DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) – The Book Lady is sharing her love for reading with inmates at a jail.
For ten years, Jennifer Williams, also known as The Book Lady, has been on a mission to give away 1 million books.
When she’s not working one of the five jobs she has to keep up with the cost of books, she’s out and about giving books to local schools. But Wednesdays, she’s at the Danville Jail hosting a book club for the female inmates.
“My goal is just to bring a little bit of joy and something to distract them with,” said Jennifer Williams, Pittsylvania County resident.
Since she started, she’s given out 157,953 books – some to Blair McGrory.
“It makes you feel good inside that somebody cares enough about books and us that they make it a point to bring us a book that we can have and keep,” said McGrory, Danville Jail inmate.
Since starting the book club seven years ago, they’ve read 2.2 million pages. The women say the books give them a chance to experience a world beyond the jail walls.
“It helps me occupy my time here,” said Brenda Gunter, Danville Jail inmate. “It really gets my mind off of the outside and helps me to focus on my future.”
But the program goes deeper than just discussing the books, Williams also takes the time to hear their stories.
“You can tell she likes coming and talking to us, too, and that she knows she’s making a difference. That’s the best part,” added McGrory.
“She has a lot of patience. Everyone has different personalities and she manages to deal with them,” said Gunter.
Just like the many different genres of books they read, no matter their characters or backgrounds, she loves them all the same.
“I just enjoy championing them because I feel like they probably appreciate it more than a lot of groups because they don’t have a lot of champions,” explained Williams.
To donate books to her cause, reach out to Williams on the Joy of Reading Facebook page.
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