North Carolina Coffee Table Books You Need

I transitioned my space to write more about North Carolina travel to highlight some of the best parts of North Carolina, especially those lesser-known small towns. I have always been a big fan of coffee table books, so I recently updated my collection with some North Carolina-specific ones. While I typically enjoy finding ones at vintage shops, here are 10 worth adding to your collection if you are a North Carolinian or a gift idea for your favorite native of the Old North State!

This post was originally published in 2023 and has since been updated and recirculated for 2024.

North Carolina Coffee Table Books You Need

Art of the State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina

This beautiful and informative volume illustrates the vitality and importance of North Carolina’s contemporary art scene. Showcasing the creation, collection, and celebration of art in all its richness and diversity. The result is the most comprehensive, informative, and visually rich story of contemporary art in North Carolina.

Backroads of North Carolina: Your Guide to Great Day Trips & Weekend Getaways

North Carolina is a traveler’s dream. From the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks’ historic lighthouses, wild horses, and charming fishing villages; from battlegrounds of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the “heart of motorsports”; from rolling wine country and golf courses to stately plantations and rustic settlements. Sumptuously illustrated, with maps and all manner of interesting detail, Backroads of North Carolina is a page-by-page pleasure. As well as a passport to the more off-beat delights of the Tar Heel State.

The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Cúrate: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen

The vibrant flavors of Spain are brought into the American home kitchen by a young lauded chef and founder of one of America’s most acclaimed new restaurants. Katie Button debuts her first cookbook ever as a peek inside the kitchen of her award-winning restaurant, C rate. This cookbook features 125 recipes celebrating the vibrant flavors and broad appeal of Spanish food. Button brings the cuisine at C rate into the kitchen of every home cook. And showing readers how to re-create classic Spanish dishes and adapt them using American seasonal ingredients. From cherished traditions (Tortilla Espa ola; Chicken Paella) to mouthwatering new favorites (Ham and Cheese Stuffed Fried Pork Chops; Ribeye Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce) to celebratory drinks and desserts (The Perfect Gin and Tonic; Almond Cake with Cream Sherry and Brandy), C rate brings Spain to you.

Edible North Carolina: A Journey Across a State of Flavor

Marcie Cohen Ferris gathers a constellation of leading journalists, farmers, chefs, entrepreneurs, scholars, and food activists–along with photographer Baxter Miller– to offer a deeply immersive portrait of North Carolina’s contemporary food landscape. Documenting disparities among people’s access to food and farmland–and highlighting community and state efforts toward fundamental solutions–Edible North Carolina shows how culinary excellence, entrepreneurship, and the struggle for racial justice converge in shaping food equity, not only for North Carolinians but for all Americans.

Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque

Ed Mitchell’s journey in the barbeque business began in 1991. With a lunch for his mama, who was grieving the loss of Ed’s father. So Ed drove to the nearby Piggly Wiggly to buy a thirty-five-pound pig–that’s a small one–and fired up the coals. As smoke filled the air and the pork skin started to crackle, the few customers at the family bodega started to inquire about lunch and what smelled so good. More than thirty years later, Ed is known simply as “The Pitmaster” in barbeque circles. And is widely considered one of the best at what he does. Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque is rich with the history of Wilson, North Carolina. And yet promises to bring barbeque to the next level.

Encyclopedia of North Carolina

The first single-volume reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state. The Encyclopedia of North Carolina is a landmark publication that will serve those who love and live in North Carolina for generations to come. An informative and engaging compendium, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is abundantly illustrated with 400 photographs and maps. It is both a celebration and a gift. From the citizens of North Carolina to the citizens of North Carolina.

Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina

Eastern North Carolina boasts some of the oldest and most distinctive architecture in the state. From colonial churches and antebellum plantation houses. To the imperiled lighthouses of the late nineteenth century. The more recent history of this predominantly agricultural region includes landscapes of small farmsteads, country churches, factories, tobacco barns, quiet maritime villages, and market towns. There are also volumes for the Piedmont and Western North Carolina.

Literary Trails of Eastern North Carolina: a Guidebook

This concluding volume of the Literary Trails of North Carolina trilogy takes readers into an ancient land of pale sand, dense forests, and expansive bays, through towns older than our country and rich in cultural traditions. Here, writers reveal lives long tied to the land. And regularly troubled by storms and tell tales of hardship, hard work, and freedom. Eighteen tours lead readers from Raleigh to the Dismal Swamp, the Outer Banks, and across the Sandhills as they explore the region’s connections to over 250 writers of fiction, poetry, plays, and creative nonfiction. Along the way, Georgann Eubanks brings to life the state’s rich literary heritage as she explores these writers’ connection to place and reveals the region’s vibrant local culture.

Excerpts invite readers into the authors’ worlds. And web links offer resources for further exploration. Featured authors include A. R. Ammons, Gerald Barrax, Charles Chesnutt, Clyde Edgerton, Philip Gerard, Kaye Gibbons, Harriet Jacobs, Jill McCorkle, Michael Parker, and Bland Simpson. The other two volumes are for Western North Carolina and the North Carolina Piedmont.

North Carolina Waterfalls

In this third edition of his classic photography/ hiking guide, Adams showcases his own beautiful color photographs. This complete compendium lists 1,000 waterfalls. Adams specifically highlights more than 300 of the best waterfalls found in North Carolina. And with full descriptions, comprehensive directions, and four-color photographs. Since the first edition of Kevin Adams’s North Carolina Waterfalls in 1994, this book has sold almost 65,000 copies. In that time, Adams has established a widespread and well-respected reputation as a photographer, naturalist, writer, and teacher.

One Year In North Carolina: A Collection Of Thoughtful Photographs

In this wonderfully illustrated coffee table book, Andrew Lockwood visually portrays the natural beauty and diversity of North Carolina with 26 carefully crafted photographs.

Road Trip Carolina, A Ride Across the Old North State

Buckle your seat belt for a lively trip! Cruise across mountain peaks and sandy shores. Travel to storied landmarks and enchanting sights. Road Trip Carolina is certain to spark wanderlust in the young explorer. And cherished memories in those who already know and love North Carolina.

Saltbox Seafood Joint Cookbook

Ricky Moore was born and reared in the North Carolina coastal town of New Bern, where catching and eating fresh fish and shellfish is what people do. Today, Moore is one of the most widely admired chefs to come out of the region. In this cookbook, he tells the story of how he started his wildly popular Saltbox Seafood Joint(R) restaurants and food truck in Durham, North Carolina. Moore, a formally trained chef, was led by a culinary epiphany in the famous wet markets of Singapore to start a restaurant focused purely on the food inspired by the Carolina coast and its traditional roadside fish shacks and camps. Saltbox Seafood Joint’s success is a testament to Moore’s devotion to selecting the freshest seasonal ingredients every day and preparing them perfectly.

In sixty recipes that celebrate his coastal culinary heritage, Moore instructs cooks how to prepare Saltbox Seafood Joint dishes. This cookbook, written with K. C. Hysmith, explains how to pan-fry and deep-fry, grill and smoke, and cook up soups, chowders, stews, and grits and seafood. Moore has taken pity on us and even included the recipe for his famous Hush-Honeys(R), an especially addictive hushpuppy. Charts and illustrations in the book explain the featured types, availability, and cuts of fish and shellfish used in the recipes.

Saltwater: Coastal Carolina

Introducing, Saltwater: Coastal Carolina – the debut coastal coffee table book by Saltwater Collection. Featuring nearly 200 curated film photographs and hundreds of miles of coastline, this book is a must-have for coastal lovers everywhere.  Inspiring travel guides, fun facts, and watercolor maps by NC artist Laura Lobdell of Printed Hues are woven throughout the book, making it a truly immersive experience. Faith shares musings of her childhood summers on the Pamlico Sound. And how her Grandma Betty has influenced her journey. Saltwater captures magic of North Carolina’s shoreline. From the renowned Outer Banks, tranquil waters of the Crystal Coast, the serenity of the Brunswick Islands, and sun-drenched surf towns of the Cape Fear.  Dive into the pages of Saltwater and you will feel the ocean breeze, and taste the salty air. And hear the sound of waves crashing over and over again.

This Day in North Carolina History

Matching up history with the calendar, Ansley Wegner shares with readers a day-by-day chronicle highlighting topics of importance to North Carolina history. From sensational crimes to top-selling records to homegrown businesses. This keepsake illustrated volume, fun and informative for all ages, had its genesis as a blog. And issued daily for four years on the web and on broadcast outlets.

This Will Make It Taste Good

Vivian Howard’s first cookbook chronicling the food of Eastern North Carolina, Deep Run Roots, was named one of the best of the year by 18 national publications. Including the New York Times, USA Today, Bon Appetit, and Eater. And won an unprecedented four IACP awards, including Cookbook of the Year. Now, Vivian returns with an essential work of home-cooking genius that makes simple food exciting and accessible, no matter your skill level in the kitchen. And because food is the language Vivian uses to talk about her life, that’s what these recipes do. Next to stories that offer a glimpse at the people, and challenges. And lessons learned that stock the pantry of her life.

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