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award winners, trending topics, staff favorites & more

Books & More

Books are what libraries are famous for and we have plenty of them for readers of all ages. So it doesn’t matter if you prefer fiction or nonfiction, we’ve got you covered. Check out some of our staff favorites or let us create a personalized reading list just for you.

  • Trending Topic
  • Staff Picks
  • Book Club Sets
  • Book Spotlight

TRENDING TOPIC | Jewish American Heritage Month

A sweet year
For such a time as this
The passenger
How the Talmud can change your life
Nemesis
Kantika : a novel
Unorthodox love
All other nights
Don't forget to write
Ladies of the Rachmaninoff eyes
Nosh
The counterfeit countess
South of my dreams
Uncomfortable conversations with a Jew
The story of the forest
Judaism is about love
When I grow up

staff Picks | What We're Reading

A Marriage at Sea
Katabasis
Crouton: One Cat's Adoption Tale
What Happened to Ruthie Ramirez?
The moon is a harsh mistress
The best dog in the world
Woman Down
Hemlock
Last Night In Brooklyn
The Astral Library
Adult braces : driving myself sane
We Are Definitely Human
Sinners
Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Our Edible World
The Mixed Marriage Project
On Witness and Respair
The Girls Who Grew Big
Brave new world
Kids, wait till you hear this! : My memoir
How to Commit A Postcolonial Murder
Anatomy of an Alibi
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
Everyone In This Bank Is a Thief
The News from Dublin

Book Club Sets | Our Recommendations

Reserve copies for your whole book club with just a few simple clicks. We offer an array of titles perfect for your book club. With your library card, you can check out a set which includes 12 to 15 copies โ€” conveniently packaged in a heavy duty Lexington County Library tote bag. Each set checks out for 1 month (30 days) so everyone has more than enough time to finish the book and discuss.

Weyward
Bells for Eli
Crying in H Mart
Mrs. Dalloway
The Code of the Woosters
Caste
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Night
The Underground Railroad
The Optimist's Daughter
The Covenant of Water
Hillbilly Elegy
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Walden, and Civil Disobedience
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation
The Kitchen God's Wife
Dial A for Aunties

Book spotlight | Unearth a Story

Jurassic Park
Crocheted dinosaurs
The Lost World
The Dinosaur Lords
Boy, with accidental dinosaur
Dinosaurs at the dinner party
The last extinction
Walking with dinosaurs : uncovering the secret stories of prehistoric life
The Dinosaur Hunter
The lost world of the dinosaurs : uncovering the secrets of the prehistoric age
A history of dinosaurs in 50 fossils
Written in stone
Tyrannosaur Canyon
Cute & cuddly crochet : learn to make huggable amigurumi animals
I got abducted by aliens and now I'm trapped in a rom-com
Bone digger

NoveList Plus

Looking for great read-alikes? You can log on to NoveList to browse recommendations for any age group. You’ll need the Discus password provided by South Carolina State Library. If you donโ€™t have a Discus password, call any library branch and we’ll be happy to help.

NextReads Newsletters

Sign up for monthly newsletters based on your favorite genres to get reading recommendations delivered straight to your inbox. Genres and topics include: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, New York Times Best Sellers, Page to Screen, Romance, Thrillers and Suspense, and much more.

Monthly Library News

Get the inside scoop on everything happening at your library. Stay connected with exciting events, find fun staff picks and engage with digital resources. Think of it as your monthly invitation to learn, grow and enjoy everything the library has to offer โ€” delivered straight to your inbox.

 

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   award winners, best sellers & hot topics

Book Lists & Reading Recommendations

Book Awards for Children's Books

Caldecott Medal
Chooch Helped (2025)

Chooch Helped (2025)

Big (2024)

Big (2024)

Hot Dog (2023)

Hot Dog (2023)

Watercress (2022)

Watercress (2022)

We are Water Protectors (2021)

We are Water Protectors (2021)

The Undefeated (2020)

The Undefeated (2020)

Hello Lighthouse (2019)

Hello Lighthouse (2019)

Wolf in the Snow (2018)

Wolf in the Snow (2018)

Radiant Child: the Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (2017)

Radiant Child: the Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (2017)

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear (2016)

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear (2016)

The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend (2015)

The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend (2015)

Locomotive (2014)

Locomotive (2014)

This Is Not My Hat (2013)

This Is Not My Hat (2013)

A Ball for Daisy (2012)

A Ball for Daisy (2012)

A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011)

A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011)

The Lion & the Mouse (2010)

The Lion & the Mouse (2010)

The House in the Night (2009)

The House in the Night (2009)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008)

Flotsam (2007)

Flotsam (2007)

The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006)

The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006)

Kitten's First Full Moon (2005)

Kitten’s First Full Moon (2005)

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004)

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004)

My Friend Rabbit (2003)

My Friend Rabbit (2003)

The Three Pigs (2002)

The Three Pigs (2002)

So You Want to Be President? (2001)

So You Want to Be President? (2001)

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Coretta Scott King
2023 Author Winner

2023 Author Winner

2023 Illustrator Winner

2023 Illustrator Winner

2023 Author Honor

2023 Author Honor

2023 Author Honor

2023 Author Honor

2023 Author Honor

2023 Author Honor

2023 Illustrator Honor

2023 Illustrator Honor

2023 Illustrator Honor

2023 Illustrator Honor

2023 New Talent Award

2023 New Talent Award

2023 New Talent Award

2023 New Talent Award

Newberry Medal
Freewater (2023)

Freewater (2023)

The Last Cuentista (2022)

The Last Cuentista (2022)

When You Trap a Tiger (2021)

When You Trap a Tiger (2021)

New Kid (2020)

New Kid (2020)

Merci Suรกrez Changes Gears (2019)

Merci Suรกrez Changes Gears (2019)

Hello Universe (2018)

Hello Universe (2018)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2017)

The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2017)

Last Stop on Market Street (2016)

Last Stop on Market Street (2016)

Crossover (2015)

Crossover (2015)

Flora & Ulysses (2014)

Flora & Ulysses (2014)

The One and Only Ivan (2013)

The One and Only Ivan (2013)

South Carolina Book Awards

South Carolina Book Awards: 2026

The Book That Almost Rhymed
One Day This Tree Will Fall
ARTificial Intelligence
Stokes
Flamingos are Pretty Funky
The Girl Who Figured it Out
The Curious Why
Buffalo Fluffalo
Monster Hands
A Friend for Eddy
Go and Get with Rex
The Yellow Bus
I'm Sorry You Got Mad
Home in a Lunchbox
When Black Girls Dream Big
There Are No Ants in This Book
Neat Nick's Big Mess
Ursula Upside Down
The Man Who Didn't Like Animals
Josรฉ Feeds the World
Shock City
Spark
The Night War
Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth-grade Year
The Legend of the Last Library
The No-brainer's Guide to Decomposition
The Mystery of Locked Rooms
And Then, Boom!
The Master of Mystic Mountain
Heroes
The Dark Skies Mystery
Faker
Medusa
Rougarou Magic
Wander Lost
Trouble at the Tangerine
Let It Glow
The Last Dragon on Mars
Will's Race for Home
Fowl Play
Between Two Brothers
Boy 2.0
Exit Nowhere
The Other Side of Tomorrow
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Breaking into Sunlight
Art Club
A Game of Noctis
And Then, Boom!
Not Nothing
The Girl Who Kept the Castle
Popcorn
Gut Reaction
Bye Forever, I Guess
Not if You Break Up with Me First
The Wrong Way Home
The Sherlock Society
It Came from the Trees
Mid-Air
Shark Teeth
A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants
After Life
Better Must Come
The Black Girls Survives in this One
Blood at the Root
Break to You
The Brightwood Code
Brownstone
Cancelled
Dead Things are Closer than They Appear
Dungeons and Drama
Fortune's Kiss
The Glass Girl
Looking for Smoke
Now, Conjurers
Two Sides to Every Murder
Unbecoming
The Unboxing of a Black Girl
Under the Surface
The Wilderness of Girls

Book Awards for Adult Books

Hugo
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022)

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022)

The Promise (2021)

The Promise (2021)

Shuggie Bain (2020)

Shuggie Bain (2020)

The Testament (2019)

The Testament (2019)

Girl, Woman, Other (2019)

Girl, Woman, Other (2019)

Milkman (2018)

Milkman (2018)

Lincoln in the Bardo (2017)

Lincoln in the Bardo (2017)

The Sellout (2016)

The Sellout (2016)

A Brief History of Seven Killings (2015)

A Brief History of Seven Killings (2015)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2014)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2014)

The Luminaries (2013)

The Luminaries (2013)

Pultizer Prize
Demon Copperhead (2023)

Demon Copperhead (2023)

Trust (2023)

Trust (2023)

The Netanyahus (2022)

The Netanyahus (2022)

The Night Watchman (2021)

The Night Watchman (2021)

The Nickel Boys (2020)

The Nickel Boys (2020)

The Overstory (2019)

The Overstory (2019)

Less (2018)

Less (2018)

The Underground Railroad (2017)

The Underground Railroad (2017)

The Sympathizer (2016)

The Sympathizer (2016)

All the Light We Cannot See (2015)

All the Light We Cannot See (2015)

The Goldfinch (2014)

The Goldfinch (2014)

The Orphan Master's Son (2013)

The Orphan Master’s Son (2013)

Popular Fiction

Christian Fiction
All Booked Up
When Justice Comes
The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins
Without a Clue
Faithful of Heart
A Deeper Well
Taming Lady Temperance
The Bookshop of 99 Doors
Fiction A to Z
Yesteryear
Laws of Love and Logic
You & Me and You & Me and You & Me
Whidbey
The Complex
A Good Animal
The Wedding People
By Her Own Design
What Is Wrong with You?
Women of Good Fortune
Historical Fiction
The Moonshine Women
Railsong
A Bad, Bad Place
The Shock of the Light
I Hope You Find What You're Looking for
The Sisters of Book Row
Evil Genius
Where the Girls Were
Fatherland
Horror
Midnight Somewhere
Dark Sisters
Snake-Eater
A Box Full of Darkness
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology
Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror
Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror
Library Reads
Land
The Children
The Housewife
Villa Coco
The Shampoo Effect
Marion
Scandal of the Summer
The Jellyfish Problem
Mystery
The Secrets of the Abbey
A Violent Masterpiece
Robbie McNeil's Hit List
My Grandfather, the Master Detective
No Good Deed
A Ghastly Catastrophe
The Gardeners' Club
Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer
The Politician
Nobody's Baby
New York Times Bestsellers
A Parade of Horribles
Yesteryear
Broken Dove
The Fourth Option
Our Perfect Storm
The Correspondent
The Calamity Club
26 Beauties
The Last Mandarin
Fury Bound
Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Starside
The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
The Things We Never Say
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Page to Screen
The House of the Spirits
The Testaments
Lord of the Flies
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Three Bags Full
The Deal
Good Girl, Bad Blood
Romance
The Art of Loving You
How to Fake It in Society
The Duke
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop
Happy Ending
Cherry Baby
An Arcane Study of Stars
Don't Tell Me How It Ends
Don't Fall in Love with Me
Stranger Things Have Happened
Science Fiction
After the Fall
Aubrey Wants to Die
Nobody's Baby
Operation Bounce House
Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead
The First Step
The Forest on the Edge of Time
The Fox and the Devil
The Obake Code
The Red Winter
Thrillers & Suspense
Five
The Ending Writes Itself
The Hotel Guest
Mad Mabel
A Deadly Episode
Dark is When the Devil Comes in
The Library After Dark
Boring Asian Female

Popular Nonfiction

Biographies & Memiors
Cosmic Music
This is Not About Running
Shut Up and Read: A Memoir from Harriett's Bookshop
Kutchinsky's Egg: A Family's Story of Obsession, Love, and Loss
Project Tiger: The Birth of Genius and the Price of Greatness
Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird
Small Town Girls: A Writer's Memoir
Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry
The Last Titans
Crafts & Hobbies
Beekeeping for Beginners
Sisters Gonna Stitch: a Feminist Embroidery Guide
Making with Meaning: More Than 20 Meditative and Creative Crochet Projects
15-Minute Gentle Yoga: Four 15-Minute Workouts for Energy, Balance, and Calm
Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style
Plant Craft : 30 Projects That Add Natural Style to Your Home
DIY chicken keeping from Fresh eggs daily : 40 projects for the coop, run, brooder, and more
History & Current Events
When the World Sleeps
Vengeance
Inside the Box
The Vast Enterprise
Stealing America
American Rambler
Screen People
The Secret War Against Hate
Nature & Science
The Story of COโ‚‚ Is the Story of Everything
The Call of the Honeyguide: What Science Tells Us About How to Live Well With the Rest of Life
The Last Extinction: The Real Science Behind the Death of the Dinosaurs
The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and Live
Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World
The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics
The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
New York Times Bestsellers
Strangers
Take Me to Your Leader
The Case for America
Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About
Famesick
True Crime
The U.S. Constitution
London Falling
The Anxious Generation
I Am Not a Robot
American Rambler
Vengeance
This Vast Enterprise
Inside the Box
Spirtuality & Religion
Why I Am Not an Atheist: The Confessions of a Skeptical Believer
The Supreme Gift: Love Is the Greatest Thing in the World
Braving the Truth
Heal Your Hurting Mind
How to Know Your Self
A World Appears
The Beginning Comes After the End
The Glorians
Shaolin Spirit

Children & Teens

Kids & Tweens
Olive Oakes and the Haunted Carousel
You and Me and the Peanut Butter Beast
Opting Out
Rialto
A Fishboy Named...Sashimi
A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm
Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker
Lost Time
Dactyl Hill Squad
Dinomighty!
Big Tree
Picture Books
102
Miles Ahead
The Whale's Tale and the Otter's Side of the Story
Hold
A Fish Like Me
Dino Poet
Penny & Pip
Dinos That Drive
Night Flight
The Iguanodon's Horn
TeenScene
Holloway
Change of Plans
As I Dream of You
The Fight of Our Lives
Shards of Silence
This Thing of Ours
Fable for the End of the World
The Rose Bargain
Audre & Bash Are Just Friends
blue dinosaur reading book

Summer Reading

Tick-tock-tick. The countdown has started.

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds

Get ready to stomp into Summer Reading beginning May 26. Grab a tracking card, earn prizes and uncover prehistoric levels of fun all summer long.

Dig into the details ยป