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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.

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

Book spotlight | Timeless Tales

The Hiding Place
The Color Purple
A Tale of Two Cities
The Princess Bride
Passing
Diary of Anne Frank
George Orwell's 1984
Pride and Prejudice
To Kill a Mockingbird
Frankenstein
The Catcher in the Rye
The Odyssey 
Romeo and Juliet
The Time Machine
Things Fall Aoart
Kindred
One Hundred Years of Solitude

staff Picks | What We're Reading

Into the Storm
Yellowface
No Country for Old Men
The Quiet Tenant
The Hidden Life of Trees
The Life Impossible
Alice Isn't Dead
Shark Heart
Such a Bad Influence
Babel
Goodbye, Again
Emily wildes map of the otherlands
Funny Story
The Prestige
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
The In Between: Unforgettable encounters During Life's final Moments
Zombie Apocalpyse Running Club
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too
Our wives under the sea
Flawed Dogs

TOPIC | Black History Month

Another sojourner looking for truth
A passionate mind in relentless pursuit
Blackbirds singing
Civil rights queen
Ella : a novel
God bless you, Otis Spunkmeyer
Kingdom of no tomorrow
Madness
Medgar & Myrlie
Neighbors
Praisesong for the kitchen ghosts
Rooted
Shirley Chisholm in her own words
Supreme sirens
Swift river
The day and night books of Mardou Fox
The small and the mighty
The swans of Harlem
Weird black girls

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 — 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.

How the one-armed sister sweeps her house
Olive Kitteridge
My paddle to the sea eleven days on the river of the Carolinas
The 100-year-old man who climbed out the window and disappeared
The kitchen god's wife
Me before you
The catcher in the rye
The Kite Runner
Walden, and Civil disobedience
Catch-22
Smarter Faster Better
The Women With Silver Wings
The secret life of bees
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Anne of Green Gables
There there

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 don’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.

 

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award winners, best sellers and hot topics

Book Lists & Reading Recommendations

Book Awards for Children's Books

Caldecott Medal
Chooch Helped (2024)

Chooch Helped (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)

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 Suárez Changes Gears (2019)

Merci Suárez 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
Abdul’s Story
Be A Bridge
Beneath
Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme
Don't Eat Bees
Donut: The Unicorn Who Wants to Fly
Every Dog in the Neighborhood
How to Hug a Pufferfish
I'm Hungry! Tengo Hambre!
John's Turn
Like
Little Good Wolf
Lou
Mary Had a Little Plan
Out of a Jar
Pigeon & Cat
Tiny Dino
When the Sky Glows
The World Belonged to Us
Yoshi and the Ocean
Controlled Burn
The Curse on Spectacle Key
Duet
Finally Seen
Freddie vs. the Family Curse
The Girl in White
Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure
Honestly Elliott
Hummingbird
Just Harriet
Manatee Summer
Nellie vs. Elizabeth
Out of Range
A Perfect Mistake
A Rover’s Story
Trex
We Own the Sky
Wildoak
Witchlings
Your Pal Fred
Attack of the Black Rectangles
Black Bird, Blue Road
The Bluest Sky
Camp Famous
Dream, Annie, Dream
A Duet for Home
Ellen Outside the Lines
Hummingbird
The Last Mapmaker
Meet Me Halfway
Playing Through the Turnaround
Rain Rising
A Song Called Home
Sweet and Sour
The Whispering Fog
Those Kids from Fawn Creek
We Were the Fire
What Happened to Rachel Riley
Where the Sky Lives
Yonder
Abuela, Don’t Forget Me
Ain’t Burned All the Bright
All My Rage
Belladonna
Daughters of a Dead Empire
Dead Flip
The Do-Over
The Drowned Woods
The Getaway
I Must Betray You
The Ivory Key
Lawless Spaces
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
Overground Railroad
Rust in the Root
Spells for Lost Things
Star Child
Victory, Stand!
Wrecked
Acorn was a Little Wild
Bathe the Cat
Chez Bob
Dancing with Daddy
Don’t Hug Doug
Gibberish
Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates
Hurricane
Invasion of the Unicorns
Knight Owl
Mel Fell
Negative Cat
Nigel and the Moon
Regina is not a Little Dinosaur
Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket
Someone Builds the Dream
Something’s Wrong
This Very Tree: a story of 9/11, resilience, and regrowth
A Walk in the Words
Be Strong
The Accidental
Allergic
Bartali's Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy's Secret Hero
Ben Yokohama and the Cookie of Doom
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls
Dog Squad
Elephant in the Room
Falling Short
Fast Pitch
The Islanders
Last Gate of the Emperor
The Many Meanings of Meilan
The Marvellers
Maya and the Robot
Ophie’s Ghosts
Shine on, Luz Veliz!
Simon B. Rhymin’
Sofia Acosta Makes a Scene
Stella
Stuck
365 Days to Alaska
Across the Desert
Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year
An Occasionally Happy Family
Cuba in my Pocket
Eddie Whatever
Fallout : Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown
Fast Pitch
Flight of the Puffin
Lines of Courage
Linked
The Lion of Mars
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
Now You Say Yes
Playing the Cards You're Dealt
Rivals
Stowaway
What Lives in the Woods
Wild River
Worst-Case Collin
African Town
All of Us Villains
Beasts of Prey
Bluebird
The City Beautiful
The Cost of Knowing
Enduring Freedom
Every Single Lie
The Girls I’ve Been
Huda F Are You?
In the Wild Light
A Lesson in Vengeance
Lies Like Wildfire
Luck of the Titanic
Project Hail Mary
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss
She Drives Me Crazy
This Poison Heart
Vinyl Moon
You’d Be Home Now
the bear in my family
bedtime bonnet
black is a rainbow color
the camping trip
the chicken who couldn't
eyes that kiss in the corners
facts vs. opinions vs. robots
Harlem grown: how one big idea transformed a neighborhood
home for a while
if you come to earth
lift
memoirs of a tortoise
Milo imagines the world
the oboe goes boom boom boom
old rock (is not boring)
Ronan the librarian
stompin' at the Savoy: how chick webb becomes the king of drums
swish!: the slam-dunking, alley-ooping, high-flying Harlem Globetrotters
this way, Charlie
unstoppable
Amari and the night brothers
becoming Muhammad Ali: a novel
blue skies
clean getaway
connect the dots
distress signal
echo mountain
Finn and the intergalactic lunchbox
the hide and seeker
in the red
Isaiah Dunn is my hero
Katie the catsitter
prairie lotus
Railway Jack: the story of an amazing baboon
red, white, and whole
scritch scratch
the total eclipse of Nestor Lopez
unspeakable: the Tulsa Race Massacre
war stories
Winterborne home for vengeance and valor
all he knew
alone
Amari and the night brothers
the brave
the canyon's edge
city spies
Cleo Porter and the body electric
closer to nowhere
dress coded
fighting words
ground zero
the in-between
measuring up
Santiago's road home
the shape of thunder
starfish
the stitchers
tune it out
turtle boy
twins
all your twisted secrets
be dazzled
the bridge
cemetery boys
charming as a verb
clap when you land
displacement
firekeeper's daughter
the gilded ones
grown
the inheritance games
legendborn
lycanthropy and other chronic illnesses: a novel
more than maybe
prepped
the ravens
this is my America
this is not the Jess show
unscripted
watch over me
There are no bears in this bakery
Because
Madeline Finn and the shelter dog
Carl and the meaning of life
The happy book
Nobody hugs a cactus
The very impatient caterpillar
When a kid like me fights cancer
SumoKitty
A voice named Aretha
The proudest blue: a story of hijab and family
If I built a school
The Paper Kingdom
Equality's call: the story of voting rights in America
Just like me
Snail crossing
The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng
A Crazy-Much Love
Packs: Strength in Numbers
This Book Is Gray
Song for a whale
Pay attention Carter Jones
The bridge home
Lety out loud
A wolf called Wander
Finding Orion
On thin ice
Stay
Guest : a changeling tale
More to the story
Some places more than others
Strange birds : a field guide to ruffling feathers
The ghost in apartment 2R
When stars are scattered
Once upon an Eid: stories of hope and joy by 15 Muslim voices
Mananaland
Hello from Renn Lake
Woke : a young poet's call to justice
All the Impossible Things
Scouts
Nightbooks
Searching for Lottie
Summer of a thousand pies
Other words for home
Wildfire : a novel
Running wild
Free lunch
Tristan Strong punches a hole in the sky
The Mystwick School of Musicraft
From the desk of Zoe Washington
96 miles
Black brother black brother
The blackbird girls
The light in hidden places : a novel based on the true story of Stefania PodgoÌ
Stamped : racism antiracism and you
Things you can't say
The only black girls in town
Efren divided : a novel
When stars are scattered
Revenge of the Red Club
Parkland : birth of a movement
Heroine
When I was Summer
Don't date Rosa Santos
Five midnights
Accused! : the trials of the Scottsboro boys : lies prejudice and the fourteenth amendment
The library of lost things
Winterwood
I know you remember
All-American Muslim girl
Jane Anonymous
Break the fall
The grace year
Stamped : racism antiracism and you
Kent State
Dancing at the pity party : a dead mom graphic memoir
The shadows between us
All eyes on us
Girls Like Us
The Gravity of Us
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
Born to Ride: A Story About Bicycle Face by Larissa Theule
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins by Michelle Meadows
Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Friends Stick Together by Hannah E. Harrison
Giraffe Problems by Jory John
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
Love, Z by Jessie Sima
The Magician’s Hat by Malcolm Mitchell
Misunderstood Shark by Ame Dyckman
Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs by Melissa Stewart
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre
Remarkably You by Pat Zietlow Miller
The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros
Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes
Shaking Things Up by Susan Hood
Sleepy, the Goodnight Buddy by Drew Daywalt
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Amal unbound
Arlo Finch in the valley of fire
Betty before X
Blended
Caterpillar Summer
Daring Dozen
Echo's sister
Finding Langston
Hardscrabble
Holes in the sky
Just like Jackie
Let 'er buck! : George Fletcher, the people's champion
Lizzy and the good luck girl
Max & the Midknights
Saving Winslow
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
The Doughnut Fix
The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA
They call me Güero: a border kid's poems
Willa of the Wood
The Benefits of Being an Octopus
Deep Water
Endling: The Last
Every Shiny Thing
Everything Else in the Universe
Front Desk
Genesis Begins Again
A Good Kind of Trouble
Harbor Me
I Am Still Alive
The Jigsaw Jungle
Lifeboat 12
Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
The Night Diary
Not if I Save You First
Shouting at the Rain
Small Spaces
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
The Unteachables
After the Shot Drops
Unbeatable: Oscar Robertson and the basketball team that awakened a city
Contagion
A curse so dark and lonely
The Hazel Wood
Here to stay
Heretics Anonymous
Hey, kiddo
I have the right to : a high school survivor's story of sexual assault, justice, and hope
The silence between us
Sky in the Deep
Skyward
Stay sweet
Stronger, faster, and more beautiful
Time bomb
Truly Devious
A Very Large Expanse of Sea
The Waning Age
We'll fly away
What you hide

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

The Queen's Cook
I Think I Was Murdered
Unforgotten
Tea with Elephants
The Burning of Rosemont Abbey
One Last Stand
An Honorable Deception
Specters in the Glass House
I Might Be in Trouble
The Voyage Home
No Place to Bury the Dead
Sister Snake
Only Here, Only Now
Rental House
Wandering Stars
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Husbands & Lovers
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
The Jewel of the Blues
The Starlets
Those Opulent Days
Sweet Vidalia
The Rest Is Memory
Beautiful Little Fools
The Heiress
Marilla of Green Gables
The Song of Achilles
Marmee
No Place to Bury the Dead
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
The Resurrectionist
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
A Guest in the House
Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection
The Night Eaters Book 1: She Eats the Night
Something is Killing the Children: Volume 1
First-Time Caller
Wooing the Witch Queen
The Quiet Librarian
Victorian Psycho
Isola
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com
A Killing Cold
Famous Last Words
Something in the Walls
The Strange Case of Jane O.
Misery Hates Company
Ghosts of Waikīkī
Silent Are the Dead
The Secret of the Three Fates
Alter Ego
The River We Remember
Northwoods
The Busy Body
The Rumor Game
The Last Murder at the End of the World
Onyx Storm
Iron Flame
The Night Is Defying
James
The Women
Fourth Wing
The Wedding People
The God of the Woods
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
All the Colors of the Dark
Intermezzo
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Presumed Guilty
Small Things Like These
Counting Miracles
Missing You
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties
Nightbitch
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Dog Man
Stuck in the Country with You
Not in My Book
How to Get a Life in Ten Dates
No Ordinary Duchess
A Five-Letter Word for Love
Temple of Swoon
Single Player
Cloaked in Beauty
The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt
The Sapling Cage
The Ancients
Out of the Drowning Deep
Gleem
The Last Delivery
Fall Through
Gabriel's Moon
You Can't Hurt Me
The Collaborators
Shell Games
An Insignificant Case
April Storm
You Better Watch Out
The Boundaries We Cross
Silent Are the Dead
This Girl's a Killer

Popular Nonfiction

Didion & Babitz
Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.
Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman
Damn Glad to Meet You
I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying
Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist
Growing Up Urkel
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
Sisters in Science
The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Pryne
Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King
The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy -- and Why it Failed
Save Our Souls: The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder
This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets
An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created
Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black
The Wounded World: W. E. B. Du Bois and the First World War
When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous...
The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins
Accidental Astronomy: How Random Discoveries Shape the Science of Space
Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform...
The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered...
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life
Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin
Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin, and the Battle Between Science and Religion
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom
The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy and Why It Failed
Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging As a Woman
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Hope: The Autobiography
Melania
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
Cher: The Memoir, Part One
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith
Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything
The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust
Let's Make Things Better: A Holocaust Survivor's Message of Hope and Celebration
You Lied to Me About God
How to Let Things Go: 99 Tips from a Zen Buddhist Monk to Relinquish Control and
Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God
How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern
Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me

Children & Teens

The Other Side of Tomorrow
My So-Called Family
Off the Map
Second to None
Swimming with Spies
The Ribbon Skirt
The Many Fortunes of Maya
Not An Easy Win
Dear Mothman
Haven
Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan
The Band in Our Basement
Bunny Hop
Eli and the Uncles
Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right
I'm From
The Red Jacket
Masala Chai, Fast and Slow
Hidden Gem
The Artivist
The Last Bookstore on Earth
Interabled: True Stories About Love and Disability
Mystery Royale
Ex Marks the Spot
After Life
Everything Is Poison
A Cruel Thirst
This Is the Year

Notice: All locations will be closed February 17 for Presidents Day.

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