Books bring belonging

August 13, 2026 Kristin Rossum

CCWF is creating community around a shared love of stories thanks to a new book club

The Recreation Library has long been a place of escape and solace for many at Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF). But over the past nine months, since the start of the Book Club, it has also become a place for socializing, community building, and lively debate.

Book Club meetings turn the library from a quiet place to one filled with much laughter and eager voices. The group members huddle into the chairs and gather around the table with their books ready to share and discuss their ideas.

Books have a way of opening both the hearts and minds of readers, and, under the guidance of Librarian L. Andrade, our book club has created an entire community of passionate and dedicated bibliophiles eager to attend the next meeting.

As incarcerated participant Kendra Andersen-Schwegerl said, participating in Book Club has brought her, “a new found sense of community with like-minded people where we can discuss books that we all enjoy in a positive environment.”

Andrade is the driving force behind the success of the Book Club which began on Sept. 25, 2025. She established it with the support of the CCWF Education Department and with partial funding from the Office of Correctional Education (OCE) in Sacramento.

OCE provided several titles of fiction, classical literature, and nonfiction, and Andrade added several additional titles of literature and fantasy to the rotation.

The result has been received by CCWF readers with great enthusiasm resulting in several different biweekly sessions to accommodate the interest. Since its inception, the Book Club has grown to approximately 46 members and collectively they have completed reading 20 different titles, many of them part of a series. The most popular book title so far has been “The Fourth Wing,” a fantasy series which has been on the Book Club rotation over four times so far.

Andrade shared that she has loved reading since she was little. However, her love of libraries didn’t develop until she was in junior high school. She was on the drill team and her coach was the librarian so the team would regularly meet in the library. And so began a match made in heaven.

Andrade reads every book that is discussed at Book Club and facilitates every round. Her love of books and wonderfully sarcastic humor makes every participant in the group feel welcome and like their viewpoint matters. When the Book Club is in session, you walk into a circle of women emotionally invested in the topic and engaged in lively discussion. Andrade said that her “favorite part is bringing the shy participants out of their shells.”

CCWF resident Janine Chandler is involved in every Book Club session and helps to facilitate the participant discussions. As the club evolved, she noticed, the different sessions became very unique, with people expressing “different beliefs, different interpretations, and different interactions between the participants,” Chandler said.

“I particularly like how fantasy can be reflective of our life, our society, and allow individuals to get a deeper meaning in a more abstract way,” Chandler said. “Book Club gets deep. It can allow participants to receive a healing they wouldn’t otherwise receive.”

Sonia Garcia is another committed member of the CCWF Book Club. “The Book Club helped me remember how much I love reading literature,” she said. It also helped her to reprioritize reading as self-care, self-love, and restoration. Garcia enjoys the lively discussions about the books assigned.

She acknowledges, “not everyone is going to agree, but in Book Club, everyone’s viewpoint is heard and it is a safe place to disagree.” In addition, Book Club has brought her out of her comfort zone and has allowed her to fall in love with a new genre — fantasy.

“Woven Kingdom” by Tahereh Mafi is Garcia’s favorite book so far from Book Club. What she loves the most about this fantasy series is, “the author’s colorful character building, and the fact that the story involves jiin, which is unusual.” She also likes the fact that the author is a woman of color.

“Books have always been my escape,” said CCWF resident and Book Club member Nancy Ortiz. In her down time she can always be found with her head buried in a book. When she first heard about the Book Club, she was bursting with enthusiasm and excitement about reading new books and being able to share the experience with others.

“It takes me out of prison,” Ortiz said. She said she likes, “being able to relate to the characters and apply the themes to our lives.”

The Book Club is an opportunity to share your passion of books with others obsessed with diving into a good story. If books are your escape, and you feel at peace bonding with others over a mesmerizing tale, then the Book Club might be for you.

Andrade has compiled a diverse list of titles that are available to review for those who wish to sign up for the waiting list. Hope to see you there on our next journey.

List of books offered for Book Club: