Essential Reading for Locals

Reading for those who are new to town, as well as the folks who have been here all along. Learn about North Carolina history, politics, food, music, basketball, and the natural landscape.

Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family By Pauli Murray Cover Image
$21.00
ISBN: 9780807072097
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Beacon Press - August 1st, 1999

Every North Carolinian should know Pauli Murray's story, but Proud Shoes, her biography of her parents' and grandparents' lives, should be required reading for locals. See also Murray's memoir Songs in a Weary Throat and learn why the UNC History Department just voted to rename its building after Murray.


Unc A to Z: What Every Tar Heel Needs to Know about the First State University By Nicholas Graham, Cecelia Moore Cover Image
$25.00
ISBN: 9781469655833
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of North Carolina Press - April 13th, 2020

Flyleaf hosted UNC A to Z authors Cecelia Moore & Nick Graham for a virtual reading on 8/27/20. Watch the recording here!
*Orders for the book will come with signed bookplates!*


To Drink from the Well: The Struggle for Racial Equality at the Nation's Oldest Public University By Geeta N. Kapur, II Barber, William J. (Foreword by) Cover Image
$21.95
ISBN: 9781949467529
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Blair - September 21st, 2021

A Really Strange and Wonderful Time: The Chapel Hill Music Scene: 1989-1999 By Tom Maxwell Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780306830587
Availability: Coming Soon - Available for Preorder Now
Published: Hachette Books - April 9th, 2024

Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk By David Menconi Cover Image
$24.00
ISBN: 9781469676784
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of North Carolina Press - March 1st, 2023

Written by music critic and local N&O journalist David Menconi. We can't wait.


Chapel Hill in Plain Sight: Notes from the Other Side of the Tracks By Daphne Athas Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780982077139
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Eno Publishers - September 1st, 2010

27 Views of Chapel Hill: A Southern University Town in Prose & Poetry By Daniel Wallace (Introduction by), Elizabeth Spencer (Contribution by), William Leuchtenburg (Contribution by) Cover Image
By Daniel Wallace (Introduction by), Elizabeth Spencer (Contribution by), William Leuchtenburg (Contribution by)
$16.50
ISBN: 9780982077191
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Eno Publishers - September 12th, 2011

Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town By Art Chansky Cover Image
$22.00
ISBN: 9781469645490
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of North Carolina Press - August 1st, 2018

The Tar Heels: A History of UNC Basketball, Volume 1 - 1891-1961 By Ron Smith (Foreword By), Larry Brown Cover Image
By Ron Smith (Foreword By), Larry Brown
$75.00
ISBN: 9781736281109
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Creative Trends - September 1st, 2021

Football in a Forest: The Life and Times of Kenan Memorial Stadium, Volume II By Lee Pace Cover Image
$39.95
ISBN: 9780692832417
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Lee Pace - July 1st, 2020

Mama Dip's Family Cookbook By Mildred Council Cover Image
$21.00
ISBN: 9780807856550
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of North Carolina Press - October 17th, 2005

Mama Dip's Kitchen is a Chapel Hill institution. Chef and owner Mildred Council combines recipes along with stories of growing up in North Carolina. See also her first book: Mama Dip's Kitchen.


Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes: A Cookbook By Andrea Reusing Cover Image
$35.00
ISBN: 9780307463890
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Clarkson Potter - April 5th, 2011

Andrea Reusing is the James Beard award-winning chef of local Chapel Hill restaurant Lantern -- home of delectable food and impeccable cocktails.


Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook's Corner and from Home By Bill Smith, Lee Smith (Preface by) Cover Image
By Bill Smith, Lee Smith (Preface by)
$16.95
ISBN: 9781565125506
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Algonquin Books - October 20th, 2006

Another Chapel Hill institution! Bill Smith reflects on his 30 year career at Crook's Corner and provides some delicious recipes along the way.


Edible North Carolina: A Journey Across a State of Flavor By Marcie Cohen Ferris (Editor), Katherine Hysmith, Baxter Miller (Photographer) Cover Image
By Marcie Cohen Ferris (Editor), Katherine Hysmith, Baxter Miller (Photographer)
$35.00
ISBN: 9781469667799
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of North Carolina Press - May 3rd, 2022

Best Easy Day Hikes Chapel Hill By Johnny Molloy Cover Image
$12.95
ISBN: 9781493048526
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Falcon Press Publishing - June 1st, 2020

Get out there and hike!


Trees of the Carolinas Field Guide By Stan Tekiela Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781647550714
Availability: Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: Adventure Publications - November 17th, 2020

Birds of the Carolinas Field Guide (Bird Identification Guides) By Stan Tekiela Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781647550684
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Adventure Publications - September 29th, 2020

Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (A Timber Press Field Guide) By Laura Cotterman, Damon Waitt, Alan Weakley Cover Image
$27.95
ISBN: 9781604697605
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Timber Press - June 25th, 2019

Written by three botanists, all with ties to the North Carolina Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill.


Wilmington's Lie (Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize): The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy By David Zucchino Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780802148650
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press - January 19th, 2021

Lessons from North Carolina: Race, Religion, Tribe, and the Future of America By Gene R. Nichol Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781958888018
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Blair - April 25th, 2023

Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story By Timothy B. Tyson Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781400083114
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Crown - May 3rd, 2005

The Tar Heel State: A New History of North Carolina By Milton Ready Cover Image
$29.99
ISBN: 9781643360980
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of South Carolina Press - November 18th, 2020

My N.C. from A-Z By Michelle Lanier, Dare Coulter (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Michelle Lanier, Dare Coulter (Illustrator)
$14.95
ISBN: 9780865264991
Availability: Usually Available in 1-5 Days
Published: North Carolina Division of Archives & History - January 15th, 2020

Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten (Early Elementary Story Books, Children's Music Books, Biography Books for Kids) By Laura Veirs, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Laura Veirs, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781452148571
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Chronicle Books - January 16th, 2018

Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton By Don Tate Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781561458257
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Peachtree - September 1st, 2015

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist By Terry Catasús Jennings, Rosita Stevens-Holsey, Ashanti Fortson (Illustrator) Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781499812510
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Yellow Jacket - February 8th, 2022