Yes, many cookbooks are good for just READING.
I mentioned Gladys Taber; here is a post from Susan Branch’s blog (Susan is another person who writes lovely cookbooks that are also great for just reading) on her visit to Taber’s Stillmeadow Farm (you have to scroll down a bit, to get to the Stillmeadow part):
-JT
Totally agree. Also, Alton Brown used to have a show called Good Eats, which was kinda low-brow in some respects, but I really liked it because he explained, almost at a chemistry level, why certain foods complimented each others and others don't. I think that show helped me to appreciate "experimenting" in the kitchen. Some work...some don't, but that's how we learn and that's how we create. I miss that show...