Sunday, August 19, 2012

The Great Book Sale of Texas: Larry McMurtry Gives Up His Collection

 TIME.com: He’s still writing, he says, noting that he has a biography of George Custer coming out in November, and has finished a memoir about his book collection that he hasn’t shipped to his publisher yet. The weekend has been all about the final chapters of that lifetime of accumulating books. But McMurtry says he has given up his work as a novelist. “It’s toward the end of my life,” he says as he contrasts the writing of fiction and the life of a book collector. “One of the great things about the life of an antiquarian bookseller is that it is progressive, you keep getting better and better and better the longer you do it. But writing novels is something else. It’s not progressive. You don’t get better.”

3 comments:

Tom Johnson said...

Less than 40 miles to Archer City from Seymour, but I didn't go. Figured it would be a mad house, and I go nuts at auctions anyway. Best I stayed away (lol). I have bought quite a few books from his stories in the past, however.

Charles Gramlich said...

I got a few books from his stores too. AS for the writing gig, I imagine he's write about not gettign better, at some point you peak. Disappointing to think about though.

Cap'n Bob said...

Can't wait for the Custer bio despite my misgivings.