Books
October 20, 2014
They Spoke Volumes
We asked writers around the state a series of bookish questions. Here are a few of their answers.
Books
Reviews, profiles, and interviews that capture the diverse voices adding to Texas’s rich literary tradition
Books
October 20, 2014
Against the Canon
What are the best Texas books ever written? Here’s my list—now let the sparks fly.
Books
October 13, 2014
Small in the Saddle
Larry McMurtry, Bill Wittliff, and Jeff Guinn turn to familiar turf—the Old West—to challenge old-school readers.
Books
September 12, 2014
The Hard Stuff
An exclusive excerpt from Domingo Martinez’s new memoir, “My Heart Is a Drunken Compass,” in which a drink is always close at hand and the battle against the bottle is never fully won.
News & Politics
August 13, 2014
The Red & Rough Guide
Two takes on our conservative ways.
Books
August 5, 2014
Dallas Flambé
With its tight prose, waitress heroine, and stinging insight into urban life, Merritt Tierce’s debut marks an exciting turn in Texas literature.
Books
July 10, 2014
The First Resident of Belken County
When the National Book Critics Circle gave the Austin writer Rolando Hinojosa its lifetime achievement award, it was simply taking note of what many of us had known for years.
Books
June 5, 2014
Race and Relations
Journalist Chris Tomlinson delves into the parallel histories of two Texas families with the same last name—one black, one white.
News & Politics
April 21, 2014
The Rough Guide to Frackistan
Energy reporter Russell Gold gives us a reason to give a frak about fracking.
The Daily Post
April 8, 2014
Brittney Griner’s Memoir Drops Today
The former Waco basketball star now adds "author" to her list of impressive accomplishments.
Books
April 8, 2014
The Rough Guide to Frackistan
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, should rank alongside the smartphone as this young century’s most transformative technology. Over the past decade, so much oil and gas has been unlocked from previously impervious rock that America’s generation-long energy crisis has all but ended. Instead of a crippling strategic vulnerability—dependence on foreign
Books
April 2, 2014
Ted Cruz Just Signed A Book Deal, Y’all
The rookie-sensation Senator who's totally not thinking about running for President just signed a deal to write his first book.
Books
February 11, 2014
Coming to Our Census
Former state demographer Steve H. Murdock is back, with a book that should be required reading for all 26,060,796 of us.
Books
January 22, 2014
Bexar County’s Library on a Cloud
BiblioTech, one of the country's first all-digital public libraries, aims to reach more readers by hosting their entire collection on the cloud. Patrons may choose from 18,000 digital titles and can check out Kindles, too.
Books
January 9, 2014
Here Comes Hurricane Leila
Novelist Leila Meacham hopes for another best-seller with the forthcoming Somerset, a prequel to her megahit debut novel, Roses.
Arts & Entertainment
December 17, 2013
The Bum Steer Catalog
Bum Steers is an attitude! Bum Steers is a lifestyle! And, best of all, now Bum Steers is a chance to shop!
Books
December 17, 2013
The Literary Journal and the Small Press Live On, in Austin
It's supposed to be a bad time for print. Yet new literary journals and small presses keep cropping up in the state's capital.
Books
December 10, 2013
Five Texas Books to Give for the Holidays
Our guide to some idiosyncratic books with local connections for every personality on your gift list.
Books
October 25, 2013
5 Books That Make the Texas Book Festival Thoroughly Native
And a list of all of the Texas-related books and Texas-born authors featured at the festival.
The Daily Post
October 15, 2013
Read State: Will Sheff of Okkervil River
Curious about the reading habits of Okkervil River frontman Will Sheff? Read on.
Books
October 11, 2013
The Class of ’63
The good, the bad, and the most self-indulgent of this year’s JFK assassination books.
Books
July 8, 2013
Back in the Saddle Again
Novelist James Carlos Blake, who has been compared to Cormac McCarthy, returns to his prolific writing pace, releasing two books in less than a year.
Books
June 10, 2013
The Ghost of Alan Berg
David Berg's new memoir, "Run, Brother, Run," revisits the killing of his older brother, Alan, who was slain outside of Houston in 1968.
Books
June 3, 2013
Carrying on Chris Kyle’s Legacy
The Navy SEAL sniper was killed at a gun range in Erath County before he completed his second book, "American Gun." Now his wife and co-authors are determined to share the story they knew Kyle wanted to tell.
Books
May 24, 2013
Hog Hunting With Texas’s Next Literary Giant
Philipp Meyer is impressing the literary world with his second novel, The Son, a multigenerational epic about an oil and ranching dynasty in Texas that is being called the most ambitious Texas novel in years. But how did this East Coast-reared man manage to capture the spirit of the state?
Books
May 13, 2013
Big Little Man
“By the time I’d been with the band a year, I was treated the same as any other Comanche.” An excerpt from Philipp Meyer’s epic new novel, “The Son.”
Books
May 10, 2013
Child of God
Taylor Stevens gets her revenge, one best-selling thriller at a time.
Books
April 22, 2013
The Eye of Stephen Harrigan
The longtime Texas Monthly writer—and novelist and screenwriter and UT professor—discusses his new collection of essays.
Books
January 29, 2013
Scientology Versus Author Lawrence Wright
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s new book on Scientology, Going Clear, arrives on shelves today amid a swarm of controversy.
Books
January 28, 2013
Bexar County Public Library Will Be Entirely Digital
Announced a judge who himself has 1,000 first editions in his personal library.
Books
January 24, 2013
The Artist and the City
For thirty years, when she wasn’t writing books or winning genius grants, Sandra Cisneros has been pushing and prodding San Antonio to become a more sophisticated (and more Mexican) city. Now she’s leaving town. did she succeed?
Books
January 23, 2013
Horsemen, Goodbye
Thoughts on the gradual march of civility and urban sprawl across the lost frontier.
Books
January 21, 2013
Texas Well-Represented at the National Book Awards
Including books from Dallas resident Ben Fountain, UT-Michener Center alum Kevin Powers, South Texas native Domingo Martinez, and the legendary LBJ biographer Robert Caro.
Books
January 21, 2013
Will Archer City Survive Without Larry McMurtry’s Bookstores?
The prize-winning author, who recently sold off nearly 300,000 books, plans to close three of his four stores. What happens to tiny Archer City now?
Books
January 21, 2013
Buzz Bissinger & “Coach Taylor” Banter in Austin
Actor Kyle Chandler was among the fans at the BookPeople, where Friday Night Lights author H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger read from his new book Father's Day.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
The Renaissance of Ann
Nearly six years after her death, Ann Richards, who is the subject of a new documentary, book, and stage play, still casts a long shadow.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
A Q&A With Jan Reid
Senior editor John Spong talked with Jan Reid about his new Ann Richards biography, ‘Let the People In.’
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
The Last Liberal
As Jan Reid's new biography makes clear, Ann Richards was one of the most magnetic politicians of the past thirty years. So why didn’t she leave much of a legacy?
Books
January 21, 2013
The Writes of Spring
Robert Caro on LBJ. Marcus Luttrell on war. Douglas Brinkley on Walter Cronkite. James Donovan on the Alamo. Steve Coll on ExxonMobil. Ben Fountain on a surreal Dallas Cowboys halftime show. Dan Rather and Sissy Spacek on themselves. For some reason, May has turned out to be a month like
Books
January 21, 2013
In Praise of Sissy Spacek
Why doesn’t Texas’s greatest movie actress get the respect she deserves?
Books
January 21, 2013
Reading Along With James Donovan
The latest Alamo chronicler offers a glimpse of his reference library.
Books
January 21, 2013
The One-Question Interview With Douglas Brinkley
The author of Cronkite answers the question: What’s the most surprising thing you learned about Walter Cronkite?
Books
January 21, 2013
Dan Rather Pop Quiz!
Six interesting facts about the retired CBS news anchorman found in his new book, Rather Outspoken.
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
Debating Robert Caro
The fourth volume of an epic LBJ biography stirs more controversy.
Book Review
January 21, 2013
Exxposé
What lies beneath the hood of ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company?
Books
January 21, 2013
The One-Question Interview With Steve Coll
The author of Private Empire: ExxonMobile and American Power answers the question: In terms of difficulty, how would you compare reporting on Exxon with the reporting you did for your previous book, The Bin Ladens?
Books
January 21, 2013
Ben Fountain Undoes Dallas
The acclaimed author is publishing his first novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. And some of his neighbors may not be happy.
Books
January 21, 2013
Hog Hunting With Marcus Luttrell
The author of Lone Survivor still has his gun at the ready.
Web Exclusive
January 21, 2013
An Extended Interview With Steve Coll
The New Yorker writer talks about his latest book, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power.
Books
January 21, 2013
The Ron Paul Effect
In the forthcoming Ron Paul’s rEVOLution, journalist Brian Doherty takes an up-close look at the libertarian Texas congressman.