Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Books: A Memoir

I just finished reading Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry. Interesting book. It was not at all what I expected. I guess that I thought it would be more about favorite books he has read, etc. Instead, it seemed to be about his career as a book seller/trader. Which was interesting, since I had never known that he was in the used book selling trade, nor have I ever read much about the trade business. Although, Lord knows, I have been in plenty of used book stores!

It was an interesting book, but I would think it would only be interesting to people who really love books themselves, not just love to read. It made me think about some of the bookstores that I have been to. The used bookstores that I have been most impressed with were in San Francisco. I believe that the ones I visited were in the Castro district and they were wonderful! This is going back almost 20 years ago. Wonderful big, old, comfortable stores that I could wander in for hours!

So anyway, back to the book. It was enjoyable, even if for only helping me recall my great used bookstore experiences!

As a side note, I have never read any of Larry McMurtry’s books, but I have read so much about Lonesome Dove that I may venture on into it soon. Does anyone have any opinions about which of his books to read?

1 comment:

Bybee said...

I guess with so many indie bookstores going belly up, he wanted to pay tribute. I wish he had written more about his reading life, but overall, I enjoyed BOOKS greatly.