Books -- Larry McMurtry

Books is a sort of booking memoir in which Larry McMurtry tells stories of his adventures in the booking trade, as bookseller, book scout, and collector. In more than 100 short (often very short) chapters, he tells stories that everyone who collects of accumulates books will find familiar. You might even be a bit envious, as I am, of his wonderful paperback collection (who knew?). Or you might be surprised that while he claims not to read fiction anymore, he quotes Robert B. Parker's Potshot. You might also be surprised at some of the blood-thirsty kinds of things he's collected over the years. You'll surely enjoy his tales of the big ones he's caught and the big ones that got away.

However, if you're looking for a plot or some kind or organizing principle, you've come to the wrong place. I don't believe McMurtry even did much research. I think he just wrote his tales down as they came to him, hence the numerous appearances of "I believe" that imply that the story might not be exactly as he's told it. That didn't bother me at all. I read the whole thing in one big gulp and had a fine time doing it.