What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5:30pm Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm Thursday 8am - 5:30pm Friday 8am - 5:30pm Saturday 9am - 5pm Sunday 9am - 3pm

Thornwell Books

Home
United States
Morganton, NC
Thornwell Books

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Thornwell Books is a bookstore and coffee shop in downtown Morganton, NC. We offer a variety of baked goods, coffees, teas and w**e.

Book selections include a range of thoughtfully curated works. Ample seating indoor and out for work or meetings.

10/27/2026

Happy ! We have just a few copies left of the new ACOTAR installment from Sarah J. Maas. Stop by Thornwell Books today to browse all our new titles! 📚

10/27/2026

Earlier this month, author Patrick Ryan visited Lenoir Rhyne University as part of their Visiting Writers Series. Booksellers & baristas Sara & Tori represented Thornwell Books & sold copies of Ryan’s debut novel, Buckeye, now out in paperback. He signed some extra copies of Buckeye for the store. Stop by Thornwell Books today to purchase your copy, while supplies last! 📚

10/25/2026

New meeting time! ⏰ Lit Wits (Kids Book Club) meets every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 PM. The next book the group is reading together is Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. The group will start reading this book on Wednesday, October 28th. Copies of the book are available in the store! Don’t forget about the 10% discount for book club participants. 📚

10/22/2026

📚 Book Review 📚

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

Garmus follows her debut Lessons in Chemistry with another quirky, eccentric story. Batter, a young man who has loved poetry since childhood, lands a job in the mailroom of the legendary poetry magazine Peck & Peck, just as it’s being run into the ground by one of the founding twins.

Twins show up everywhere in this book, and the theme seems to be that we do our best work in dialogue with one another, not on our own. It’s also about finding your calling and aiming high. There’s surprisingly little poetry in it, but it’s really about the human urge to make beautiful things.

It’s not as tightly written as Lessons in Chemistry, and a few plot points don’t quite add up, but it’s an entertaining read.

*Reviewed by Jean C VanNoppen

🔗 Full review at the link in bio

10/21/2026

📚 Book Review 📚

6 out of 5 stars. Yes, really. ✨

I haven’t loved a book this much in a long time. Bad Words is quiet, soft, and a little mundane, but I kept rereading passages just to feel the words a second time.

A novelist, the critic who nearly ended his career, and a public feud that turns into something far more tender. Underneath the charm is a sharp look at how we hide behind screens and forget there’s a real person on the other end.

It won’t be for everyone, but it got under my skin in the best way. A quiet book that left a very loud impression. 💛

*Reviewed by April James

🔗 Full review at the link in bio.

10/20/2026

Happy ! The morning light looks so pretty on all our new books. ☀️ We have new titles from Ina Garten, Louise Penny, Susanna Clarke and more! Stop by Thornwell Books today to see what’s new. 📚

10/15/2026

📚 Book Review 📚

📖 Partita by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver has a way of making tragedy sound eloquent, and Partita is no exception. This quiet, introspective story follows Livia, a musical prodigy, through first love, grief, a strained relationship with her mother, and the choices we make in response to the things that shape us. Plus, a few Southern touches that felt like home. 🌿

It’s a slower read, but the pace suits the reflective mood. I didn’t love it, but I appreciated it, and it made me stop and think about my own past. For that alone, it earns my recommendation.

*Reviewed by April James

🔗 Full review at the link in bio.

Have you read Partita? Tell us your thoughts! 👇

10/13/2026

Happy ! We have the latest title from Lessons in Chemistry author Bonnie Garmus, plus new titles from Adam Grant, Jason Rekulak, and so many more! Stop by Thornwell Books today to see what’s new. 📚

10/12/2026

📚 Book Review 📚

📖 THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF FIRST LADY FREEMAN 📖

Pageants... for pastors’ wives? I had no idea this world even existed until I picked up Deesha Philyaw’s much-anticipated new novel.

Following her Pen/Faulkner Award-winning collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Philyaw brings us Scharisse “Schar” Freeman — First Lady of one of the largest Black mega churches in the country, and a woman who has compromised nearly everything to achieve safety and stability.

Told in Schar’s exuberant, no-holds-barred voice, the novel moves back and forth through time, unraveling her mother’s death, a hidden father, false accusations, mean-girl backstabbing, and unexpected love.

It’s funny, poignant, and rooted in Black culture while asking universal questions: When you don’t value yourself, how can you expect others to? What do we owe each other in love?

A wild, entertaining ride from an author to watch. 🙌

*Reviewed by Jean C VanNoppen

🔗 Full review at the link in bio.

10/11/2026

Don’t forget about our collaboration with The History Museum of Burke County! It’s this coming Thursday, October 15th. We’re meeting at the bookstore at 5:30 PM for a history talk before heading to the museum. Please RSVP at [email protected] to let us know you’re coming. See you then!

Address

202 South Sterling St
Morganton, NC
28655

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8am - 5:30pm
Friday	8am - 5:30pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 3pm

Telephone

+18284341122

Website

http://www.thornwellbooks.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Thornwell Books posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.