Books
October 18, 2023
Larry McMurtry’s Bookstore Was Legendary. It Still Exceeded My Expectations.
"Bookseller" was one of the Pulitzer winner's core identities, and at Booked Up, it showed.
Archer City
Latest
1-13 of 13 Articles
Books
August 9, 2023
Did Larry McMurtry Really Like Texas All That Much?
A new biography makes clear that the acclaimed writer had an intense love-hate relationship with his home state. Which may have been the secret to his success.
Books
February 24, 2023
Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtry’s Historic Texas Bookstore. Bring on the Shiplap?
Threat of impersonal farmhouse decor aside, the purchase of Archer City’s beloved Booked Up could mean hope for a reopening.
Books
October 21, 2021
What Texas Inherited From Larry McMurtry
A recent tribute in Archer City gave Texans an overdue opportunity to pay their respects to their state’s greatest writer.
Film & TV
October 6, 2021
Fifty Years On, ‘The Last Picture Show’ Is an Indelible Texas Movie
There may be no more powerful film about growing up with nowhere to go.
Books
April 23, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Lesser-Known Larry McMurtry Book
‘Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen’ offers a glimpse at the author’s life in Archer City. Plus: a boxed wine club and food pop-ups in Houston and Austin.
Books
March 26, 2021
The Larry McMurtry I Knew
I caught my first glimpse of the 'Lonesome Dove' author on the streets of Archer City when I was a teenager. It was an encounter that shaped the rest of my life.
The Texanist
July 25, 2018
The Texanist: Great Small Towns That Have Gone Untouched by a Hipster
The Texanist on five great small towns that are (pretty much) just like they always were and don’t need to change at all.
Books
June 22, 2016
McMurtry’s Best
Lonesome Dove aside, here are the indispensable titles every Texan should have on his or her bookshelf.
Books
June 22, 2016
The Minor Regional Novelist
Texas may have inspired Larry McMurtry to become a writer, but there is no writer who has inspired an understanding of Texas quite like Larry McMurtry. At age eighty, our most iconic author still has work to do.
Film & TV
February 1, 1999
Picture Perfect
Why Peter Bogdanovich filmed in black and white, who discovered Cybill Shepherd, which onetime soap opera diva read for the role of Jacy, and other secrets of the making of ‘The Last Picture Show.’ Plus: A few words from the late Ben Johnson.
Books
December 1, 1997
“I’ve Written Enough Fiction”
So says Larry McMurtry, Texas’ best—and best-known— novelist. But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up literature altogether; in fact, his days are quite booked.
Books
February 1, 1993
Return of the Native Son
For years he renounced his Texas ties. Now Larry McMurty is once again calling Archer City home.