The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Rehabilitation Unit has started a book club for incarcerated men and women at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead. There are two groups: a male book club with five members, and a female book club with ten members.
The book clubs meet weekly and are facilitated by a correction officer. The inmates are given a selection of books to choose from and once chosen, they read and have weekly discussions about the book. After the book has been finished, the inmates then have the opportunity to watch the movie based on the book. So far, the book clubs have read The Green Book and Tweak, and watched “A Beautiful Boy,” “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” and “The Jackie Robinson Story.” The next books to be read by the groups include Soul Surfer and Misery (for Halloween).
Inmate members of the book clubs have become enthusiastic readers. One inmate stated, “I really enjoy the variety of the books and enjoy discussing the core issues explored in each story (racism, addiction, dealing with death, overcoming adversity and mental illness, etc.).” Some inmates stated that they hadn’t really read books before this group and now have learned to enjoy them. Another inmate remarked that “reading a book, watching it come to life on the screen, and then discussing the differences between the book and the movie makes the whole process more worthwhile.” Inmates have written letters to the correction officer in charge of the program thanking him for giving them this outlet of expression.
Suffolk County Sheriff Dr. Errol D. Toulon, Jr. is pleased with the program. “I always encourage correction officers to take the initiative to help inmates better themselves while they are in jail. I am happy that this new book club provides inmates with a constructive way to spend their time while incarcerated in Suffolk County. Hopefully, these individuals will develop a love of reading that continues after they are released.”
If you have a book suggestion for the inmates to read in the future, please email [email protected].
