Reading behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill GrunenwaldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ever since my work with correctional institutions in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, I have been very interested in prison/jail reform and enrichment programs. Even one of my dogs came from a prison rescue program! Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald seemed like a good fit. This is a memoir and Jill Grunenwald is not perfect. There are definitely cringe moments, even in the interactions with the inmates. I liked the inclusion of actual prison regulations at the start of chapters. I learned some things about prison libraries that may help me make future donations from my own collection. I enjoyed many of the literary references. For those who have issues with J.K. Rowling, there are a lot of Harry Potter references in this book. It was published in 2019, so I give the author some grace for possibly not having the foresight to know how alienating those might be for people.
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