If you are coming to my show in Bloomington tomorrow, I am doing a book drive with this local non-profit called Pages to Prisoners. By providing free books upon request, they hope to promote rehabilitation and reintegration, and to stimulate critical thinking behind bars.
If you want to support, bring a book* (or 2 or 3!) that you don't want anymore to the show. Local bookstore, Boxcar Books, will be on hand to collect your donated books, which will get you entry to a VIP meet and greet with yours truly after the show.
If you don't have tickets yet, there are still a few left here!
* Here is some info on what kinds of books they need and don't need:
What We Don't Need
Romance Novels
Popular Fiction geared only to a female audience (the majority of the people who request books from our project are men)
Books about popular culture that are older than 10-15 years old
Reader's Digest condensed versions of books
"Gift" books
Very advanced/specialized textbooks or other academic books
Multivolume Encyclopedias
Books for young children
Travel guidebooks
True crime (many facilities prohibit these books)
GRE test prep books
Legal theory books, property, business law
Note: As many prisons and jails prohibit hardcover books, they are much less useful to our project than paperback ones.
What We Always Need
These are books that are often requested but not often donated.
New or like new books
Mystery/thriller/suspense/horror/adventure
Sci-fi/Fantasy
Westerns
African-American studies or fiction with African-American characters
"Life skills" - personal finance, job skills, etc.
Entrepreneurship/Real Estate/Small Business
Spanish language books
Technical and Vocational Skills (carpentr, auto mechanics, electronics, HVAC, etc.)
Basic high school level textbooks for math and science
Criminal and civil-rights law books, criminal case law, self-help legal books
GED test prep books
In addition, we can always use these materials: clear packing tape, packing tape dispensers, packing paper, pens and blank white paper.
