya Angelou, anything...Stephen King, the Left Behind Series, anything. Clive Cussler, John Grisham, any book about a recent movie, anything.

Books of true crime, excessive descriptions of violence, use of extreme profanity, are not wanted but other than that and covers showing full frontal nudity, anything new goes.

The condition and the newness are rare things donated to prisons. Any Spanish books either in Spanish or English about Spanish, any Learn Spanish books, any Black success stories, anything on the old list, anything in good condition would be wonderful~!~

Added - postage donations from -- Mippy - 2.68 and Marjorie - 6.04.

Thank you, Marjorie and Mippy.

Shipping expenses deducted from Cash Donations -- Pen-Faulkner Books - 145.00 and other shipping - 60.07.

Thank you, Pat and Jane! Whoa! We're down to $48 available to reimburse people for postage! Maybe some donations will come in.

Ginny did you talk to MAM about donating books? I remember she said she would glad too.

No because she did donate books to us at the Beach and we're going to give them away in the Sweetgrass discussion, they are inscribed and probably quite valuable. I think other than that she has done more than enough, I don't think it's right asking her for anything else, she has been tremendously generous to us.

I am well aware of that but at the Isle of Palm's I was telling her she should talk to you about the prison library and she said she would be more than will to donate book's to the prison.

Yesterday I packed 6 boxes of books:

Purple Sage is donating the following books: (They will arrive in 4 boxes.)

Azzopardi, Trezza Remember Me
Azzopardi, Trezza The Hiding Place (hardback)
Gaffney, Patricia The Goodbye Summer (hardback)
Gaskin, Catherine A Falcon for a Queen (hardback)
Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (hardback)
Isaacs, Susan Any Place I Hang My Hat
Korelitz, Jean Hanff The White Rose
Mindell, Earl Herb Bible
Noble, Diane Phoebe (hardback)
Powers, Richard Operation Wandering Soul
Price, Reynolds The Source of Light
Prose, Francine Blue Angel
Schine, Cathleen The Evolution of Jane
Schmais, Libby The Perfect Elizabeth
Shields, Carol Small Ceremonies
Shields, Carol The Republic of Love
Shields, Dave The Pendulum's Path
Siddons, Anne Rivers The House Next Door (hardback)
Simpson, Mona Anywhere but Here
Smith, Ali Hotel World
Smith, Lee Fancy Strut
Stacy, Judith Minthorn Styles by Magie Sweet
Trigiani, Adriana Lucia, Lucia
Trobaugh, Augusta Sophie
Tsukiyama, Gail The Language of Threads
Tsukiyama, Gail The Samurai's Garden
Upcher, Caroline Grace & Favor
Weber, Katharine Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear
Williams, Terry Tempest Pieces of White Shell: A Journey to Navajoland
Wingate, Lisa Good Hope Road
Wolff, Maritta Sudden Rain (hardback)
Wolitzer, Meg Surrender, Dorothy

I am sending the following books:

Adams, Anna Another Woman's Son (large print)
Archer, Jennifer Sandwiched
Becnel, Rexanne Old Boyfriends
Carmichael, C.J. Seattle After Midnight
David, Kay Silent Witness
Ford, Pamela Dear Cordelia (large print)
Hohl, Joan Cutting Through
Kent, Lynnette Single with Kids
Krentz, Jayne Ann The Golden Chance
Macomber, Debbie Family Men
Orwig, Sara Shut Up and Kiss Me
Quinn, Julia How to Marry a Marquis
Simon, Dr. Sidney B. Getting Unstuck
Style , Linda What Madeline Wants
Woods, Sherryl And Baby Makes Three

Marjorie!!! I think that WILL throw us over 2,000!?!

Won't it? Somebody check my math???

The MINTUE they get here I'll come running in, what excitement, thank you and Sage SO much!!

Thank you, Joan K! WASN'T that a list, tho? hahhaha, it took us HOURS just to move them from one pile to the box hahaha There was one I hated to put down, something about People Like Us or something, I made out my own list, some of them are fabulous.

Well of course we ARE going to read one here, Shadow of the Wind, in Pedln's Read Around the World.

For some reason my Subscriptions did not bring me here but now that I am, what a joy!

1987+15+32=2034

Congratulations, everyone! What good work you are doing here. Over 2000 books donated to this important project!! Thank you to each of you.

What great news -- and especially during this particular week!!!

I am currently in Connecticut (at Wally's house, actually) for a week of visiting and then a book reading/signing event on Monday evening in Cambridge Massacusettes.

Tomorrow I will be heading out to York CI to meet face-to-face for the first time with Bonnie Foreshaw.

Then, after spending the weekend visiting various relatives, on Monday it will be Wally, Robin, Tabbi, me, and (drumroll please) Barbara too -- on the road one more time.

Although Barbara and I have remained in contact after her release from prison (via e-mail) this will be my first in-person meeting with her too.

Until today, she was not planning on going with us. Her parole officer refused to budge concerning the "no leaving the state" regulation. But then at the last minute, Wally somehow managed to pull it off. I spoke with Barbara a little while ago, via phone, and she's so elated, as this will be her very first book reading/signing.

We're all very excited about getting together -- and now I have this additional, really exciting news to pass on -- that SN has surpassed the 2000 mark on book donations

You are an amazing group of people, and the day Wally Lamb met all of you was (and I mean this), a very lucky day for all of us.

Thank you, once again, for opening your minds and your hearts, after reading our book. You are the reason we wrote it.

Thank you, Nancy, for the update on the activities of "our authors." I know that we are all pleased that you, Wally, Robin, Tabbi and Barbara will be together at a book reading and signing to spread the word about these important issues.

Oh please Nancy if you get this. TEll Bonnie for me, that I know her life will be calmer and peaceful and that I truly admire her for her honesty and grace in writing about her life.

Whoop!! Nancy!!

WHAT exciting news!! You will have to give everybody TWO big hugs, one from you, one from us, and TWO from us for the MAN!!!

Good luck, how exciting this all is, tell people they can donate books by coming here, we're smokin'!!!

Oh, Nancy, how GREAT! Please give everyone big hugs from me. Tell Bonnie and Barbara that we all love them and are cheering for them.

That Wally is one persuasive guy! Congratulations to all of you, Nancy, Wally, Barbara, Tabbi, and Robin!

Babi

Nancy, that is wonderful news. Good luck to you, Wally, Barbara and the rest of the group. We will all be thinking of you.

As we speak here, Ginny is opening boxes of boxes sent by Pat. I've got the list here, so will post it and get the count updated and Ginny will be in as soon as she climbs over the books and boxes to tell about the shipments!

 



Paretsky, Sara – Blacklist – HB 

Jance, J. C. – Birds of Prey – PB 

Baldacci, David – Saving Faith – PB 

Marston, Edward – The Roaring Boy - PB 

Grisham, John – The Runaway Jury – PB 

Koontz, Dean- The Taking – PB 

Hartzmark, Gini – Principal Defense – PB 

Johansen, Iris – The Search – PB 

Johansen, Iris – Reap the Wind – PB 

Roberts, Nora – Blue Dahlia – PB 

Hillenbrand, Laurs – Seabiscuit - PB 

------------------------------------ 

L’Amour, Louis – Beyond the Great Snow Mountains – HB 

L’Amour, Louis – The Rustlers of West Fork - HB 

L’Amour, Louis – The Trail to Seven Pines – HB 

Grisham, John, - The Partner – HB 

Grisham, John – The Testament - PB 

Baldacci, David – The Winner – HB 

Kellerman, Jonathan – Dr. Death – HB 

Grafton, Sue – L is for Lawless – HB 

Grafton, Sue – B is for Burglar – PB 

Cornwell, Patricia – Portrait of a Killer – PB 

Crichton, Micharl – A Case of Need - PB 

 ------------------------------------ 

 Pronzini/Greenberg - Editors - Cloak and Dagger – HB 

Braun, Lillian Jackson - Three Cat Who novels - HB 

Grisham, John – The Chamber – HB 

Hillerman, Tony – Three Jim Chee Mystries - HB     

Cornwell, Patricia – Cause of Death – HB 

Grafton, Sue – K is for Killer - HB 

-------------------------------- 

Paretsky, Sara - Burn Marks - PB                                  

Paretsky, Sara - Bitter Medicine - PB                                       

Paretsky, Sara - Tunnel Vision - PB                              

Paretsky, Sara - Blood Shot - PB 

Paretsky, Sara - Guardian Angel - PB 

Paretsky, Sara - Indemnity Only - PB 

Paretsky, Sara - Killing Orders - PB 

Paretsky, Sara - Deadlock - PB 

Paretsky, Sara - Hard Time - PB 

Wesley, Valerie Wilson - Where Evil Sleeps - PB 

Koontz, Dean - Strangers - PB 

Fletcher, Jessica & Donald Bain - Murder She Wrote - PB  

    Manhattans & Murder - PB 

    Brandy & Bullets - PB 

    Rum & Razors - PB 
    Martinis & Mayhem - PB

HO!! There is Jane, we're posting together, we're a MACHINE here, thank you Jane, what a list!!!

I'm anxious to hear all the excited news from Nancy about the book tour and what it was like!!!

I hope she will check in here and fill us in on EVERY detail, what excitement!!! I've been thinking about them all week.

Oh golly the road to our house has been busy this week, mid week the PO brought up Marjorie's I think it was 6 boxes and wanted to know what was going on and I told the mail lady, who was suitably impressed. I guess she was more impressed today when a huge shipment from Patwest came and it looks like she had to carry them to the house, and THAT must have been quite a job, they are quite heavy. It's just been a joy to open all these boxes, it's almost like Christmas in September!

THANK you, Marjorie, Sage, and Pat !! (And Andy!)

It's so good of you. Marjorie and Sage the books are so bright and like new, it's hard to believe anybody ever read them! Thank you for the list inside also, so good of you.

Now Marjorie did you indicate the postage on this shipment was donated? Was it $20.67?

Now Pat, what of the postage with yours? Shall I add it up and reimburse you or do you know how much it is??

Pat buys books for us from her local library which collects them for sale. They let her have them for 50 cents each and they are just beautiful. Thank you so much, Pat. Big huge hardbacks with crisp covers and paperbacks in all the desirable authors which also don't ever look read and I see some Louis L'Amour, Pat has shopped carefully. I think that just by the effort being made here this is a good thing, and then when you add TO it what it means to the Librarians and the prisoners, well…it's an awfully good thing, many many thanks!

Look, we're already nearing 2,100!!!! Already, boy o boy. THANK you all, and if Anyone is reading this and you have any bestseller, or great book you've finished with taking room on your shelves unwanted, in good condition, other than the restrictions above or any good book, please don't hesitate to let us know, and join our Honor Roll of Donors, it's really a good thing.

Also we have received a cash donation in cash for $100, will you please add that, Pat to our funds available, and thank you, Donor, it could not come at a better time!

We have a huge shipment here waiting for the SC Department of Corrections, thanks to you all!

GINNY: I believe the postage was $24.48 and it is a donation.

Thank you SO much Marjorie, very generous of you considering all your other efforts, very inspiring the way you pack thsoe books and donate them, many many thanks!

Thanks, Marjorie..

Look at our chart of Postage donated.

http://www.seniornet.org/gallery/bookclubs/prisonedu/a.cash.postage.CHART.htm

Thank you very much for those generous donations. And thank you, Pat, for such good tracking.

Thank you, Pat for that great record keeping, and here's another one to add to your list: a gift of $20.00 from a Friend of the Prison Library Project.

I like that designation, I think we'll have to change our Honor Roll to be Honor Roll of Friends of the Prison Library Project.

Thank you very much, Friend of the Project!

We'll need that money because on Tuesday we may need to assist the Librarians of the SC Prison system in additional purchases from the Friends of the Libraries here in upstate SC, I think it's going to be a very exciting morning, I'll report back when it's over. Our little project here has certainly affected a LOT of people, it's a good thing!

I am so excited to tell you that I have just come from a meeting of the SC state prison librarians and the Friends of the Libraries of Spartanburg County who very generously donated their time and their books and/ or reduced the price of the books they did charge for to the most tiny level, and when the excitement of the day was over, the prisons of South Carolina are…hold on to your hat… 1,926 books richer!

The Friends of the Libraries have their books waiting for sale in some store front properties, beautifully arranged by genre and within that, by author, and since part of their mission is to aid literacy, they donated a good many books, and charged practically nothing for the others, and the librarians carefully chose books for themselves and also the satellite prisons which do not have libraries, it was a wonderful morning. There are 19 prisons in SC.

As we continue to broker these associations, we will not have the titles and authors to bring here, but we do have a very careful count, thanks to the cooperation of all, it was a wonderful day and we can be proud of our part in this terrific Happening!

The frightening thing is The Friends just had their big sale of the fall and made $10,000 dollars! Imagine what it must have looked like before we got there, , we didn't make a dent in it, but I got some ideas more of what they would like also. They really know their books, too, and the populations they serve.

I really liked the statement of the President of the Friends, who took off her job to come open the store and the Secretary of the Friends who came with her, they said, "if it helps one person get a book to read, it's worth it."

157 books were selected for those facilities in Spartanburg County and the rest were 88 hardbacks and 1,681 paperbacks for the rest of the state, for a grand total of 1,926 books in all.

Hooray for SeniorNet's Prison Library Project, the Friends of the Libraries and the South Carolina Prison Librarians! As Martha would say, it's a good thing!

What a wonderful event, Ginny! Kudos to you for making that association with the Friends of the Library. The number of books has almost doubled!!

Thank you, Marcie. Isn't that incredible? And the beauty of this thing is that every little bit counts. Every single book sent by somebody who reads this counts, and goes directly to the libraries, and is very much needed, because the librarians were sent up to get books for the satellite libraries, not their own: there are 19 prison libraries in SC but only about 5 librarians. As librarians retire or move on, they are not replaced, librarians are expensive, so corrections officers take over the libraries or teachers in the schools try to assist and yesterday the state sent up the librarians to choose for the satellite libraries which don't have a librarian.

The local county prison librarian who serves two prison libraries, including the one in the heading, chose for herself, and is also looking out for a county satellite library which just lost its librarian, hers were donated free of charge, as her prisons are in the local county. A couple of the librarians carefully chose a few for their own population's wish lists, but the emphasis was on providing for the satellites: the majority of the books were labelled carefully for outlying prison libraries with nobody to speak for them.

I used, Pat, our entire 48 dollars above, andn the new $20 dollar donation by the Friend of the PLP noted above, and donated 50 myself so our grand total of funds now available to reimburse postage or buy any new books is 2 bucks. hahaah We could use more donations sent to SeniorNet which are tax deductible, see heading, and many more books for the main libraries which have librarians, which are pretty much in the same state they were on Monday.

I don't post much in here any more but know that I choke up with joy as I read your post on what you are doing here and have not to my knowledge yet, a big Thanks to all of you for what you are doing.

With much apprieciation, Ginger

Hello everyone.

SeniorNet has received two offers of potential books that may or may not be acceptable to/wanted by prison libraries. There also is an issue of needing money to pay for postage.

The first offer is from a group with textbooks which I understand are not wanted by the South Carolina prison system with which we currently work.

For both this offer (from NY) and the other offer, which is from California, I am wondering if you would want to consider expanding the prison systems with which you are working? There may be some prisons closer to the organizations that want to donate.

Would you want to brainstorm these opportunities here and decide what actions, if any, you would want to take?

Ginny is the overall volunteer manager for our Prison Library Project and the regional coordinator for South Carolina. Maybe there are roles that some of the rest of you would be willing to take?

Is there a way to duplicate your success in South Carolina in other prison systems? Does anyone have ideas for generating new prison contacts as well as postage donations? Do you want to work on identifying a grant that we could pursue? Other ideas?

I'll post the two offers in separate messages.

My name is Jenna and I am a sophomore at Fordham University in Bronx, NY. I am a member of the Prison Reform group on campus, and we would love to help out with your Prison Library Project. We have a significant number of books, specifically college text books, subjects ranging from economics to english to sociology. Our only concern is the shipping and handling fees. Our group is non profit with a small budget, and shipping many books from NY to California could be costly. I was wondering if you offer any compensation in that area? Please let me know, as we would love to be of service to you.

Thank you,
Jenna Felz
Fordham University
Dance16888@aol.com

My name is Russ Hatfield. I am the coordinator for a small SeniorNet Center here in Fallbrook, CA.

Among my many other volunteer projects is pricing and stocking computer technology related books at the Bottom Shelf, a component of the Friends of the Fallbrook Library (FFL). My wife is the manager of the store, so I get to help with lots of chores. One of those chores is dumping the overflow selection of books or if there is insufficient space to store/stock the books. My guess is that I dump 4-5 thousand books per week.

The Bottom Shelf is a very popular spot in this small town, mostly because the books are priced right (.10 cents up to 4.00) We also have 140 volunteers that maintain a schedule of 6 days per week.

My point is: We dumps lots of very high quality books, both hard back as well as soft covers. We raise about $100K per year for the Library. All the funds raised go to support the Fallbrook Library. I would like to see the books put to better use and consequently reduce our trash pick up fees.

I would be happy to discuss this with the Bottom Shelf. I doubt if they can divert any funds for mailing as our constitution is very specific on use of funds. Possibly there is 3rd party out there some where that could arrange shipping/pick up if we sorted the books according to your criteria.

BTW, there is a Bottom Shelf working to support each Library throughout San Diego County. I am sure the feeling are the same in all Bottom Shelf stores, we all hate to see good books go in the dumpster.

Discuss this with you project folks and let me know if there is anything we can do to help.

Thanks

Russ Hatfield
Fallbrook Learning Center
farmer@tfb.com

Both offers sound interesting. But I agree that it would be helpful if we could help in the states the books are being offered. I dont live in either. Dont mind donating for postage, but the numbers involved mean that if we could transport the books, it would be a lot less expensive.

Good point, Stephanie, about transportation. Does anyone have any ideas about how to contact the libraries in the prison systems in the States involved? Should we try to see if the South Carolina Prison system has any contacts we can use?

Thank you, Marcie, for posting those two new possible affliations for us here.

This might make a super new set of adjuncts to our program here, I am glad to see them.

My thoughts are that we need to involve Russ here and make him one of our associates, too, and then see if he is willing to contact the CA Superintendent of Edcuation for the Prisons in CA or see how that is set up, we found South Caroina's entire set up, wardens, prisons, Superintendent, etc., on the internet, and called and wrote a letter.

Maybe we could ask if there are any SeniorNetters, also, in CA who might be willing to help locate and contact these prisons, we have a pretty good track record of supplying what prisons (now in 2 states) want in the way of books, I would love to see it grow statewise.

How should we proceed with these two new initiatives and contacts? What can we do to help? How's the best way to organize this?

We need to....?

Find out the names of the state superintendents in NY and CA

Find out what types of books they want

Find out what types of books, age, condition, that Russ and Jenna have

and maybe we can match up those who want to help with those who might like to receive it?

What other suggestions do you all have? We have a national Forum here and we should use it, we have a track record of success, let's expand!

Thank you Ginger, it IS a good thing.

On Wednesday afternoon of this week the Superintendent of Education of the SC Prison system came by and picked up an entire truck load of books we had for them, and I was very proud of the quality of the books, many looked like new and most were extraordinary, many many thanks to those of you donating books! I have to give a special thanks also to Marjorie and Sage whose generosity is wonderful, many many thanks, your books are very much appreciated!

This afternoon one of the local prison librarians came by also and picked up two boxes for her own prison, she said that they have a request which she thought she had filled but can't find the book, so if you have a copy anywhere of Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler in good condition, we'd love to have it if you have no further use for it, that's a direct request.

We have two wonderful new donors to add to our Honor Roll today and some wonderful books. I just love opening these boxes and seeing the care that has gone into them. Betty is our latest new donor, thank you so MUCH, Betty, and she not only sent a list along in email first she also put one in each of the boxes and she has very kindly donated the postage, Pat for a total of $8.96, thank you so much, Betty!

Here are the titles, these are in super condition, I know they will be glad of them, it's just the type of books that they love and they bought at the big Friends sale:

Loves Music, Loves to Dance: Mary Higggins Clark

The Desert Crop: Catherine Cookson

Red, Red Boton: Stephen Gallaghher

Snow Falling on Cedars: Davit Guterson

A Walk to Remember: Nicholas Sparks

The Rescue: Nicholas Sparks

Cypress Point: Diane Chamberlain

Moonlight Becomes You: Mary Higgins Clark

Remember Me: Mary Higgins Clark

Don't Cry Now: Joy Fielding

Plantation: Dorothea Benton Frank

Silent Witness: Richard North Patterson

Midnight Bayou: Nora Roberts

The Human Stain: Philip Roth

Fortune's Rocks: Anita Shreve

The Last Time They Met: Anita Shreve

The Weight of Water: Anita Schreve

An Act of Love: Nancy Thayer

John Wayne, My Fahter: Aissa Wayne

Thank you, Betty, for your generosity! Jane will add you to our Honor Roll of Donors in the morning. We're proud to have you!

In addition we've had a most generous donation to our Cash Funds of $50 from our Jane, thank you Jane!!! Most appreciated, we were down to $2!!!

Wonderful project and very heartwarming to see so many people's good will.

Anybody got Mediterranean Caper (I think that's the title) by Clive Cussler you can send asap?

Thank you for those new donations...4022 books!

Isn't this wonderful! I was in Barnes & Noble Wednesday and thought I'd just look up Mediterranean Caper and see if it was new or whatever and it's an old paperback, so snatched it up, so Jane please add Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler to our list.

I overheard one of the librarians say about a certain author, "I can't keep it on my shelves," so have asked for a list of those books, we may have one of them just sitting on our shelves that we don't want! Stay tuned and thank you all for your very kind donations, when you open the boxes you can see the good will and care that have gone into them!

I have two more boxes of books I am sending (hopefully today).

Abbott, Laura    Second Honeymoon
Bretton, Barbara    Maybe This Time
Carroll, Marisa    Marriage by Necessity
Cooper, Inglath    Unfinished Business
David, Kay    Not Without Her Son
Edwards, Andrea    A Ring and a Promise
Fox, Roz Denny    Mad About the Major
Frazier, Amy    The Trick to Getting a Mom
Graham, Darlene    Born Under the Lone Star
Jensen, Muriel    Bride by Surprise
Krentz, Jayne Ann    Midnight Jewels
Krentz, Jayne Ann    Smoke in Mirrors
Macomber, Debbie    Yours and Mine
Muriel, Jensen    Bride by Surprise
Quinn, Early, & Macdonald    Harlequin Celebrates 25 Years
Rice, Luanne    Dance with Me
Rustand, Roxanne    Back in Texas
Schramski, Mary    What to Keep
Siddons, Anne Rivers    Fox's Earth
Sutherland, Peg    Abracadabra
Thompson, Vicki Lewis    Bachelor Father

P.S. JANE: The listing of "Quick, Early & MacDonald" is one book with 3 stories. There is another one that also has 3 stories all by the same author.

Marjorie...were there two copies of this one...or was that a typo?

Muriel, Jensen Bride by Surprise

Jensen, Muriel Bride by Surprise

Thank you, Marjorie, and our "tabulator" Jane.

JANE: There was only one copy of that book. The author is Muriel Jensen and it is another book with 3 stories in it. I goofed.

Thank you Marjorie, that's wonderful of you and Sage, and we got word of another shipment coming too, whee!

That's what I assumed, Marjorie, so I counted it just once.

Thanks!!

jane

I mailed 2 boxes yesterday. Total postage of $5.49 is a donation.

Thank you Marjore, that is so kind of you, much appreciated!!!

The Postage donated chart has been updated.

Thanks, Marjorie. You and Sage have sure sent a lot of books.

PAT: We read a lot and buy our books rather than go to the library. That is a lot of books sitting around -- many of them will not be reread.

Today, I mailed a box of 9 hard back books.

Turow, Scott - Personal Injuries - HB
Francis, Dick - Shattered - HB
Grisham, John - The Bretheran - HB
Abramson, Leslie - The Defense is Ready - HB
Greeley, Andrew - An Occasion of Sin - HB
Clark, Mary Higgins - Before I Say Goodbye - HB
Grafton, Sue - R is for Ricochet - HB
Kellerman, Jonathan - A Cold Heart - HB
Parker, Robert B. - Trouble in Paradise -- HB

Thank you, Pat!

I sent out six boxes of books today. SAGE's books and mine were combined in a couple of the boxes.

From PURPLE SAGE (all but one is hardback):

Cusk, Rachel The Lucky Ones

Rice, Luanne Blue Moon

Rice, Luanne Cloud Nine

Rice, Luanne Safe Harbor

Rice, Luanne Summer of Roses

Rice, Luanne Summer's Child

Siddons, Anne Rivers Colony (2 copies)

Siddons, Anne Rivers Fox's Earth

Siddons, Anne Rivers Hill Towns (2 copies)

Siddons, Anne Rivers Homeplace

Siddons, Anne Rivers Islands

Siddons, Anne Rivers John Chancellor Makes Me Cry

Siddons, Anne Rivers King's Oak

Siddons, Anne Rivers Nora, Nora

Siddons, Anne Rivers Outer Banks

Siddons, Anne Rivers Peachtree Road

Siddons, Anne Rivers Up Island

From me (all paperback):

Bache, Ellyn Riggs Park

O'Brien, Kathleen The One Safe Place

Quinn, Tara Taylor The Heart of Christmas

Roszel, Renee The Billionaire Daddy

Shay, Katheryn Finally a Family

Stockham, Kay Montana Secrets

Sutherland, Peg A Father's Vow

My goodness, Marjorie, thank you, and thank Sage for your incredible generosity, I just had two boxes come yesterday evening from you and can't WAIT to open them, you've mentioned them here earlier tho so they've been counted, but just wanted to say they got here safely!

Many many thanks!

Thank you, Jane, for your accurate counting, WOW 4,078 books!! That's something ELSE! Thanks to all of you!

Thank you, Marjorie and Sage. You sure do read a lot and the PLP is benefitting from that and your generosity!

I am a member of three groups who save books and magazines they have read and pass them on to me. I take them to our Waushara County Jail in Wautoma,WI. The items are checked over by the guards so no objectable material reaches the inmates. I make it a point to remind donors to remember there are female inmates who appreciate items for them. The County Jail accepts soft and hard cover books whereas the Redgranite State Prison accepts only soft cover books. Bev M. Wautoma

Wonderful, Bev. I'm sure the County Jail people appreciate your effort.

jane

Welcome, Bev! We are delighted to see you here and to hear of your effort, this is wonderful. Do stay and talk to us about what you're doing as you do it, it may inspire others to do the same!

I've just gotten box after box of books from Marjorie and Patwest, the mail lady drives up honking now hahahaha it's an EVENT here!! The spare room is filling up again, it's a GOOD thing!

How did you get started in your work, Bev? What gave you the idea? Did you have any trouble initially?

Welcome, Bev. Thank you for letting us know of your donations to the Waushara County Jail. I'm sure that they appreciate your generosity and care.

Just to note again and I see that Pat and Marjorie have listed above the contents, but just to note a lovely shipment received (it's really quite exciting here when the mail lady brings up the parcels, honking, it's like a celebration) and the books are beautiful (and listed above) and beautifully packed. I think it says a lot for our project for us to have supplied 4,078 fine books to the SC and CT prison library systems and would like for all of you to know how proud and thankful we are for you in this season of Thanksgiving.

Keep them coming! I hope to have some new donors to report soon!

We have received three big boxes of books from Sandy Bridgforth and St. Timothy's Episcopal Church which I will list here as soon as I can, they look wonderful and we very much appreciate this, thank you Sandy and St. Timothy's!!!

Yes, thank you Sandy and St. Timothy's!

I want to thank each of you who have participated in the Prison Library Project this past year for all you've contributed. Happy holidays to you.

SeniorNet received the following handwritten letter from someone who is in a prison in Maryland. I am not sure what type of assistance he is looking for to help him in the future when he is released. Perhaps some of you might be able to direct him to some resources.

***** Letter

*****

Dear Sir,

I am an incarcerated, honorably-discharged Army veteran, 55, with hopes of being released in a few years to start a new life for myself.

I am single and have no family or friends to help me and our library has no access to the internet and I am hoping that you can give me some information as to how I can meet people who would write to me here and search the internet for contacts.

It is our responsibility to find contacts and all I have is paper, pen, envelopes and stamps. Our state pay of only $19/mo. Is not enough for me to join clubs and participate in Newsletters that have a membership fee.

Your help in finding contacts for me is greatly appreciated.

Michael S. Sayko
13800 McMullen Hwy.
Cumberland, MD 21502

Please excuse for butting in but I was sure you'ld like to read this from a Shakespeare for prisoners project reported in The Guardian

Cold Turkey

It's addictive. First time's never enough.

You wanna taste it again and again.

Without it, believe me life can be tough.

You think it's easy to quit? Think again.

Just thinkin' of it makes me excited.

Anxious. Like a little kid. I can't wait.

I've tried. I really have tried to fight it

But the feeling you get - the buzz - it's great.

It gives you confidence to be "the man",

Fighting raging bulls like a De Niro.

Makes you invincible: like Superman.

Only there's no kryptonite for this hero.

You wanna try this drug? Go on. Here.

Don't worry. It's harmless. It's just Shakespeare.

DR HMP Pentonville

simon.jenkins@guardian.co.uk

MALLYLEE: Thanks. I enjoyed that.

I have just shipped 2 boxes of books to Ginny,

Lamb, Wally – I Know This Much Is True – HB
Grisham, John – The Summons -- HB
Proulx, Annie – That Old Ace in the Hole – HB
Archer, Jeffrey – The Fourth Estate – HB
Potok, Chaim – In the Beginning – HB
Paretsky, Sara – Bitter Medicine – HB
Baldacci, David – The Christmas Train – HB
Clark, Mary Higgins – All Through the Night – HB
Wells, Rebecca – Ya-Ya Sisterhood – PB
Churchill, Jill – Love for Sale -- HB
Kidd, Sue Monk – The Mermaid Chair – HB
Grafton, Sue – P is for Peril – HB
Clark, Mary Higgins – I’ll Be Seeing You – HB
Paretsky, Sara – Burn Marks – HB
Lott, Brett – Jewel – PB
Roberts, Nora – Tears of the Moon – PB
Brown, Dale – Silver Tower – PB
Braun, Lillian Jackson – The Cat Who Saw Stars – PB
Davidson, Diane Mott – The Last Suppers – PB
Grisham, John – The Street Lawyer – PB
Grisham, John – The Brethren – PB
Roberts, Nora – Jewels of the Sun – PB
Eco, Umberto -- The Name of the Rose -- PB

Thank you SO much, Pat! Those are wonderful books, and you always pick out so carefully such good editions they look new. I am still writing the titles from St. Timothy's and we might be nearing 4,200!!! Many many thanks! I can't wait for them to come, it's always an event here.

Just a note to remind everybody. If you are shipping books to Moore, SC, you need to be sure that you have emailed me they are coming. If I am not notified I won't know they're there and they WILL send them back, please be sure to let me know when you have mailed them and thank you VERY much!

Thank you, Pat, for those popular titles. You've pushed the project over 4,100!

Hi,

I would like to donate a copy of my book, "AA-Not the Only Way; Your One Stop Resource Guide to 12-Step Alternatives." This book has been endorsed by some of the top addiction experts, and is also being sold by NAADAC-The National Association of Addiction Professionals, because they recognize the importance of this publication, not only to the professional addiction community, but to those suffering with drug and alcohol problems and their loved ones. I think the material in this book would greatly benefit people who have been incarcerated, as many are in prison due to a drug-related offense. Please let me know if I can donate a copy to your program. Thank you.

Melanie Solomon aanottheonlyway@yahoo.com www.aanottheonlyway.com

Thank you Melanie for your kind donation of one of your books, I will email you the mailing address where you can ship it.

Many thanks!

Pat the books you sent have arrived and are absolutely wonderful, thank you so much and in getting Marjorie and Sage's out of the boxes I am struck anew by their great generosity: such wonderful books in such good condition. Thanks to all of you! It's a good thing.

We have several items of exciting news of great interest to bring here as soon as we can get ourselves in order, our SeniorNet Prison Library Project is expanding! Stay tuned for more!

Happy Birthday, Ginny!

Thank you, Mippy, much appreciated and we have TWO new donors tonight who are sending books! Very exciting! More on this when they arrive, thank you all so much!

We have received two very nice new copies of Melanie Solomon's new book AAA Not the Only Way which she also very nicely inscribed, thank you so much Melanie.

We have received 20 books from Sandy B and an additional 81 books from Sandy and St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, thank you very much Sandy and St. Timothy's.

I've also had word that we have another donation on the way, our grateful thanks to ALL of you for your generosity!

We have received word that the PEN/ Faulkner Award will donate the books submitted for the 2006 PEN/ Faulkner Award to our Project, thank you SO much PEN/ Faulkner. These books are brand new and many of them have already won prizes in other venues, we are so grateful for these wonderful books, of which there are hundreds, and our association with the PEN/ Faulkner Awards.

We are about to branch out into two new states, and everyone is encouraged to do what he can in his own area, what excitement! The sky's the limit and there's lots to do: let's see how far you can help take it!

How Exciting. The spread to other states is worthwhile to be sure.

What great news, Ginny. Thank you to all of our generous donors. I think it will be exciting for us all to work here to develop a model(s) and guidelines to support individuals or groups in other regions who want to extend our Prision Library Project into other prison systems.

Pat emailed me that she's sent 14 books on to Ginny...so those and Sandy B's and St. Timothy's have now been added to our list.

Thank you Jane, thank you Stephanie and Marcie, it's going to be very exciting to see these new outreaches, the people involved are very impressive!

Thank you Pat, I can't wait to see them, thank you for taking your time to scout out such beautiful books from your library sales!!!

Ginny, I have another box ready, but will wait for your return.

Happy traveling and keep in touch.

Thank you for the recent (and coming!) donations. This project has really taken hold and I'm looking forward to the planning for expansion into other prison systems.

Yes and now we are honored to have yet another fine person in another state want to begin a project, and we'll be talking about that here as soon as we can assemble everybody (or maybe just start soon).

We've received a box of 7 very fine books in super condition both hardback and paperback, from Judy L, and we appreciate these, very much! Many thanks, Judy!

Pat, Judy is donating the postage, I forgot to say of $4.86, thank you so much, Judy! So that can go in our Postage Donated column.

Thank you very much, Judy, for the donation of books and postage!

How wonderful that we have a group interested in expanding this fine program into a prison system in another state.

Ok we're going to get started talking here today about how people can start their own State Prison Library Projects, we've had 3 states now approach us and we need to begin helping others get started.

We'll be changing the heading around, sometime tomorrow, to begin to focus on this information but I want to start the ball rolling now with a few beginning focus points so that together we can build a few Guidelines for other states. We look forward to hearing your own input and experiences, those of you who are trying in your own areas.

It's NOT easy, for several reasons, but it IS very rewarding.

So I'll just start in the next post, and then we'll wait to hear from others who are interested in trying this in their areas. Every state will be different, every state prison system is set up differently. We here are a National project with donations coming from all over and we'd love to see something going locally in your area. Because we are national we've had experience contacting local prisons in several states, and we'd like to hear your own triumphs and setbacks. We won't use the names of the officials involved, just our efforts in how to get started.

See next post:

Want to start your own project locally? Let's plan!

For starters you need:

A prison system willing to receive the books. This may be more difficult than you think. Always start with the Superintendent of Education for the entire state. Their names are on the internet under the Department of Corrections for that state.

Not all states are organized that well, your task will be to find ONE prison authority, as high as you can go, who will agree to receive books. If you're lucky, you can donate books to the entire system through the state administrative offices.

Books of good quality which they would like. They, again, get a lot of nasty moldy dumped books. They are wary of getting more. I recall the Superintendent of the SC Prison systems actually came out to my HOUSE to view the books first.

The source of these books can be anything: local churches, local civic groups, or people responding to your address from several sites. We can list you here so people who are donating don't have to send so far out of state. We can list you on our RTV pages. You will have to reimburse them the postage if you get into mailed books and we can talk about that also, but if you can work locally the only cost will be your own labor. That might be the smartest way to go.

We also have the opportunity for national representation at the Library of Congress. This year again the PEN/ Faulkner has promised us their books. We might, depending on the degree of attachment to our program, be able to share these with satellite groups: they are brand new and those submitted for prizes at this year's contest. Also other groups have approached our representative about donating. We are a national project and do receive national offers: that's a possibility.

It's a toss up which comes first: the book or the prison. The prison authorities are going to be shy, naturally, because they regularly have dumped on them all manner of trash that they have to sort thru, so IF you have fine books when you come calling then you would make more of an impression.

If you don't have the books first then you may have a more difficult time.

Let's discuss which comes first and see how many states we can get rolling!

What are your own experiences so far?

We have received 11 very fine books in splendid condition, like new hardbacks and some best sellers from "A Friend," packed beautifully for which we are very grateful!

They include several books by Mary Higgins Clark, Timeline by Michael Crichton, the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and several in the James Patterson series, thank you very much!

The postage has been donated as well of $5.64.

The "spare room" has been pretty much taken over by Prison Library Project books, what a satisfactory thing this is, and so we'll soon need to make a run to the Prison Authorities! And THEN we'll have the PEN/ Faulkner new books nominated for prizes, coming this summer!

I need to touch base with our local excellent prison librarian to see how her new association with the Friends of the Libraries is going, too.

Thank you for the donation of those books and postage. This project is amazing!

I have some more romances boxed and ready to send to GINNY:

Adams, Anna Marriage in Jeopardy
Adams, Anna Unexpected Marriage
Alexander, Carrie A Family Christmas
Arnold, Judith Birthright
Arnold, Judith Dr. Dad
Arnold, Judith Found: One Wife
Arnold, Judith Married to the Man
Bowen, Judith A Home of His Own
Brashear, Jean Sweet Mercy
Cooney, Ellen A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies (hardback
Cox, Suzanne A Different Kind of Man
David, Kay Not Without Cause
Diamond, Jacqueline Illegally Yours
Dunaway, Michele Unwrapping Mr. Wright
Early, Margot How to Get Married
Evans, Ann Misfit Father
Evans, Ann That Man Matthews
Fox, Roz Denny The Water Baby
Fox, Roz Denny Welcome to MyFamily
Gable, Susan The Mommy Plan
Gardner, Darlene Million to One
Gray, Ginna Motive for Marriage
Handleman, Lori The Mommy Quest
Holm, Stef Ann Pink Moon
Hudson, Jan The Cop
Hutchinson, Bobby Past Lies
Jackson, Lisa A Fortune's Children Christmas
Jensen, Muriel Season of Shadows
Jordan, Penny Second-best Husband
Kent, Lynette Abby's Christmas
Kilby, Joan Party of Three
Lyons, Judith The Million Dollar Cowboy
Macomber, Debbie 'Tis the Season
Macomber, Debbie 50 Harbor Street
McMahon, Barbara The Girl Who Came Back
McSparren, Carolyn Over His Head
Neggers, Carla Dark Sky
Nichols, Nadia Everything to Prove
Nicholson, Peggy More Than a Cowboy
Penney, Julia Her Sister's Keeper
Rustand, Roxanne Operation: Mistletoe
Skye, Christina Code Name: Nanny
Stone, Katherine Star Light, Star Bright
Style, Linda The Witness
Sutherland, Peg Pirate Moon
Thacker, Cathy Gillen A Cowboy Kind of Daddy
Watson, Margaret Family First
Waverly, Shannon Catheryn
Way, Margaret The Cattleman

With Marjorie's wonderful donation of 49 titles, we're now at 4283!

Wow, Marjorie. What a huge donation. Thank you!

I last sent books in early November and the books I send are small ones that don't take long to read. I am glad to finally get them packed and in the mail. I am also delighted that other people will get to enjoy them.

We have found a prison willing to take books without a lot of red tape. Right now we (local People of Faith Against the Death Penalty) group is thinking we will all just solicit donations from groups and churches we belong to and see what happens. We are not sure what the advantages of being part of the official national Prison Library Project would be. Does anyone have things to share about this? AT this time we don't have lots of people with time to work on another project, but want to see this happen. Sue Jezorek, Greensboro, NC

Welcome, Sue! I am sorry to be a bit delayed here and I am so glad you made it in! We are delighted and excited to have you here from the People of Faith Against the Death Penalty in North Carolina, and eager to hear of your experiences!! Good for you! YAY Sue!

What made you think of the idea originally? We're in the process of setting up steps that other states (two others have now contacted us and are on the way in, hopefully, ) can use in easing their own path, and it looks like you've made great strides on your own: you've got a prison willing to receive the books, that's super. THAT'S a big step!!!

So you just contacted the State Department of Corrections and they had the persons to talk to listed right online? Or? How would you advise people to go about this first, which comes first with you, the chicken or the egg? The prison or the books first?

We had the books and not the prison, I think it makes a lot more sense to have the prison first, tho again the quality of the books is very important. Prisons get a ton of junk dumped on them. Then you can ask as you've said can ask at churches or local organizations for the books. Do you have a place to store them? We have some more in Indiana in another "warehouse," too. Will you be keeping the project local for the time being or are all the state prisons headquartered in Greensboro? (I know nothing of NC)? This is SOOO exciting!

What sort of Guidelines did they give you? We'll be talking about the benefits of mutual association as we go and trying to think up ways we can benefit each other. As you can see, this is a national project, and it would suit me and probably everybody else here if it were in every state! You're the first one the FIRST one!! to actually make it in, I am so excited about your initiative there, good for you!

For instance, Marjorie here is on the West Coast and is sending what appears to be quite a few super books, thank you Marjorie, so much! In this area online as the originators of the project, we can let people know about the project all over the world, tho it does not seem feasible to ship from abroad. Or Canada. We have a large audience here online. We can involve a lot of organizations in every state to help, too, and I think that would be a good goal for us here, now, too, which we can also talk about.

I must break off and say Marjorie, your and Sage's books are always like new and so beautifully packed, we appreciate them and both of you SO much! Thank you Jane for doing the count as well.

We appreciate this opportunity to work with other states, together here, and to that end we've gotten up some preliminary Guidelines in the heading here under "Two Opportunities to be Part of This National Project: " Start a Prison Library Project or be a Branch in Your Own State

Since we've just recently been contacted by so many other states, and this is new to us, too, it will be a good thing to work this out together. Most people don't know where to begin.

For instance, Sue, it sounds like you've got a lot of super ideas, even tho there are few of you in number, that's ok. You've got the prison now you need the books (that's really pretty good considering they don't know what you are planning to bring them).

Have you all set any goals for the future? What are you all hoping to achieve, that is, if you could achieve whatever you wanted, what would be your goals? What's succeeding and what's not? (We can certainly talk about THAT too). What would YOU suggest for somebody trying to start out in another state?

I like your idea of local organizations and churches, and I assume the prison is close enough for you to just carry the books over, so being a local Greensboro project will save you lots of postage. What are your plans for books donated that the prisons don't want or that are not acceptable? Is one person going to go thru them all or be the one who makes that decision?

Some other ideas:

Have you contacted your local branch of the Friends of the Library? Does your local library have used book sales? Most Friends of the Library organizations have as part of their mission the promotion of reading in the prisons. They will often donate to the county prisons what those librarians would like to have, has anybody checked into those possibilities?

You might try, once you begin to donate books to the local prison and they see you are earnest and supplying books of quality, to see if you can contact the librarian there who might be willing to ask the prisoners, as we have in SC, to make lists of books they really would want and you could advertise those here, for that matter, and maybe somebody would have them. They have very small budgets and can't afford often what's wanted.

That's two things we've done in the last year which have really seemed to be appreciated? Let's brainstorm some other possibilities between us, there are a LOT of books going to waste out there!!! I wonder if the big B&N stores which return books now marked 75 percent off back to the publishers, who pulp them, might want to donate?? ??

And that's another question, Sue: will you rely solely on donations or will you also have funds donated, and then try to buy books??

What other ideas do any of you have? Let's TALK! Welcome, welcome, Sue!

Greetings and Salutations to Ginny and all: I am new to the world of message boards, Senior Net and I am just testing this message thing out. I came across this project while researching on the internet and emailed Ginny about a month ago. I want to start a project in CT. I will read the messages you folks have posted and then talk to you all about what my first step is. I have had some limited contact previously with CT Department of Corrections on another matter and have found them difficult to reach, both literally and figuratively. Their main argument for not accepting books for prisoners is that there is no library space for books. What they consider a library is a joke. It consists of about 6 books that are old and collecting dust. I will read through what you all have posted and then get back to you. I welcome any and all support with this. Thanks.

Kathryn

Welcome, welcome, CT Kathryn, head of the new Proposed Connecticut Prison Library Project! How exciting it is to see that in print!!

You MADE IT!! I am so proud of you.

You have already identified a stumbling block: the lack of local or state prison libraries in your area! If there are no libraries, there are likely no librarians, this is a problem.

How can we find out? (We know of ONE prison librarian in CT, at York at Niantic), if he is still there. However I believe that is a Federal Prison. I wonder if there are other prison librarians. We would need to find this out, first, so you can target on a small scale one prison library, maybe, with a librarian. Yet it's always more efficient to go straight to the State Administration.

Does your state have any listing of a Superintendent of Education for the entire state? Bless your courageous heart for taking this on, this is very exciting!

For those looking in, it's not always easy TO get, or even to FIND a prison willing to accept books in your area, as we've said. Most of the prisons don't have that individual authority: it comes from the State DOC and Superintendent of Education, usually listed on their website, if they have one... Departments of Correction have been stung in the past by being a dumping ground for nasty old unwanted books, and now we can see that there may, in fact, not be a budget FOR libraries, much less real librarians, who are quite expensive, on a payroll. So it's no wonder local prisons don't want to touch it, what would they do with the books? Yet reading surely is part of any rehabilitation program.

What can we do to help?

KATHRYN, I do hope you can find some entry that will allow us to get books to the Conn. prisons. I would go mad shut up with nothing to read! I can't imagine a prison system that would not have books available for the inmates. At the very least it would give them something to do besides look for trouble, right?

I had no luck with the Texas prison system here. They do have libraries and librarians, but they were not willing to work with us so that we would know what to send. It was more of; 'if you want to send us books, we'll look at them. If there's anything we want, fine; if not we'll toss them'. Naturally, we did not want to waste books and postage costs to send books to be thrown away.

Good luck to you. I think all of us 'bookies' have overcrowded shelves and would be glad to donate books for Conn. prisons.

Babi

Patwest has sent 2 additional boxes to Ginny...

James, P. D. - The Murder Room - HB

Perry, Anne – Slaves of Obsession – HB

Lowell, Elizabeth – Die in Plain Sight - PB

Tepper, Sheri S. – The Family Tree – PB

Cornwell, Patricia – Southern Cross - PB

McEwan, Ian – Saturday – PB

Hoag, Tami – Lucky’s Lady - PB

Heald, Tim(editor) – A Classic Christmas Crime – PB

Howarth, Stephen – The Knights Templar – HB

Metzler, Brad – The Millionaires – HB

Grisham, John – A Painted House - HB

McCourt, Malachy – A Monk Swimming – HB

Grisham, John – Bleachers - HB

McCarry, Charles - Old Boys - HB

Brown, Dan - The DaVinci Code - HB

Patterson, Richard North - No Safe Place - HB

Harrison, Jim - True North - HB

Grisham, John - The Testament – HB

Braun, Lilian Jackson - Cat Who Talked Turkey – HB

Beaton, M. C. - Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House -- HB

Adans, Alina - Muder on Ice - HB

George, Elizabeth - A Suitable Vengeance – PB

Krakauer, Jon – Under the Banner of Heaven – PB

Thank you SO much Pat!!! Your books are always in wonderful condition and I can't wait for them to get here. Marjorie, your own wonderful books arrived, and they are gorgeous, I don't believe you and Sage read them at all!

Thank you both so much.

Pat goes to her local Library Book Sales and buys FOR us and this is another thing people can do, for any project, they can be on the lookout for books the prisons have said (if you can get the prison librarian to ask them or make her own list) they would like, it's amazing how many turn up on the shelves of library sales, because everybody else wants to read them too.

Thank you Jane, Pat and Marjorie!

Golly! We're approaching 5,000 books In Edit: hahaha some of us apparently either need to revisit the Opthamologist or are reversing numbers, but even so with the PEN/ Faulkner 200-300 coming this summer, and all of our branches opening up, I don't think it's beyond the pale to try for 5,000 by the end of the year! What do you think? Let's have a drive? Why ever not? Let's do!!

I think we need one of those thermometers filling up with our goal of 5,000 books. What are some ways we can do this?

Congratulations to all of you!

Babi how well I remember your tireless work trying to get even one prison to listen, isn't this wonderful!

Thank ALL of you for everything YOU have done, it shows!

I agree, Ginny. Thank you, Babi, for your efforts to try to work with the Texas prison system. And thank you, Pat, for the donation of so many books, to bring us over 4,300!

We've received some beautiful books, four large like new hardbacks and 1 paperback. These were delivered by hand so no postage is involved.

Prayers for the Dead by Faye Kellerman

Three Complete Novels by J.A. Jance

The Last Don by Mario Puzo

The Accusers by Lindsey Davis And

Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland

Thank you, "SR," very much!

Thank you, SR, for that donation.

We've had a good flurry of donations lately and we've sent off a check for Postage for $30.00 and we've had postage donated of $7.50 from Marjorie and Sage, thank you both very much.

We also have had donated the following books:

The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr

The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr (2nd copy)

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson

The Book of Merlyn by TH White

Daddy's Boy by Chris Elliott (I'd like to read that, myself)

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Violets are Blue by James Patterson

Cape Fear Murders by Wanda Canada

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

In the Kitchen With Rosie: Oprah's Favorite Recipes

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Origins of the English Language by Joseph M Williams

Dealing With People You Can't Stand by Dr. Rick Brinkman

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

See How They Run by James Patterson

Deception Point by Dan Brown

These were delivered by hand, which are very much appreciated, from "A Friend." As well we have news of more books coming soon, so that's quite exciting too. If I get the chance before the next pick up I'm going to read Chris Elliott's book, I had never heard of it, it looks brand new. I like him and did not realize he was related to Bob Elliott, (do you remember Bob and Ray?) This may be a tell all but I still would like to read it.

How are you doing Kathryn and Sue, in your neck of the woods? We'd love to hear about how it's going out there.

Anyway, many thanks to all our donors!

Thank you, Jane!!

Thank you for the recent donations of books and postage!

I came home Friday to find my front porch covered with towering very fine boxes of books, from the PEN/ Faulkner Award Foundation in Washington DC! 18 BIG boxes of books! Standing taller than I do, it was a magic moment!

Our thanks to the Director of the PEN/ Faulkner Award, Jessica Neely and to Julia Bensfield, who is the Programs Coordinator for the PEN/Faulkner for their wonderful donation of these very fine new books, which are simply GREAT this year and we're so grateful to have them. Not a rip nor tear nor smudge on these perfectly presented boxes, it's amazing.

Each of the super boxes was hand addressed and beautifully wrapped, it must have taken hours! How grateful we are for their oustanding generosity.

I think I will bring in here the contents box by box and so we can all enjoy what really turned out to be Christmas in July!

THANK YOU PEN/ Faulkner!

Thank you, PEN/Faulkner, for that wonderful, generous contribution!

Isn't that wonderful? And even tho I know we have people out right now, we have a need to get these books to the SC Department of Corrections, and these figures up here and noted, so I have the pleasure (and it is a pleasure) of opening up all 18 boxes to list here so we can keep an accurate count. I am thinking I can do two a day till next week when I might be able to do more.

Our budget is now in the red as the shipping for ALL these fabulous books came to $152.18. We have had an additional donation for postage of $5.50 from a Friend of the Project. Thank you very much.

So we are now greatly in need of donation of funds so that we can reimburse donors for the books they mail.

Box 3 of 18:

Boy these sure look good, the first is a volume of poetry from an Iraqi woman, which won the 2004 PEN// Translation fund award:

The War Works Hard by Dunya Mikhail

In addition we have:

Splay Anthem by Nathaniel Mackey

Chicano by Richard Vasquez

From Baghdad to Brooklyn by Jack Marshall

Light Day by Jamie Saul (4 copies)

Light Day by Jamie Saul

The Last Masquerade by Antonio Orlando Rodriquez

An Apology for Autumn by David Turrill

North by Frederick Busch

North by Frederick Busch (3 copies)

Sight Hound by Pam Houston (2 copies)

Sight Hound by Pam Houston

Leven Thumps and the Gatgeway to Foo by Obert Skye

In Case We're Separated by Alice Mattison

I wish you could see these beautiful brand new pretty books, all of them except the first two are hardbacks.

Box 11 of 18:

In this box we have beautiful books and some duplicates but when you have 19 prisons to consider we can use every duplicate there IS!! Big fine gorgeous books!!!

The Last Masquerade by Antonio Orlando Rodriquez

Above the Thunder by Renee Manfredi

River Jordan by Augusta Trobaugh

Forever by Pete Hamill

Torture the Artist by Joey Goebel

Chicano by Richard Vasquez another copy

The Great Mortality by John Kelley (about the Black Death)

The Great Mortality by John Kelley (about the Black Death)

I'd like to read one of those myself.

An Apology for Autumn by David Turrill

An Apology for Autumn by David Turrill

GREAT reading and this is a great way to do it, two more boxes tomorro

What interesting books, Ginny. Thank you for posting those lists here. And thank you for letting us know the status of the funds for postage.

Thank you very much to the Friend of the Project.

Ginny,this sounds like a wonderful addition of books from Pen/Faulkner books. Now that I know there is a need for book funds, maybe I can make a small contribution in the near future.

Thank you for keeping us updated.

Continuing with two more boxes here, I think it would be a good idea to start numbering them also so will start with #31 from the list above. Also in listing these, I will just list them three times if the publisher has sent three copies rather than say 3 copies and that way it will not be confusing for Jane.

Thank you Marcie and Hats, that would be wonderful, Hats, any and all contributions of any kind gratefully received, and here are two more of the 18 boxes, chosen at random, and this box is so heavy it can barely be lifted! Isn't this exciting!!

Like Christmas, so fun to share here like this. I count 31 books above, is that what everybody gets, so here we go with

Randomly selecting Box 7 of 18:

32. The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stweart (have heard of this one a lot!)

33. Johnny Too Bad: Stories by John Dufresne

34. Hat Trick by Lida Kusel

35. No Direction Home by Marisa Silver

36. The Grace That Keeps This World by Tom Bailey

37. The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein (won the Hemingway Award)

38. The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus (Native American stories).

39. Kingston by Starlight by Christopher John Farley

40. The Angel of Forgetfulness by Steve Stern

41. The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein

42. Close Case by Alafair Burke

43. The Third Translation by Matt Bondurant

44.Close Case by Alafair Burke

45 We're All in This Together by Owen King

46. A Little Love Story by Roland Merullo

47. Close Case by Alafair Burke

48. Close Case by Alafair Burke

49. Paul Muldoon Poems 1968-1998

50. Rosa by Jonathan Rabb

51. A Child Again by Robert Coover..75 year old author, very interesting looking book

52. No Direction Home by Marisa Silver

and oh WOW

53. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman!

Wow, it would be hard to find more beautiful fine hardback books and covers than these are, there is one paperback here and it's gorgeous too. Wow.

Mystery Box (can't see the number) of 18:

Oh boy it's poetry!!!! It's a Poetry Box! They are always asking for poetry:

54. Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wright

55. Renaissance Quarterly by the Renaissance Society of America

56. It's Time: Poems by Reginald Gibbons

57. Book of My Nights Poems by Li-Young Lee

58. Sleeping With the Dictionary, a National Book Award Finalist by Harryette Mullen

59. Sleeping With the Dictionary, a National Book Award Finalist by Harryette Mullen

60. M.A.C.N.O.L.I.A. by A. Van Jordan

61. Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wright

62. It's Time: Poems by Reginald Gibbons

63. It's Time: Poems by Reginald Gibbons

64. It's Time: Poems by Reginald Gibbons

65. It's Time: Poems by Reginald Gibbons

66. Shadow of Heaven, a beautiful hardback book of poems by Ellen Bryant Voight

67. Shadow of Heaven, a beautiful hardback book of poems by Ellen Bryant Voight

68. Shadow of Heaven, a beautiful hardback book of poems by Ellen Bryant Voight

69. Shadow of Heaven, a beautiful hardback book of poems by Ellen Bryant Voight

70.Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wright

71.Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wright

72.Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wrigh5

73. Steal Away- poems by C.D. Wright

74. Paul Muldoon Poems 1968-1998…huge paperback book looks absolutely fabulous

75. Paul Muldoon Poems 1968-1998

76. Paul Muldoon Poems 1968-1998

I cannot believe they took the time at the PEN/Faulkner to box these books of poetry separately, the librarians are going to have a FIT, we have constant requests for poetry and these are fabulous!!!!

The duplications are wonderful. We are not talking about one prison here, but 19, so we could use 19 copies of each book, this is truly wonderful.

14 more boxes to go!!

Thank you, Ginny, for taking the time to post those titles. What a wonderful gift this project is making to those libraries for the prisoners.

Marcie and Ginny, sorry. I came to the wrong site this time.

Never in the wrong spot, here, Hats!!

I got off a little bit yesterday with a family reunion out of state so will do 3 boxes today and tomorrow and catch up that way.

Box 15 of 18

Boy is this one heavy!!

77. Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes

78. Belly by Lisa Selin Davis

79. Madly by William Benton

80.Remains Silent byMichael Baden and Linda Kenney

81. Love in an Expanding Universe by Ron Rindo (short stories)

82. Second Language by Rona Wineberg

83. The Train to Lo Wu by Jess Row (short stories)

84. The Butcher of Beverly Hills by Jennifer Colt

85. The Greatest Man in Cedar Hole by Stephanie Doyon

It's amazing how many times train tracks are used on the covers of books!

86. Scooter by Mick Foley

87. Forests of the Night by James W. Hall

88. Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon

89. Little Fugue by Robert Anderson

90. Busted Flush by Brad Smith

91. The Transformation by Catherine Chidgey

92. Our Ecstatic Days by Steve Erickson

93. Alibi byJoseph Kanon

which I have to say has the prettiest cover featuring Venice I ever saw.

94. Fallen by David Maine

95. The Apple's Bruise by Lisa Glatt (short stories)

96. The Missing Person by Alix Ohlin

97. Death's Little Helpers by Peter Spiegelman

98. An Ambulance (printed backwards as you'd see it on the vehicle) is on the Way by Jonathan Wilson (stories of men in trouble)

99. Journey to Bom Goody by Karen Heuler

Box 6 of 18:

100. Acts of Friah by Philip Caputo

101. 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell

102. A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards by Ann Bauer

103. The Professor's Daughter by Emily Raboteau

104. Daily, Before your Eyes by Margaret-Love Denman, looks wonderful, shows a jail cell door!

105. Calamity and Other Stories by Daphne Kalotay

106. Winslow in Love by Kevin Canty

107. Jerry Engels by Thomas Rogers

108. Love Creeps by Amanda Filipacchi

109. The Wild Creatures Collected Stories of Sam D'Allesandro

110. One of These Things is Not Like the Other by Travers Scott

111. Late in the Standoff by Tracy Daughtery …stories

112. The Dance Partner by Diane Glancy

113. Tenny's Landing by Catherine Tudish

114. The Willow Man by Duff Brenna

115. Cast of Shadows by Kevin Guilfoile

116. Flood Summer by Trenton Lee Stewart

117. The Road From Prosperity by Nancy Welch (stories)

118. Angry Black White Boy by Adam Mansbach

119. Waiting by Ha Jin!

Randomly Selected Box 18 of 18:

120. Across the Bridge of Sighs, Venetian Stories by Jane Turner Rylands

121. Queen of the Mist The Forgotton Heroine of Niagara by Joan Murray

122. Death and Transfiguration: Poems by Kelly Cherry

123. One Man Boat: the George Hitchcock Reader: Poetry/ Fiction/ Drama

124. A Gradual Twilight: an Appreciation of John Haines , Steven B Rogers, Ed.

125. Retirement byMark Daniel Curley

126, Remembering Thunder by Andrew Glaze

127. Still Life in Milford by Thomas Lynch

128. Retirement byMark Daniel Curley

129. Retirement byMark Daniel Curley

130. Woman and the Sea: Poems by Michael Mott

131. The Odd Squad by Joe Benevento

132. O My Darling by Amity Gaige (looks fabulous)

133. Blue Beyond Blue by Lauren Slater : Extraordinary Tales for Ordinary Dilemmas

134. The Art of Uncontrolled Flight by Kim Ponders

135. Sold As Is by Kal Rosenberg

136. Dies: A Sentence by Vanessa Place

137. Possessed by Shadows by Donigan Merritt

138. Hosack's Folly A Novel of Old NY by Gilen D'Arcy Wood

139. Record Palace by Susan Wheeler

140. The Conference of the Birds by Jeffrey Lewis

141. Crossing Bully Creek by Margaret Erhart

142. Where Three Roads Meet by John Barth: Novellas

143. Please Don't Come Back From the Moon by Dean Bakopoulos

144. Light of Day by Jamie M Saul

All right!! 11 more big boxes to go!! This is like sitting in Barnes & Noble surrounded on all sides by glossy beautiful books! This is very enjoyable and so fun to share it with you all!!

Thank you, Ginny. The titles that I recognize are wonderful!

Sorry got way behind here and now have to play Catch Up, yes these are splendid opportunities to experience good new voices in literature, very exciting. This first box is very handsome hardbacks, I'm going to be sorry when this is over:

Box 17 of 18

145. In the Shadows of the Sun by Alexander Parsons

146. The Greening of Ben Brown by Michael Strelow

147. Freshwater Road by Denise Nicholas (the actress)

. 148. Sight Hound by Pam Houston

149. In Case We're Separated by Alice Mattison I think this is a duplicate, I want to read it myself

150. Twilight by Kathering Mosby

151. A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards by Ann Bauer, another duplicate

152. Sky Bridge by Laura Pritchett

153. The English Teacher by Lily King

154. Goat Bridge by T,M McNally

155 Crawl Space by Edie Meidaw

156. Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

157 A Primitive Heart: Stories by David Rabe

158. Calling by Joel Samuel Starnes

159. A Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland

160. The Loss of Leon Meed by Josh Emmons

161. What's Your Name by Lloyd Lauger

162. American Purgatorio by John Haskell

163. Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Stories of Thailand, I think I'll get this one and recommend it to the Read Around the World group.

164. God Jr. by Dennis Cooper

Box 13 of 18:

165. The Good Wife by Steward O'Nan

166. Trance by Christopher Sorrentino

167. What Begins With Bird by Noy Holland

168. The Morning Light by Ann Moore

169. Emily Ever After by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt

170. The Body Parts Shop, Stories by Lynda Schor

171. Indecision by Benjamin Junkel

172. Simplify by Tod Goldberg

173. The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein

174. The Responsible Men by Edward Schwarzschild

175. Dermaphoria by Craig Clevenger

176. Lucky Strike by Nancy Zatris

177. The Great Inland Sea by David Francis

178. Wolf Point by Edward Falco

179. The Evil and Other Stories by B. B.. Chow

180. The Complete History of New Mexico Stories by Kevin McIlvoy

181. Sight Hound by Pam Houston

182. Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

183. Forgetfulness by Michael Mejia

184. The Every Boy by Dana Adam Shapiro

185. People I Wanted to Be, Stories by Gina Ochsner

186. Breath and Bones by Susann Cokal

187. The Year the Music Changed by Diane Thomas

188. Strange Saint by Andrew Beahrs

189. The Pitcher Shower by Donald Harington

Box 5 of 18

190. Bush Doctor by J.T. Landes

191. The Vigil a Poem in Four Voices by Margaret Gibson

192. The Willow Man by Duff Brenna

193. Bush Doctor by J.T. Landes

194. Bush Doctor by J.T. Landes

195. Wings of Justice by Jerry Hollingsworth

196. Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca

197. Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca

198. Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca

199. Noble Vision by Gen LaGreca (this book looks absolutely super)

200. The The Willow Man by Duff Brenna

201 God Symposium by Edward Draugheils

202. The Willow Man by Duff Brenna

203. What the Shadow Told me by Kurtis Davidson

204. What the Shadow Told me by Kurtis Davidson

205 What the Shadow Told me by Kurtis Davidson

206. What the Shadow Told me by Kurtis Davidson

207. Reveille and Redemption: Tales of an Army Nurse by Nancy Whitley

208. Reveille and Redemption: Tales of an Army Nurse by Nancy Whitley

209. Reveille and Redemption: Tales of an Army Nurse by Nancy Whitley

210 Reveille and Redemption: Tales of an Army Nurse by Nancy Whitley

211 Wings of Justice by Jerry Hollingsworth

212 The J Affect by Peter Burstin

8 ??? of 18:

The number here is rubbed off in transit but these bankers boxes have held up splendidly, I must write the person who shipped them, she did a beautiful job, so easy to handle.

213. The Tattoo Artist by Jill Cimeni

214. Metropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney

215. As Hot as it Was You Ought to Thank Me by Nanci Kincaid

216. North by Frederick Busch

217. Jubliant Teeth by George McDonald

218. Jubliant Teeth by George McDonald

219 Jubliant Teeth by George McDonald

220. Branwell byt Douglas A Martin

221. What Are You Afraid Of? By Michael Hyde

222. A Scarecrow's Bible by Martin Hyatt

These last three are in very strange format, almost like something you'd bind at Kinko's, quite interesting looking.

223. South of Main Street by Robert Gately

224. If the Sky Falls Stories by Nicholas Montemarano

225. Watercolor Women Opaque Men by Ana Castillo

226. Last Call Stories by KL Cook

227. Athens, America by Larry Baker

228. Matches by Alan Kaufman

229. Blue Beyond Blue, Extraordinary Tales by Lauren Slater

230 Blue Beyond Blue, Extraordinary Tales by Lauren Slater

231 Blue Beyond Blue, Extraordinary Tales by Lauren Slater

Whoop!!

232. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

233. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

234 Blood Fugues by Edgardo Vega Yunque

OK!! Only a few more day's worth to go and off they go to their new homes! Lots of innovative writing in this shipment, short stories, poems, great books.

It's great to see so many fascinating titles. It's wonderful that the prison libraries will be able to provide so many current titles.

Oh I think so too, these are wonderful opportunities and so many many fine new books.

AND... we've been having some lovely inquiries this week about donating books, and we very much appreciate them. They are coming from all over the country!!

We also have a very fine donation of $10.00 from Joan K, thank you very much Joan K.

So Pat we need to take off $152.18 as the cost of shipping the PEN/ Faulkners and add $10 and $5.50 to the donated funds, as we once again build up the Reimbursement Kitty.

We've just also received word this morning of a new donation of books coming from across the country, very exciting. That's one great thing about this project, it's national. Very much looking forward to the new shipment.

I now have the remaining 7 new boxes from the PEN/ Faulkner and this will conclude our reporting of the titles, so Jane, will you please amend the totals in the heading and title line. I really like this way of doing it. These are some great books and reading opportunities, and as you say, Marcie, all new. New voices, fiction, short stories and poetry which otherwise would not be in the prisons at all. Very proud of our initiative here and the people whose generosity supports it, thank you ALL!

Box 9 of 17:

235 We're in Trouble, stories by Christopher Coake (looks wonderful)

236 Natives and Exotics by Jane Alison

237 A Gesture Through Time by Elizabeth Block

238 Misson to America by Walter Kirn

239 The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer

240 Articles of War by Nick Arvin

241 When Love Calls, You Better Answer by Bertice Berry

242 An Outline of the Republic by Siddhartha Deb

243 A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin

244 Frankland by James Whorton, Jr.

245 Music Through the Floor by Eric Puchner

246 Beyond the Call of Voice by Asita Prabhushankar

247 The Hill Road by Patrick O'Keeffe Stories of Ireland

These books look exceptionally good, I myself can hardly put them down

248 The King of King's County by Whitney Terrell

249 Birds of Paradise by Hiram Goza

250 The Number We End Up With by Beth Goldner

251 The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

252 The Seventh Beggar by Pearl Abraham

253 The Washington Story by Adam Lancer

254 Lord Byron's Novel by John Crowley

255 A Fighter and a Woman by Emmanuel Ayikwe Hyde

256 Beware of God, stories by Shalom Auslander

257 Corse: A Romance b y Kassten Alonso

258 God Lives in St. Petersburg, stories by Tom Bissell

Box 16 of 18:

259 Mending Skins by Eric Gansworth

260 Doors a Fiction for Jazz Horn by Deena Metzger

261 Two Harbors by Kate Benson

262 Copy Cats Stories by David Crouse (Winner of the Flannery O'Connor award for short fiction).

263 The Tattoo Artist by Jill Ciement

264 No Direction Home by Marisa Silver

265 Third Girl From the Left by Martha Southgate

266 Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

267. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman

268. In The Shadow of the Law by Kermit Roosevelt

269. Seven Lies by James Lasdun

270. Season of the Snake by Claire Davis

271. The Painted Drum by Lou8ise Erdrich

272. Empire Rising by Thomas Kelly

273. Waterloo by Karen Olsson

274, The Coast of Akron by Adrienne Miller

275. All This Heavenly Glory by Elizabeth Crane

276. Between Camelots by David Harris Ebenbach Winner of the Drue Heinz Literature prize

277. Holy Skirts by Rene Steinke

278. If You Want Me to Stay by Michael Parker

279.The World Still Melting by Robley Wilson

280 Cold Burn by Kit Ehrman

281. Entrys by Peter Bacho autographed copy

282. The Days of Awe by Hugh Nissenson

283. Twins by Marcy Dermansky

Box 4 of 18:

284. Crossing Three Wildernesses by U Sam Oeur

285. Sarah by Marek Halter the prettiest cover on a book I ever saw.

286. The Way Home by Robert Earle

287. Seven Lies by James Lasdun

288. Belmondo Style by Adam Berlin

289. Belmondo Style by Adam Berlin

290. Belmondo Style by Adam Berlin

291. Belmondo Style by Adam Berlin

292. Carnivore Diet by Julia Slavin

293. Carnivore Diet by Julia Slavin

294. Carnivore Diet by Julia Slavin

295. Seven Lies by James Lasdun

296. Sight Hound by Pam Houston

297. Seven Lies by James Lasdun

298. The Road to Makokota by Stephen Barnett

Box 2 (hard to read) of 18:

299. Lord Byron's Novel by John Crowley

300. Lord Byron's Novel by John Crowley

301. Captain of the Sleepers by Mayra Montero

302. The History of Love by Nichole Krauss

303. The History of Love by Nichole Krauss

304. Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

305. Captain of the Sleepers by Mayra Montero

306. Captain of the Sleepers by Mayra Montero

307. Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

308. The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein

309. Lord Byron's Novel by John Crowley

310. Captain of the Sleepers by Mayra Montero

311. Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

312. Her Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban

313 Her Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban

314. Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

Don't you see how perfect this is for an entire prison system? There are duplicates which can be shared between different prisons. If these were all going to one prison there would be a problem but this way it's perfect. As I said before we could use 19 of each!

Box Unlabelled of 18

315. The Willow Man by Duff Brenna

316. The Martyrs by Tono Rondone

317. The Martyrs by Tono Rondone

318. The Martyrs by Tono Rondone

319. The Martyrs by Tono Rondone

320. The J Affect by Peter Burstin

321. The J Affect by Peter Burstin

322 The J Affect by Peter Burstin

323 The Floor of T.P's Office by Lee Carl

324. The Floor of T.P's Office by Lee Carl

325. The Floor of T.P's Office by Lee Carl

326. The Floor of T.P's Office by Lee Carl

327. The God Symposium by Edward Draugelis

328. The God Symposium by Edward Draugelis

329. Noah's Milennium by Melvin Eisenstadt

330. Wings of Justice by Jerry Hollingsworth

331. Noah's Milennium by Melvin Eisenstadt

332. Noah's Milennium by Melvin Eisenstadt

333. Noah's Milennium by Melvin Eisenstadt

334 The Lost Girls by Len Hendler

335. The Lost Girls by Len Hendler

336. The Lost Girls by Len Hendler

337. Chasing the Sun by Christopher Fahy

338. Winter Passage by Paul Raymond Cote

339 Winter Passage by Paul Raymond Cote

340 Winter Passage by Paul Raymond Cote

341 Winter Passage by Paul Raymond Cote

342. Chasing the Sun by Christopher Fahy

343 Chasing the Sun by Christopher Fahy

344. Johnny Too Bad by John Dusfresne

Unnumbered Box of 18:

345. The Perfect Manhattan by Leanne Shear

346. Tempting b y Kirby Olson

347. Mekhti by Amu Basson

348. Groove by Geneva Holiday

349. First Love by Adrienne Sharp

350. House of the Deaf by Lamar Herrin

351. In the Dark of the Moon by Suzanne Hudson

352. Canaan's tongue by John Wray

353. Bugaloo on 2nd Avenue by Mark Kurlansky

354. Mother of Sorrows by Richard McCann

355. The Magic Keys by Albert Murray

356. As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway

357. Backward Facing Man by Don Silver

358. Clearcut by Nina Shengold

359. Before Elvis There Was Nothing by Laurie Foos

360. We Are All Fine Here by Mary Guterson

361. Garner by Kristin Allio

362. Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler

363. You Poor Monster by Michael Kun

364 The Point of Fracture by Frank Turner Hollon

365. Bodies in Motion Stories by Mary Ane Mohanraj

366. The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God by Timothy Schaffert

367. The Jungle Law by Victoria Vinton

Box 10 of 18:

368. Gullboy by Wade Rubenstein

369. Big Cats Stories by Holiday Reinhorn

370. The Salt Palace by Darren Defrain

371. Running the Bulls by Cathie Pelletier

372 Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

373. Bitter Milk by John McManus

374. Only the Eyes are Mine by Usha Alexander

375. Who Wrote the Book of Love? By Lee Siegel

376. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami

377. Home Land by Sam Lipsyte

378. X Out of Wonderland by David Allan Cates

379. Spoonwood by Ernest Herbert

380. Bleed Into Me, Stories by Stephen Graham Jones

381. The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford

382. Josie and Jack by Kellly Braffet

383. Carrying the Torch by Brock Clarke

384. The Usual Mistakes by Erin Flanagan

385. Mary After All by Bill Gordon

386. The Usual Mistakes by Erin Flanagan

387. Barney's Crew by Sean Carswell

388. The Thin Tear in the Fabric of Space by Douglas Trevor

389. Godlike by Richard Hell

390. Wild Eyed by Trinie Dalton

391. Jubilant Teeth by George McDonald

392. The Task of This Translator by Todd Hasak-Lowy

393. One Sunday Morning by Amy Ephron

394. Seek the Living by Ashley Warlick

395. The Scorpion's Tail by Sylvia Torti

396. The Third Brother by Nick McDonell

And that's it! Almost 400 fine new books in splendid condition, donated from the PEN/ Faulkner Award!

They will be on their way at the beginning of next week, these and the several hundred others waiting will constitute a truck load, they won't fit in a car.

Very exciting!

Wow, a truckload of books!! What an exciting and important donation from PEN/Faulkner...really an investment in the prison libraries to make a difference in the lives of the individuals who are incarcerated.

And thank you, Ginny, for your caring investment of so much of your time, noting the titles of the books here and getting them ready to take by truck (!) to the prison library.

Thanks so much for the update in the count, Jane. That is fantastic!

GINNY: UPS just picked up a box with the following books for the Prison Project:

PURPLE SAGE sent:

Fitzgerald, Penelope Offshore

Fitzgerald, Penelope The Book Shop

Frey, James A Million Little Pieces

Kincaid, Nancy Crossing Blood

Lewis, Jim Why the Tree Loves the Ax

McGhee, Alison Shadow Baby

Rose, M.J. The Halo Effect

Smith, Alexander McCall The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

I sent:

Adams, Anna The Prodigal Cousin

Bowen, Judith A Home of His Own

Brashear, Jean What the Heart Wants

Carmichael, C.J. A Baby Between Them

Casper, K.N. The Woman in the News

Cooper, Iglath A Year and A Day

Curtis, Melinda Back to Eden

Curtis, Melinda Getting Married Again

Dalton, Margot Man of My Dreams

DeVita, Sharon Daddy in the Making

DeVita, Sharon Daddy Patrol

DeVita, Sharon My Fair Maggy

Early, Margot A Family Resemblance

Fox, Roz Denny Angels of the Big Sky

Gaddy, Eve Remember Texas

Gardner, Darlene A Time to Forgive

Johnson, Janice Kay Lost Cause

Kilby, Joan Beach Baby

Knupp, Amy Unexpected Complication

Leigh, Allison A Montana Homecoming

Lewis, Sherry Her Secret Family

Macomber, Debbie 16 Lighthouse Road

McLaughlin, Terry Learning Curve

McMahon, Barbara Lies that Bind

O'Keefe, Molly Family at Stake

Phillips, Carly The Bachelor

Quinn, Tara Taylor A Child's Wish

Quinn, Tara Taylor Becca's Baby

Rice, Kaitlyn Table for Five

Rustand, Roxanne A Temporary Arrangement

Shay, Kathryn Tell Me No Lies

Stockham, Kay Man with a Past

Style, Linda Husband and Wife Reunion

Thomason, Cynthia An Unlikely Father

Todd, Caron A Different Kind of Summer

Warren, Linda Son of Texas

Weaver, Carrie Four Little Problems

Wiggs, Susan The Lightkeeper

Winters, Rebecca Somebody's Daughter

Woods, Sherryl About That Man

SHRIEK!! Marjorie!! THANK YOU my goodness, so the UPS worked out well? I am so glad! THANK YOU!! And I just heard today from another donor AND I found another box! YES YES, that shows you how many boxes there really ARE waiting and there is still ONE MORE BOX from the PEN/ Faulkner to open.

THANK you Marjorie and Sage for that tremendous donation! Your books are always so new looking and packed so well! And aren't they wonderful selections, Penelope Fitzgerald!! Oh wow!!

WOW!!

I BELIEVE we are going to hit 5,000 books in this calendar year!!!

Thank you, Marjorie and Sage. The PLP is surely benefiting from your avid book reading. Thank you for the update, Jane!

Dashing thru the snow...er... to say Marjorie and Sage's box got here yesterday, will open this afternoon, we still have one from the PEN/ Faulkner to open and we have word of 4 new boxes on the way from a new donor!

Whee! Thank you all so much. If you are reading this and don't feel like shipping a book, the money we have to reimburse postage is running in the red, all donations gratefully received. just mail to SN above and alert us by email it's on the way, thank you!

We WILL make 5,000 this year, I just know it. More later.......

That is great news, Ginny!

Mailed today - Media mail

Johnson, Dennis – Resuscitation of a Hanged Man - HB
Waller, Robert James – Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend - HB
Jakes, John – Heaven and Hell - HB
Rawicz, Slavomir – The Long Walk - PB
Unsworth, Barry - Sacred Hunger - PB
O’Donnell, Lillian – The Raggedy Man - HB
Homer – Odyssey – Lombardo - PB
Millar, Margaret – A Stranger in My Grave - HB
Erickson, Carolly – Bloody Mary - HB
Patterson, Richard North – Eyes of a Child - HB
Baldacci, David – Split Second – HB
Kemelman, Harry – That Day the Rabbi Left Town – HB
Baldacci, David – Last Man Standing – HB
Grisham, John – The Summons - HB

Thank you very much, Pat, for that generous donation. And thanks Jane for updating the tally so quickly.

Thank you SO much Pat, for your generosity in finding and picking out the BEST books at your library sale, we appreciate you SO much!

I am very excited about the possibility of our reaching 5,000 , it seems an amazing feat, to me, and one we are very grateful to each of you who have assisted in this task. Just incredible, count down to 5,000, under way!

30 Books to Prison Library Project:

Hillerman, Tony - People 0f Darkness - PB
Hillerman, Tony - Talking God - PB
Hillerman, Tony - Skinwalkers - PB
Hillerman, Tony - Skinwalkers - PB
Hillerman, Tony - The Fly on the Wall - PB
Hillerman, Tony - The Fly on the Wall - PB
Hillerman, Tony - Finding Moon - PB
Hillerman, Tony - The Fallen Man - PB
Shankman, Sarah - The King is Dead - PB
Caldwell, Laura - The Rome Affair - PB
LeCarre, John - The Secret Pilgrim - PB
Grafton, Sue - F is for Fugitive - PB
Grafton, Sue - R is for Ricochet - PB
Shelley, Mary - Frankenstein - PB
Tan, Amy - The Bonesetter's Daughter - PB
Leonard, Elmoe - Pagan Babies - PB
Christy, Agatha - Black Coffee - PB
Kava, Alex - The Soul Catcher - PB
Lewis, Sinclair - Mainstreet - PB
Barr, Necada - High Country - PB
Kellerman, Jonathan - Twisted - PB
McGinniss, Joe - Fatal Vision - PB
Brown, Dan - Angels & Demons - PB
Lowell, Elizabeth - Running Scared - PB
Koontz, Dean - Intensity - PB
Cooke,R. Cameron - Rise to Victory - PB
Simons, Paulina - The Bronze Horseman - PB
Lowell, Elizabeth - Death is Forever - PB
Brown, Dale - Dreamland - PB
Coulter, Catherine - The Edge - PB

WOWeeeeeeeeeeee, Pat!! Whoop!! THANK you for your wonderful buying of the books AND your wonderful donation of both postages! THANK you thank you thank YOU!!

over 4800!!! Only 200 to go or so !!!!

Thank you very much, Pat!!

News!!

We have just heard that Wally Lamb has mentioned SeniorNet and the Prison Library Project in an essay published today in the Hartford Courant's Sunday magazine, N(orth)E(ast)!!!!!!!!!!

It's called "Revisions and Corrections" and is about "the prison controversy, the women's book, and the good that ultimately came of it--one of which was SeniorNet's initiative to stock prison libraries with books." Four of his newer students have essays published in this issue.

I can't get it online but I have one coming in the mail!!!! I can't WAIT to see it, how exciting.

It was a red letter day when we met him at the National Book Festival, and he continues to influence the world in so many many ways.

I had timidly thought of asking him if he'd write write a greeting or something when we hit 5,000. Looks like he hasn't forgotten us!

What a guy.

I can't WAIT to see it!

Pat West found it!!!!! Really good photo of him and here's a quote:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/northeast/

The writing of "Couldn't Keep It to Myself" was wrenching for the women who bared their souls, and its publication was hard-won. But the unpredicted ripple effect caused by its existence has proven worth the pain. Without ever having met my teacher, Gladys Swan, the inmates had followed her advice by writing what they needed to write and letting the audience that needed to find it find it. The book has been translated into foreign languages, and here in America, it has become required reading for many middle and high school students, college sociology and psychology majors and law-enforcement officers.

And there's more. When SeniorNet, an on-line website service for people over 50, featured "Couldn't Keep It to Myself" in its monthly book discussion, the women's essays triggered an initiative. To date, SeniorNet members have collected and shipped thousands of books to American prison libraries. And back home, the book begat a change in the law. Although you never read this in The Hartford Courant until today, it is now illegal for the state of Connecticut to sue its inmates for the rehabilitative work they do. For me, there was a final, personal sweetness: After the dust settled, I received an unexpected package in the mail from the publisher of "Couldn't Keep It to Myself," Judith Regan. When I opened it, out slipped a 35th anniversary edition of "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was signed by Harper Lee.

Beautiful thing. Read that, it's very powerful. Beautiful man, an inspiration to all of us. Proud to be associated in any way with him.

Thank YOU for everything you did, each of you, to make this work and to be a part of this wonderful thing. We are so grateful for each of you and your help!

Box 12 of 18

This morning I have the last box from the PEN/ Faulkner to open as it was under some of the other boxes and it appears we've saved the best for last, incredible books. Here are:

397. Zorro by Isabel Allende in beautiful hardback (these are all hardbacks) staring me in the face

398. Zorro by Isabel Allende : two copies!

399. Just Another Soldier by Jason Christopher Hartley: A Year on the Ground in Iraq

400 . Just Another Soldier by Jason Christopher Hartley: A Year on the Ground in Iraq

401. Just Another Soldier by Jason Christopher Hartley: A Year on the Ground in Iraq

402. Chicano by Richard Vasquez

403. Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon

404. Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon

405 Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon

406. Coal Run by Tawni O'Dell

407. Tigor by peter Stephan Jungk

408. The Perfect American by Peter Stephan Jungk

And that brings our grand total to 408 very fine new and fabulous books from the PEN/ Faulkner this year, how grateful we are to them!!!

Thank you, Ginny, for that list of books in the PEN/Faulkner box and for the link (thanks Pat!) to the article by Wally Lamb. SeniorNet is in great company with him providing educational and inspirational resources to support the prison libraries.

I'll say, isn't this wonderful. I am proud to be associated with him in any way, what a great thing this has turned out to be and we are approaching 5,000!! Can you believe that!?!

The countdown begins and we have received 4 beautifully wrapped boxes of books from half way across the country from Betty Brown, who has generously donated the postage on them to our project also! Thank you SO much, Betty!

Jane please put Betty's name on our Honor Roll of Donors, I wish you all could see the care with which she wrapped these packages, she must come here and take over my life!

OH my goodness and she also included a list for each box, so here's Box 1: beautiful paperbacks:

The First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith

Years by LaVyrle Spencer

Comes the Blind Fury by John Salu

Paint it Black by PJ Parrish

When Rabbit Howls by Truddy Chase

Rising Sun by Michael Crichton

Degree of Guilt by Richard North Patterson

Wifey by Judy Blume

Here's Box 2:

Hardbacks and paperbacks:

Barefoot Heart: Stories of a Migrant Child by Elva Trevino Hart

What Lips My Lips Have Kissed by Edna St. Vincent Millay

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

Sudden Prey by John Sandford

Naked Prey by John Sanford

Hello, Darkness by Sandra Brown

Shocking Pink by Erica Spindler

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Praying for Sleep by Jeffrey Deaver

A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag.

Great books and here's Box 3:

Fox's Earth by Anne Rivers Siddons

In the Dark by Meagan McKinney

Me by Ka therine Hepburn]

Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson

Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller

Guideposts by Various

Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

And MORE! Box 4:

Thicker Than Water by PJ Parrish

Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah

Midnight Club by James Patterson

Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

1st to Die by James Patterson

3rd Degree by James Patterson

See How They Run by James Patterson

Winter Prey by John Sandford

Easy Prey by John Sandford

Whee! And $18.82 donated in postage!! THANK you Betty!!!

Thank you very much, Betty, for that generous donation of books and postage and for taking the time to make a list.

Hello, my name is Linda Horne. I work for Prison Living Magazine. I would like a few moments of your time to ask for your help.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite each of you to change the lives of an inmate. Our magazine is published for and by inmates. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those who are in need.

Our Mission Prison Living Magazine is reaching out to inmates, families and friends across the country. To deliver information to the incarcerated. There is a need to fill every heart with hope. Family members and friends to the incarcerated are reaching out to fill a void. To this we are dedicated to: • Information Providing the most reliable information designed to help prisoners while incarcerated and resources when released. • Advice Offering the best advice for contacts, legal aspects, health and a variety of information. • Insights Sharing insights from released prisoners who struggled with reintegration into society. Insights from families that struggle to understand the needs of their loved ones. Insight from friends who want to stay connected. Connect With Our Readers We deliver a variety solutions that insure the highest impact for our readers. To create deeper connections to the inmate, corrections workers, family and friends. And the outlet to express their creative spirit. What We Do: Prison Living Magazine is published 4 times a year at a low cost of $4.00 each issue. We offer a year subscription at $12.00. We also offer bulk pricing to organizations and those in need,

I am taking this time to ask you help in reaching out to the inmates at your location. We are offering our magazine to organizations at no cost. We are asking for help to defray the cost of shipping. A small fee if funds are available. We will also ship to you in bulk with only the promise that you make these issues available free to inmates. Please take the time to view our last issue free at www.plmag.org

A message from our editor: Prison Living Magazine is the inspiration of a current prisoner who sees the need to help change the thinking and the hearts of prisoners about themselves and those in authority. She was convinced attitude changes of prisoners would create a positive effect on the quality of life while incarcerated. Prison Living Magazine has already begun to prove that to be true.

She also saw a need to help prisoners prepare for release in order to reduce recidivism. Therefore each publication has articles and resources for making effective reintegration back into society a reality. Her decision was to display the gifting and skills with prison artwork, poetry and articles. This gives the public the opportunity to realize prisoners are people too, worth becoming productive citizens in society. We are receiving dozens and dozens of responses of hope, encouragement and change in the lives of prisoners.

The articles and contents of Prison Living Magazine are motivating and challenging for improving one’s life whether incarcerated or not.

May you be blessed as you subscribe and read.

Managing Editor David E. Ritzenthaler

I look forward to hearing from you. Please call or email me with the number of magazines you would like shipped to your department. Include the amount and mailing addresses for each location.

Thank you for your time, Linda Horne reception@plmag.org 1-800-419.2891

The following books will be going out in the next couple of days:

Bliss, Karina Mr. Imperfect

Carmichael, C.J. Secrets Between Them

Cooper, Inglath A Gift of Grace

Early, Margot Where We were Born

Emerson, Kathy Lynn Echoes and Illusions

Evans, Ann The Return of David McKay

Ferrarella, Marie Dangerous Disguise

Forster, Suzanne Blush

Graham, Darlene Lone Star Diary

Gregory, Philippa The Wise Woman

Jones, Merle Mademoiselle

Krentz, Jayne Ann The Pirate

Kurland, Lynn My Heart Stood Still

McLaughlin, Terry Make-Believe Cowboy

Mott, Brenda Man From Montana

Neggers, Carla Breakwater

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Just Imagine

Rolfson, Kristine Plain Jane's Man

Sala, Sharon Reunion

Style, Linda Her Sister's Secret

Thayer, Nancy Custody

Warren, Linda The Bad Son

Watson, Margaret Small-Town Secrets

Wiggs, Susan Enchanted Afternoon

Wilson, Leanna The Double Heart Ranch

Wow, thank you for your generosity, Marjorie. The prison libraries are fortunate you are such a reader!

Thanks for the new count, Jane. Just over 100 to go to reach 5000!

Thank you so much Marjorie, you and Sage have been so generous with your beautiful books, they always look brand new, that's a lovely thing you are doing, sharing your love of reading!

Only 115 more to go, the countdown begins! I wonder what will throw us over the top!!!!

We've had 15 books donated in excellent condition from S. R., all bestsellers, hardbacks and paperbacks, some John Grisham, great books, and much appreciated, only 100 to go!

These were delivered here so there's no postage, thank you S. R.!!

Also today I've heard of a possibility of another type of drive but this one for magazines. It seems that some of the troops in Iraq have expressed personally in their letters the desire to see some recent (regardless of age) magazines, specifically about sports, or cars, or subjects of that type as reading material of that type is scarce where they are. It appears a drive may be on to try to get some of these magazines and send them over and so I asked to have more information and when it comes we might like to look into it. I know how it feels to be overseas for a brief time, not a long one, (in my case on a pleasant vacation) and to be out of touch with something American to read, I can imagine how much worse that might be for a soldier.

I think maybe with our audience here, there may be some folks who have read and would not be keeping such a magazine, and maybe we might do something, who knows? I think it's a worthy cause and it was put to me by a police officer who himself has friends serving in Iraq, let's see what comes of it.

Thank you, S.R. for the gift of 15 books!

That sounds like a worthwhile project, Ginny.

Thanks, Jane!

Am a newbe & have books I'd be happy to donate, mostly legal thrillers if that is acceptable. What do I need to know? Thanks Safta2

Welcome safta2, we are delighted to see you here!

Click on my name and email me and I can give you an address where you can mail the books, they love legal thrillers!

Many thanks! I am excited to be within striking distance of 5,000 books donated, who will throw it over!?

We have received several great inquiries about our Prison Library Project in the last few days, and a donation, and we are very pleased to accept the following from a "Secret Santa!" Thank you very much!!

Under the Lake by Stuart Woods

Run Before the Wind by Stuart Woods

Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods

Wolf Pack by David Thompson

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard

On the Run by Iris Johansen

The First Mountain Man by William W Johnstone

Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Blackfoot Messiah byWilliam Johnstone

Preacher and The Mountain Caesar by William Johnstone

Heat by Celeste Norfleet

Purple Heart Seals the Warrior Blood by Jay Riker

Silver Star by Jay Riker

Black Powder by David Thompson

Blood Kin by David Thompson

By Duty Bound by David Thompson

Firewater by David Thompson

Flames of Justice by David Thompson

Gold Rage by David Thompson

Iron Warrior by David Thompson

Mountain Cat by David Thompson

Pocket Dictionary of Spanish-English

Teach Yourself Spanish by Juan Ibarra

The Pocket Book of Chess by Raymond Keene

These are in very good condition, some look new and unused!!

Many thanks!

Thanks very much for posting that list, Ginny, and thank you, Secret Santa for edging us nearer 5,000.

Hi Marcie-

I would like to donate some books to your project. I live only 15 minutes away from the address in Santa Clara on the web site. I would like to bring them by rather than send them by mail.I could come in almost any time in the first week of January. If the office is in Santa Clara I could help out also by volunteering time. Once I see how it works I may get some of my f2f book club to donate as well.

Happy Holiday, Judy Shernock

Hello, Judy. Wow, that is so generous of you to donate to the project and to offer to volunteer.

I work from home so I am not in the office in Santa Clara very often. I will check with the staff at the office and then we'll email you about your kind offer.

We've had 5 people write that they intend to donate books, which is just wonderful! I am very excited to see which one puts us over the 5,000 mark!@!! We'll keep you posted!

What good news, Ginny!!

We have received some wonderful news! The author of the book "A Place And A Name". The Dan Jenkins Story, is going to most generously donate 100 copies to the prison system of South Carolina and the York CI in CT, where Wally Lamb volunteers.

The book is a fourth generation memoir about the founder of the Dan Jenkins Orphanage and the Dan Jenkins Orphanage Bands for children of color in the post Civil War era.

The author is Etta May Ladson, who is a SeniorNet member! Thank you, so much, Etta!

You might be surprised to learn that York has several very active book clubs with waiting lists and they are going to use these books for a two separate book club discussions since they have enough copies. She is also sending 3 more for the library itself. And small world, it will be Wally Lamb's assistant who will be picking up half of the books!

I've just gotten off the phone with the Librarian in CT and he also advises they can use some of the poetry we're holding here from the PEN/Faulkner, so the PEN/ Faulkner will be serving two prison systems through us: in SC and CT, I'll advise them of that this morning as well, we'll also send on some duplicates, there were several in this shipment this time, wonderful use of books!

The librarian at the prison closest to me in SC also advises her GED classes are full of eager readers and she fully expects them all to graduate this coming June, that's also good news and it's a good thing to be part of, all around.

I have asked for a Wish List from CT as we just filled one here locally and we might like to try a book or two for CT, so I'll let you know so you can be on the lookout for books at sales, etc. Right before Christmas B&N had them dirt cheap, i wish I had known what was wanted.

All in all a super start to the new year!

So we'll need to add 35 books at this time, the postage is donated, thank you again, Etta, and Etta May Ladson to our Honor Roll of Donors!

Thank you for that good news, Ginny.

Thank you, Etta May Ladson for donating so many copies of your book. It's wonderful to hear from you.

Put Etta May Ladson in Google and read what a very accomplished author and person she is.

WOW! Pat, you are so right!

I've just gotten word that St. Francis Episcopal Church in Greenville SC has "box after box" of books for us which will be picked up sometime in the next two weeks, so will have more on them at that time! Very exciting!

Ginny emailed me that another 35 books have been donated by Etta May Ladson.

That is wonderful news, Ginny. Thank you, Jane, for updating the total. We are so close to 5,000!!

I am sitting here with 36 books waiting for me to pack them. One of these days I will get to it (and by then there will be more) but I think you will hit 5000 first.

Wow, Marjorie. You've given so many books to the PLP. You've certainly pushed us to being so close to 5,000.

MARCIE: We read a lot in this house. There are still books all over the place. I really can't imagine what it would be like if we still had the book we have sent already. The only thing I have to do is pack them and then they will be gone. I still will put some books on the Book Exchange but they go one at a time. Sending books to the PLP also means that more than one other person will read them.

You are right. It's wonderful that so many people are able to now enjoy your books.

I did it. I finally got our books packed and ready to ship. I plan to go to the Post Office this morning. I think this is 49 books.

From PURPLE SAGE

Gilchrist, Ellen The Anna Papers

Giordano, Marie I Love You Like a Tomato

Grau, Shirley Ann The Keepers of the House

Greenwood, Tammy Undressing the Moon

Hammond, Diane Going to Bend

Horne, Jed Breach of Faith

Lawson, Mary The Other Side of the Bridge

Letts, Billie Where the Heart is

Morgan, Marlo Mutant Message

Osbourne, Sharon Extreme (My Autobiography)

Siddons, Anne Rivers Low Country

Smith, Alexander McCall The Full Cupboard of Life

Smith, Lee Fair and Tender Ladies

Trigiani, Adriana Milk Glass Moon

Wilson, Christopher Cotton

From me

3 authors Once Upon a Christmas

3 authors Who Needs Cupid?

Alexander, Carrie North Country Man

Barrett, Linda The House on the Beach

Carmichael, C.J. Love and the Single Mom

Casper, K.N. First Love, Second Chance

Cox, Suzanne Unexpected Daughter

Dawson, Geralyn Pink Magnolia Club

Delinsky, Barbara Cardinal Rules

DeStefano, Anna The Perfect Daughter

Fox, Roz Denny Coffee in the Morning

Fox, Roz Denny On Angel Wings

Frazier, Amy Independence Day

Gaines, Abby Whose Lie is it Anyway?

Gardner, Darlene A Time to Come Home

Johnson, Janice Kay Kids by Christmas

Macdonald, Janice Out of Control

Nichols, Nadia From Out of the Blue

O'Brien, Kathleen Christmas in Hawthorn Bay

O'Keefe, Molly His Best Friend's Baby

Quinn, Tara Taylor Merry Christmas, Babies

Rice, Luanne Silver Bells

Roberts, Nora Born in Fire

Roberts, Nora Born in Ice

Roberts, Nora Born in Shame

Salonen, Debra A Baby on the Way

Stockham, Kay Montana Skies

Thomason, Cynthia An Unlikely Family

Warren, Linda Forgotten Son

Warren, Nancy The Trouble with Teens

Way, Margaret The Horseman

Weaver, Carrie Secrets in Texas

Wiggs, Susan The Charm School

Wiggs, Susan The Hostage

Wow, thank you, Purple Sage and Marjorie! I think that you have pushed the total past 5,000!!!!!

Whoop!!
Celebrate!!
5,009 books!

Marjorie, how wonderful of you and Sage! You have been so generous in the past, and now it's official, we're over 5,000!

AND there are more coming!! We have 64 more books waiting shipment from CA from the author Etta May Ladson, two more boxes from the midwest, very exciting, and two more shipments en route from OTHER two different parts of the country, how exciting, we may hit 5,100 before we turn around, wow!

We'll be sharing some of these with Connecticut and I have a lot more to report on that, too, but this is so exciting, let's revel in the moment!

THANK you! Thank you ALL so much, Each and Every Donor!

HURRAH!!

Thank you, Marjorie and Sage, for all your donations!!

The books did go out today. The donation for postage was $25.00.

Thanks so much for your generous donation of books and the postage too. 5009 books is fantastic!

Yes thank you Marjorie for your great generosity and the postage, too! So much appreciated, and more exciting news.

I wrote Wally Lamb to tell him we had hit 5,000 books and he wrote back and included a message to everybody here!

Here's his message to all of you:

Dear SeniorNet Members,

It's one thing to begin an initiative, quite another to keep it alive over the long haul. Congrats to all involved with the SeniorNet Prison Library Project--and a big hug for its overseer, the amazing Ginny Anderson--on having reached the five thousand book milestone in your admirable effort to put life-affirming literature into the hands of the incarcerated.

Illiteracy and inaccessibility to the written word are prisons, too, and so with each book gathered, lugged, and shipped to inmates, you help to set minds free. I salute you all on a job magnificently done. Your humanity is commendable and your project sends a loud, clear message to the incarcerated that they are not forgotten.

Sincerely,

Wally Lamb

Golly you can see why he's a famous author, never thought of illiteracy and inaccessibility to the written word as a prison, too, what a beautiful thing!

I hope that makes us all feel good! It sure does me.

What a beautiful letter from Wally Lamb. I hadn't thought of that sort of prison either. I am glad to have helped.

That you, Ginny, for keeping in touch with Wally Lamb, one of whose books inspired this project. Thank you for sharing his uplifting letter with us.

Ginny, thank you for sharing the letter from Wally Lamb.

I agree Marjorie, and thank you Marcie and Hats, isn't that beautiful? I've put some of it in the heading.

As you all know we have once again begun shipping books to CT, to the York CI where Wally Lamb volunteers and the librarian at York now on sabbatical has written this highly informative letter, I think you'll find it very inspiring:

York CI is the only state level prison for women in Connecticut and currently houses over 1,300 women ranging in age from 14 to more than 60 years of age. The library at York serves as a place for studying, job searches and personal reading. The library maintains both fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers, and magazines. Additionally the women can type letters and resumes as well as do their homework. The library is open to the entire population. It is located in the school, so many of the women who use the library are also students.

The library facilitates many programs to provide education, self-help, personal growth and support to the women at York CI. One of the many programs facilitated through the library are book clubs. Currently, York CI has three books clubs. They are very popular with waiting lists in excess of a year. The women simply never want to drop out of the book club unless they are released. In the past five years women in the book clubs have read more than 50 books. Many books are from best selling authors like Wally Lamb, John Grisham, Toni Morrison and John Searles. Some have even been Pulitzer Prize winners, like the Known World, The Shipping News, The Hours and Empire Falls. The book clubs choose from a limited collection of titles as finding multiple copies are a challenge. We are always in need of good quality books for the women to read. If any of your members are interested in donating books to the library book club program, we would be greatly appreciative.

This seems like an excellent use of books, we might want to try something along these lines!

Hmm, maybe the librarian could give us an example of a book a book club wants to read with an estimate of how many books and we could be sure and see that they get them by a specific date?? Would be glad to contribute either money or books to that.

Oh thank you Stephanie, I think I would, too. There are only 16 in each club so we might be able, depending, to mount a once a year drive if we had the title way in advance, I appreciate your good thoughts on this!

Certainly sounds easy to handle with only 16 in the club.. By any chance,, do they read the sort of stuff, that we do.. Would it be possible to have a book discussion at the same time they are??same book,, I mean???

Hello Friends . . .

I realize it's been a really long time since I've written a message here, but that doesn't mean that I don't check in fairly regularly :0).

5000+ books -- how amazing!

I can't adequately express my gratitude over your unwaivering efforts in keeping this project rolling along.

Thank you - thank you - thank you, so very much. You are truly a one-of-a-kind group.

Peace, love, and best always, to all of you.

How good to see you here, Nancy. You were part of the initial group of individuals who inspired this project. I hope that you have been doing well.

Nancy, so nice to hear from you. I hope that your life is going well and you are enjoying yourself in your job and personal life..

Why NANCY!!! SO good to see you here!!!! What have you been up to? Bring us up to date?

I came in to say that I picked up two fine boxes today at the PO and can't wait to see what's in them. I'm going out of town tomorrow, so it will be Saturday, but stay tuned for more titles, and they are from two totally different parts of the country, too!

It's like Christmas actually. Thank you All, more to come....

Thank you for that good news, Ginny!

And more good news, I've had these for some time but am just now getting around to listing them here.

We have received 3 very fine boxes of books, a puzzle and a game, thank you to all who have so generously donated books for our SeniorNet Prison Library Project.

We have postage donated which totals $25.50, and 15 books a game and a puzzle from Ruth Laz, 9 paperback books in great condition from Evelyn S., and 53 excellent books from MH. All three of these folks need to be listed on our Honor Roll of Donors.

All these books will be greatly enjoyed and we appreciate the donations and the donors, thank you!

Thank you for collecting those donations, Ginny, and posting about them here. Thank you very much to each of the donors!

We're well on our way to another 100 books being donated after we reached the 5,000 mark!

GINNY: You said you received a game. Would the prisons like jigsaw puzzles? I have many that I could send.

P.S. I guess jigsaw puzzles do not qualify for Media Mail. Hmm.

Marjorie, thank you, no, the prisons can't take games or puzzles, and these were sent before I knew they were coming, so I have found a home locally here with a prison as intended but ordinarily we deal with the Superintendent and they really won't accept them. I think local Assisted Livings or Senior Centers would be wonderful places for puzzles and games, I'm sure they would love them, I have tons of them too!

I have sometimes thought of putting them on the Book Exchange but you say they can't go media mail, phooey. I guess they aren't media!

We have very exciting news in the Prison Library Project, in fact BRILLIANT news as Joe Lea who is on Sabbatical from the York CI in CT, where Wally Lamb volunteers, would say, in that the very inspiring Groton Emblem Club #464, who have a splendid Literacy Program, have voted to fund the shipment of the PEN/ Faulkner Award books this year, if donated, to Connecticut, to the YORK Correctional Instutution and for use in the other 17 prisons in CT.

It was Joe Lea, in England, who set this all up and got the wheels rolling, HUZZAH for Joe!

I spoke to a wonderful representative of the club, Terry W, and she told me about all the programs they do at York.

One thing they do I think is just super, they donate children's boks to the prison, and the mothers will read to their own children when they come to visit. Then they tape that reading and the child can take home the book and the tape so he can hear his mother reading to him every time he chooses. I think that is an incredible program.

You meet the NICEST people in this initiative, just truly inspiring people, thank you ALL. We'll consider the Literacy Program of the Groton Emblem Club #464 a new Partner in our Prison Library Project, and we're very proud to be associated with them. Thank you, Terry and the Literacy Program of the Groton Emblem Club #464!

I understand I have a box at the Post Office waiting for pick up and another truck load in Greenville, so our cup runneth over, thanks to the generosity of people who would like to help make a difference through literature, thank you!

Thank you for that wonderful news, Ginny. Many thanks to the Groton Emblem Club #464 of the Elks who are enabling our Prison Library Project to accept the generous donation of the PEN/Faulkner books. It is a double enrichment of our project!

They've been added to the Honor Roll of Donors.

Thanks, Jane.

Thank you, Jane.

We have received 11 very nice books, beautifully wrapped with postage donated totaling $4.47 from Evelyn S. Thank you very much, Evelyn.

I have had these books for some time but have not had the opportunity to list them here.

We have also received 369 books from St. Francis Episcopal Church in Greenville, SC, and they are all excellent books, and we are very glad to have them. We also are grateful to Interim Priest David Bridgforth for carrying this truckload of books out of the church and into his van and his wife Sandy for helping load them on the truck the next day, all in 92 degree heat: they took up the entire bed of a truck.

A couple of weeks ago we had a huge shipment of books stored here picked up here by one of the librarians and staff of the local state prison facility, it filled a huge prison van. We have heard back from the local prison librarian that this large shipment and the books in it have caused tremendous excitement and are being distributed to several different prisons in SC (which has 19 prisons) as we speak. They are excited about the St. Francis books, and plan to pick them up next week.

I have heard that the PEN/ Faulkner will be shipping this year's books submitted for their PEN/ Faulkner Award to the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut, in the next two weeks. This is funded by the Groton Emblem Club #464 and arranged by Joe Lea, librarian on sabbatical so we are all quite excited to be part of the chain. Those books will also number between 300-400, we'll let you all know when the count comes in.

All in all a busy couple of weeks here. There is always something happening even IF it does not appear anything is going on. Your contributions are welcome and appreciated.

Thank you very much, Ginny, for that uplifting report. We appreciate the book and postage donations and all the physical labor involved.

Wow! almost to 5,500!!! Thank you everyone! (thanks for the tally, Jane).

Ginny - I still would like to donate a box of spanking new books to each of the South Carolina prisons. A Place And A Name is good reading, set in Charleston, SC. If acceptable and if I had a list of the prison sites I would be glad to mail the packages directly, advising that they are a part of your SeniorNet Library Prison project. I would mail UPS ground. Etta May Ladson

Thank you Etta May, I very much appreciate that, I know the York CI loved the books. There has been a change of personnel in the SC Superintendent's office and they are still getting settled, that is why I have no report to make.

I will write again. Those are wonderful books and we very much appreciate your donation of them. Thenk you for reminding me!

Two great pieces of news this morning~!

First,

Etta May, I've heard immediately back from the Libraran over the local prisons who has been acting as coordinator for our program and the SC DOC system.

She's very excited about your book as described to her, and I told her the reaction at York and she says yes PLEASE SC would love them, she will come pck them up herself and see to it that all the prisons get a copy or perhaps they might use it as a book club to discuss as well. She teaches GED classes as well.

I have written her back to inquire if a box may be sent directly to the prison to her attention. Sometimes they don't want that. I'll let you know what she responds.

She also sends word that our last shipment to them, the St. Francis shipment, has been tremendously enjoyed by the prisoners. They are in the process of distributing the books to other prisons, and she sent a couple of them to select "some of those books" for another library. She says they took 3 boxes and acted like "they all were treasures." I am so glad!

She says she is so happy they are so excited over books!

Good for her, good for them and good for us!

So let's see what she feels is the best way to ship, Etta, and we will be most grateful (again!) for your wonderful books. Who knows who they may touch and what good they may do? They are fascinating and contain poems and songs as well as inspirational material: they are wonderful.

Thank you!

And in still more great news, we have received word this morning from Julia Bensfield, Programs Coordinator for the PEN/ Faulkner Foundation in Washington DC that they have packaged and mailed this year's submissions for the PEN/ Faulkner Award to York CI in Connecticut. They're ON the way!!

This has become a great collaboration. Our grateful thanks to Jessica Neely, enlightened Executive Director of the PEN/ Faulkner and Julia Bensfield, remarkable Programs Coordinator for the PEN/ Faulkner for their generosity in donating these books and wrapping them and packaging them so well.

We are grateful to Teresa and to the members of the Groton Emblem Club 464 for their resolution to pay for the shipment which this year amounts to $60.66, so I record that here as donated postage for our counts.

We are grateful to Joe Lea, Librarian on Sabbatical who arranged this collaboration and Ryan, Librarian at York for their impressive initiatives and cooperation.

This is a super thing, a great collaboration and we're very proud to be associated with it!!!

YAY!

We'll have a count when Ryan gets them to record.

THANK you ALL! This is a good good day!

Thank you very much, Etta, for your willingness to donate more copies of your book. As Ginny says, it is much appreciated.

Thank you for all of that good news, Ginny.

A SeniorNet Learning Center and a SeniorNet.org Program have been honored by the new Chairman's Award. Congratulations to the recipients! The online program selected by the Board Chairman is our Books Donation Project. Congratulations to all of you who have particpated in this worthwhile project that is changing the lives of those in prison and young people on Native American reservations.

GINNY: On July 11 I sent you the following books:

Adams, Anna Temporary Father
Alexander, Carrie A Ready-Made Family
Barrett, Linda Houseful of Strangers
Brenna, Helen Treasure
Bird, Jessica His Comfort and Joy
Bliss, Karina Mr. Irresistible
Brashear, Jean Return to West Texas
Brashear, Jean Lonesome No More
Brenna, Helen Dad for Life
Campbell, Bethany Every Woman’s Dream
Carmichael, C.J. Star-Crossed Parents
Casper, K.N. A Mother’s Vow
Curtis, Melinda The Family Man
Daheim, Mary Auntie Mayhem
David, Kay Safe in His Arms
Delinsky, Barbara Through My Eyes
Dellin, Genell Montana Red
DeStefano, Anna All-American Father
Duarte, Judy Call Me Cowboy
Early, Margot Because of Our Child
Ford, Pamela The Sister Switch
Fox, Roz Denny Real Cowboys
Frazier, Amy Blame It on the Dog
Gaines, Abby Married by Mistake
Gardner, Darlene The Other Woman’s Son
Hartman, Ellen Wanted Man
Johnson, Janice Kay First Comes Baby
Kay, Patricia She’s the One
Knupp, Amy The Boy Next Door
LeClaire, Day Where There’s a Will
Leigh, Allison Mergers & Matrimony
Markowiak, Linda Courting Valerie
McLinn, Patricia What are Friends for?
McMahon, Barbara The Last Cowboy Hero
Michael, Joanne It Takes Two
Michaels, Kasey A Most Unsuitable Groom
Mott, Brenda The Sheriff of Sage Bend
Novak, Brenda Expectations
Novak, Brenda Coulda Been a Cowboy
O’Brien, Kathleen Everything but the Baby
O’Keefe, Molly Undercover Protector
Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Match Me If You Can
Reese, Cynthia The Baby Wait
Shay, Kathryn The Wrong Man for Her
Showalter, Gena Animal Instincts
Thomason, Cynthia Her Sister’s Child
Warren, Wendy The Boss and Miss Baxter
Watson, Margaret Small-Town Family
Weaver, Ingrid The Angel and The Outlaw
Wiggs, Susan Dancing on Air
Wiggs, Susan A Summer Affair
Wiggs, Susan Husband for Hire
Wiggs, Susan Vows Made in Wine

The postage was $17.30 and it is my donation to the project.

Thanks, Margorie. I'll add the postage donation as soon as I can edit that Donations page.

Thank you, Marjorie, for donating so many books, including the postage.

Thanks, Jane, for the tally. We're over 5,500 now!!

Marjorie, thank you so much for your wonderful donation, they are eagerly awaiting them.

They all arrived safely and are ready for pick up.

During my absence we have had a tremendous upsurge in donations, and inquiries, and I am quite late in reporting them but will start now and hopefully we can soon be reporting all that's been sent!

We have received 20 copies of the book Kickapoo a new Texas novel about the entrance of the U.S. into World War I during 1917. by Thmas Wilson with a donated shipping cost was $23.89. We need to list Mr. Wilson on our Honor Roll of Donors as "Thomas Wilson, Texas novelist".

Thank you very much, Mr. Wilson.

In addition we have two more shipments on the way and this morning we have heard from an organization wanting to tie into our program at a benefit theatrical dance production, and the possibility of a new prison system being added in another state.

Things are really hopping. Stay tuned!

I cannot upload the new spreadsheet of donations, but will do so when I have access to the new server.

I have the spreadsheet on my desktop and it's current. I also can't access the Honor Roll of Donors at this time. I'll make a note to add Mr. Wilson when I can.

jane

Thank you Jane.

We have received word that the author of A Place and a Name, the Dan Jenkins Story, Etta May Ladson, has shipped 665 copies of the book to us.

They were scheduled to arrive on Fri. 7/27. A Place and a Name concerns the author's ancestor, the Reverend Dan Jenkins, who saved thousands of post Civil War orphans from eventually becoming prisoners. The book is atribute to his memory encouragement for incarcerated readers.

It's also full of songs and poems and is wonderful.

Thank you Etta May!! She will let us know the postage donated asap. I know the prison system of South Carolina will love the books as much as York CI did in CT! We appreciate your great generosity!

Thank you, Jane.

We have received word that 40 copies of Khalifah by John Elray, a book of historical fiction, has been shipped to us this morning.

The postage of $18.02 is also being donated, and the donor of the books is John Elray.

Many thanks for your generosity!! I know the prison is eagerly awaiting them.

I've added
Marjorie's and Sage' donation of 17.30,
Thomas Wilson's (author)donation of 23.89
John Elray's (author) donation of 18.02

Total Postage donated = $ 462.99.

I'll add Etta May Ladson's when you find out, Ginny.

Thank you Jane, and Pat, very much!

Amazing! Thank you to everyone who helped to move the number of books well over 6,000!