Read-alikes for Popular Books in 2018

LibraryReads recently released their favorite of the favorites 2018. These are the top ten books that librarians across the county have loved recommending throughout this year. If you’re looking for something to read that is like a popular book from this year try one of these. Links are to the title in the Charleston County Public Library catalog.

LibraryReads Favorite of the Favorites 2018.

If you liked Educated by Tara Westover, try The Only Girl in The World by Maude Julien.

If you liked An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, try The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner.

If you liked Circe by Madeline Miller, try Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin.

If you liked The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware, try The Black Painting by Neil Olson.

If you liked The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, try Educated by Tara Westover or The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

If you liked The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, try Eternal Life by Dara Horn.

If you like The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, try The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

If you liked There There by Tommy Orange, try The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea.

If you liked The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, try It Happened One Wedding by Julie James.

If you liked The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, try Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.

Read-alike suggestions come from Novelist Plus, a database offered by Charleston County Public Library that connects similar titles and authors together. Bonus, it’s not an algorithm doing the linking but a trained librarian who works for novelist. Next time you find a title or author you really liked give Novelist a try to find another title or author that is similar.

Want help with Novelist or finding a book to read contact the Mt. Pleasant Regional Library at MtpReference@ccpl.org, (843)849-6161, leave a comment below, or come by the library located at 1133 Mathis Ferry Rd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.

Holiday Library Hours

The branches may be closed for the holidays, but the digital collections are always available.

eBooks and audiobooks are available from Libby, Overdrive, hoopla, and RBdigital.

Movies and television shows are available from hoopla and RBdigital.

Music is available from hoopla and Freegal.

To browse the collections mentioned above click here.

Favorites of the Favorites 2018

2018 National Book Award Winners Announced

The National Book Foundation announced the winners of this year's National Book Awards. Below are the winners with a link to the title in our catalog.

Fiction

The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez

Nonfiction

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Translated Literature

The Emissary, by Yoko Tawada, translated by Margaret Mitsutani

Poetry

Indecency, by Justin Phillip Reed

Young People's Literature

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

For the long list of finalist, click here to go to the National Book Foundation website.

Top Ten Books of November 2018

Library Closed for Veterans Day

Dinovember

Top Ten Books of October 2018

Most Banned Books of 2017

In honor of Banned Books Week, September 23-29, the American Library Association created an infographic listing the top ten most challenged books of 2017.

If you'd like to know more about why any of these titles were challenged, click here to view an annotated list of the top ten most challenged books for every year through 2001.

Click here to search for any of the titles in our catalog.

Click here to search for any of the titles in Overdrive/Libby.

Click here to search for any of the titles in hoopla.

If you'd like more information please leave a comment below or contact the Mt. Pleasant Regional Library, located at 1133 Mathis Ferry Rd., Mt. Pleasant, by phone, (843) 849- 6161, or by email, MtpReference@ccpl.org.

Learn to Bake with the Library

Anyone else completely obsessed with "The Great British Baking Show"? I've never been a person to enjoy cooking or baking but I am completely sucked in to this television show! I want to learn how to make all the yummy bakes including pies, cakes, puddings, and custards.

If you have never seen "The Great British Baking Show" you can check out the show's DVDs from the library. Click here to see which seasons are available. Some of the seasons are also available for streaming on hoopla, click here to check it out and start streaming.

If you're wanting to learn how to make all the yummy goodness try:

Rose's Baking Basics: 100 Essential Recipes, with More Than 600 Step-by-Step Photos by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Best selling author and baking expert, Rose Levy Beranbaum, guides readers through no fuss recipes such as brownies, holiday pies, birthday cakes, and homemade bread. Beranbaum uses a streamlined and simplified approach along with instructive photos to help you along the way. Throughout the book she shares tips and methods for best flavors and foolproof results.

Click here to view in our catalog.

The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking by Lisa Collister 

This cookbook contains 120 recipes from both the judges and bakers of The Great British Bake Off! Using easy-to-follow techniques there are recipes for biscuits, bread, cakes, and all the yummy goodness created on the show. Chapters showcase the best recipes from the challenges including Mary and Paul's Signature Bakes, Technical Challenges, and Showstoppers along with best bakers' recipes from the show. This book is a great guide to baking whether you're new to baking or a well-practiced home cook, with step-by-step photographs to help guide readers through more complicated techniques.

Click here to view in our catalog.

If you'd like more resources about learning how to bake please leave a comment below or contact the Mt. Pleasant Regional Library, located at 1133 Mathis Ferry Rd., Mt. Pleasant, by phone, (843) 849- 6161, or by email, MtpReference@ccpl.org.

Top Ten Books of September 2018

Closed for Labor Day

Word and Excel Classes at Mt. Pleasant Regional Library

Writing Class: From Draft to Traditionally Published Novel

Spaces are still available for the class with J.C. Sasser. Writers wishing to participate should send the following information to MtpReference@ccpl.org.

1. Full name
2. Telephone number
3. Email address
4. Confirm novel draft completed Y/N (it is not necessary to send a sample at this time).

Reading Suggestions: The Crown

If you enjoyed Netflix's "The Crown" try the books below to get a royal fix while we wait for Season 3.

Click on a title to view it in our catalog.

Non-Fiction

The Queen: The Life and Times of Elizabeth II by Catherine Ryan











The Crown: The Official Companion Volume 1 Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and The Making of a Young Queen, 
(1947-1955) by Robert Lacey

Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage by Gyles Brandreth

Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II by Philip Eade

Ninety-nine glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown

Fiction

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

Also available on Overdrive , Libby, and hoopla.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Top Ten Books of August 2018

Write On! Literacy Celebration

The end of summer reading will be here before you know it. Between Saturday, July 28 and Saturday, August 4 there will be a weeklong, system-wide series of fun events including writing workshops and author talks geared towards older young adults and adults.

At the Mt. Pleasant Regional Library we will host two of those programs, a Volunteer Fair and a Fiction Writing Workshop with Grady Hendrix.

The Volunteer Fair is on Thursday, August 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. where you can come explore volunteer opportunities with local nonprofits.

The Fiction Writing Workshop with Grady Hendrix is on Friday, August 3 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Author Grady Hendrix will facilitate a fiction writing workshop open to anyone 16 or older. Pre-registration is required. Please email mtpreference@ccpl.org or call 843-849-6161 to register.

Grady's book Paperbacks from Hell won the Stoker Award in 2017 for Distinguished Achievement in Non-Fiction.

Books by Grady Hendrix (click on the book title to see it in our catalog)
Horrorstör  (eBook and downloadable audiobook available)
My Best Friend’s Exorcism (eBook and downloadable audiobook available)
Paperbacks from Hell

Growing Citrus in South Carolina

Top Ten Books of July 2018

Library Closed for Fourth of July

Summer Reading at CCPL

Have you been reading this summer and want to win great prizes?

Join in our summer reading programs, there is a program for every age group (children, teens, and adult).

Click here to find out more or to start logging your reading.

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar - The Map of Salt and Stars - Book Review

Available as a physical book as well as an eBook via OverDrive.  Go to our catalog to put on hold or call (843)849-6161 to put on hold or find out more about our downloadable collections.

Click the link below to read a full review from Book Review about the title.

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar - The Map of Salt and Stars - Book Review: Among the many things the violence of war obliterates, perhaps the most malicious is history. Now in its seventh year, the civil war that has turned Syria into the site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises has also corseted one of the oldest societies on earth into a kind of perpetual infancy.

Top Ten Books of June 2018

Library Closed for Memorial Day

Top Ten Books of May 2018

Gerrymandering Presentation by League of Women Voters

To find out more about The League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area visit, http://lwvcharleston.org/.

Lit After Dark: The Health and Medical Series

Lit After Dark: The Health and Medical Series

April 25 from 7 - 8 p.m.
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

May 23 from 6 - 7 p.m.
"Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital" by David Oshinsky

June 27 from 5 - 6 p.m.
"Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital" by Sheri Fink

Smart Business Planning Workshop

FREE Earth Day Shred Events Throughout Charleston County

Turning a New Leaf: From Prison to Progress - Stories of Success

Thursday, April 19
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Join us for a special opportunity to take a glimpse inside the world of the Turning Leaf Project. Meet Executive Director Amy Barch along with a few of her participants. Hear about what got them into prison, and what it's  taken for them to stay out. You'll learn why so many people spend their lives cycling in and out of prison, and what we as informed community members can do about it. You are also welcome to bring donations for Turning Leaf's program participants (needed items at end of post).

About the Turning Leaf Project

Did you know that incarcerating a person costs South Carolina taxpayers $20,000 a year in a state prison, and $30,000 a year in a federal prison?

Nation statistics report that 67% of released prisoners will be re-arrested within three years. Turning those rates around has proven an elusive goal for generations.

But those seemingly intractable statistics inspired Amy Barch and others to launch the Turning Leaf Project ("Turning Leaf"), a Charleston-based reentry and rehabilitation nonprofit organization. They use intense cognitive behavioral programming combined with case management, in-house employment and job placement to help men returning to our community that are at the greatest risk of being re-incarcerated. To date, Turning Leaf has helped to prevent dozens of men from returning to prison and instead working productively within their communities.


Turning Leaf's Donation Wish List

Office printer paper Dry erase markers Pocket folders Pens Mechanical pencils Notebooks Sticky notes Tape refill

Manila file folders Kleenex Paper towels Toilet paper Hand soap Clorox cleaning wipes $5 gift cards for Walmart, the Dollar Store, or McDonald’s

Visit https://www.turningleafproject.com/ to learn more.

Muslims in America Lecture

Top Ten Books for April 2018

Help! I Need Reading Recommendations!

In search of reading recommendations?

At the Mount Pleasant Regional Library we have numerous ways to help you find something to read.

We have a staff picks display that is frequently updated by our staff members with books, movies, and television shows the staff have enjoyed.  The items are as diverse as our staff, currently we have mystery books, reality TV shows, poetry, and fantasy classics. The display is always changing so come on by and take a peak. 

On our website www.ccpl.org, we have a reader's advisory page under the "Use Your Library" header.  Learn more about book clubs, book lists and suggestions, and lastly reader's advisory.  Click reader's advisory gives three options: Novelist (a database full of read-a-likes), Next Reads (a way to sign up for genre specific newsletters from the library), and KDL's What's Next database (a simple listing of books in different series).

 Also our great librarians who are only ever a trip to the library or phone call away, (843) 849-6161, press 2 for reference. We're always more than happy to help you with reading recommendations.

Pietro Bartolo - Tears of Salt - Book Review

Available as a physical book as well as a downloadable audiobook via hoopla.  Go to our catalog to put on hold or call (843)849-6161 to put on hold or find out more about our downloadable collections.

Click the link below to read a full review from Book Review about the title.

Pietro Bartolo - Tears of Salt - Book Review: Pietro Bartolo runs the sole medical clinic in his homeland of Lampedusa, a tiny Italian island 70 miles off the coast of Tunisia that has become the gateway—and graveyard—for an unending stream of refugees trying to escape the varied horrors confronting them in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Top Ten Books for March 2018

Spread the Love: Donation Drive Benefiting One80 Place

For the month of February, the Mount Pleasant Regional Library will be conducting a donation drive benefiting One80 Place, a local nonprofit whose mission it is to prevent and end homelessness.

We will be collecting items for the four types of Move-In Kits: the Cleaning Kit, the Furniture Kit, the Kitchen Kit, and the Linen Kit (see list of items below).  Each of these kits contain basic home items and helps a community member transition more easily from living in the street/shelter to a new home.

All items donated must be brand new. Please turn in items to the reference desk at Mount Pleasant Regional Library located at 1133 Mathis Ferry Rd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.  

If you have any questions about what is still needed, please call (843) 849-6161 and press 2 for reference.

The Cleaning Kit

Broom and dustpan Mop and bucket Laundry basket Laundry detergent Trash can Tall trashbags All-purpose cleaner

Cleaning cloths Dish soap Toilet brush and holder Paper towels Toilet paper Shower curtain Shower curtain liner and shower curtain rings

The Furniture Kit

Folding table

Folding chairs (2)

Folding side table

Plastic shelf

Plastic 3-drawer storage

Desk lamp

Air mattress with built-in pump (twin or full)

The Kitchen Kit

Basic set of pots and pans Set of dishes (plates, bowls, and cups) Set of silverware Serving utensils/spoons Kitchen knife Can opener Measuring cups

Mixing bowl Plastic storage containers Dish cloths and pot holder Ice trays Peeler Silverware tray Drying rack for dishes

The Linen Kit

Sheet set (Double sized)

Towel sets (2)

Standard pillow

Top Ten Books for February 2018

2018 Friends of the Library Book Sales

Library Closed for MLK Day

CCPL Branches Closing January 3 Due to Inclimate Weather

CHARLESTON, SC - Due to anticipated winter weather, all Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) branches and book drops will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 3. Book drops will be unavailable while branches are closed, and patrons should not leave items outside the book drop. Any unsecured items left will be the responsibility of the patron. 

Overdue fines will be waived while branches and book drops are closed.

All library programs are cancelled, and meeting rooms will be closed for any meetings booked by community groups. 

Due to the uncertainty of the weather's impact, please check to see if the library has reopened Thursday by calling 843-805-6930 or visiting the library's website - www.ccpl.org.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch that will remain in effect through Wednesday evening. Total snow and sleet accumulations of 1 to 3 inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze are possible.