Library Card Sign-Up Month Reading List

Celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month in September! Unlock endless possibilities with a library card, granting access to books, resources, and knowledge. It’s your key to discovery, learning, and endless adventures.


Cover of Why We Read

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries and Just One More Page before Lights Out

Shannon Reed

In this uproarious exploration of the joys of reading, a long-time teacher, lifelong reader and The New Yorker contributor shares surprising stories from her life and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students and shows us how literature can transform us for the better.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB119624

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Cover of A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order

A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order

Judith Flanders

A Place for Everything is the first-ever history of alphabetization, from the Library of Alexandria to Wikipedia. The story of alphabetical order has been shaped by some of history's most compelling characters, such as industrious and enthusiastic early adopter Samuel Pepys and dedicated alphabet champion Denis Diderot. But though even George Washington was a proponent, many others stuck to older forms of classification--Yale listed its students by their family's social status until 1886. And yet, while the order of the alphabet now rules--libraries, phone books, reference books, even the order of entry for the teams at the Olympic Games--it has remained curiously invisible. With abundant inquisitiveness and wry humor, historian Judith Flanders traces the triumph of alphabetical order and offers a compendium of Western knowledge, from A to Z.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB127041

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Cover of Old Librarians Never Die

Old librarians Never Die, They Jump out of Airplanes: Adventuring through the Senior Years in Indiana

Marie J. Albertson

Albertson raised four children and put herself through college while doing so. After her husband's death she became a librarian at the Indiana State Library with a "rest of my life to-do list"...this book tells her personal story as she worked, then retired and began adventuring: learning to kayak, horseback-riding to see the wild mustangs, crewing on a tall ship, visiting the Great Wall of China on a budget, taking gliding lessons and reading Shakespeare.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DBC13561

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Cover of My Reading Life

My Reading Life

Pat Conroy

Bestselling author and South Carolinian Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life. Strong language.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DBC05157

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Cover of Secret Lives of Booksellers

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading

James Patterson

To be a bookseller or librarian... You have to play detective. Be a treasure hunter. A matchmaker. An advocate. A visionary. A person who creates "book joy" by pulling a book from a shelf, handing it to someone and saying, "You've got to read this. You're going to love it." Step inside The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians and enter a world where you can feed your curiosities, discover new voices, find whatever you want or require. This place has the magic of rainbows and unicorns, but it's also a business. The book business. Meet the smart and talented people who live between the pages and who can't wait to help you find your next favorite book.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB120263

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Cover of Reading Behind Bars

Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian

Jill A. Grunenwald

A newly minted librarian looks back on her first career stop: working in a prison. Discusses what drew her to the profession, why she chose to take the job, personalities she encountered, examples of both typical days and extraordinary ones, and challenges she faced. 2019.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB096548

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Cover of Author in Chief

Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents, their Books, and the Shaping of American History

Craig Fehrman

Journalist provides an overview of books written by American presidents, beginning with Thomas Jefferson and continuing through Donald Trump. Discusses the motivations for these publications, their contents, and their impact on the lives of the authors and society at large.Commercial audiobook. 2020.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB098626

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Cover of The Bad Ass Librarians

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts

Joshua Hammer

A journalist recounts the efforts of a small group of librarians and archivists in Mali to rescue thousands of rare manuscripts before they fell into the hands of the jihadists attacking the city of Timbuktu. Some strong language. 2016.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB084705

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Cover of A Delayed Life

A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz

Dita Kraus

    A Jewish woman whose experiences were fictionalized in The Librarian of Auschwitz (DB 89356) recounts her experiences of Nazi-occupation in Prague, life in the Jewish ghetto at Terezín, her own imprisonment in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and life after liberation. She describes her role as librarian of books smuggled into Auschwitz. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB102259

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Cover of America's Library

America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000

James Conaway

A history of this cultural institution--often considered the world's greatest library--and the thirteen Librarians of Congress who guided its development. Discusses its transformation from modest legislative resource to the vast national library of the United States. Describes some of the variety found in its diverse collection of over 115 million items. 2000.

Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB050345

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Reading Lists

South Carolina Talking Book Services creates and manages suggested titles reading lists for our patrons. Check out some of our lists below.