McMurtry is best known as a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, but he is also a fine memoirist. Here, in his follow-up to the acclaimed Books (2008), McMurtry continues to chronicle his lifelong love affair with the printed word, which includes his own disappointments and triumphs as a writer. He grew up on a ranch outside Archer City, Texas, where he learned to love reading but showed no particular skill or interest in writing as a career. He stumbled badly as an undergraduate at Rice but seemed to find himself and his writing voice as he earned a BA from North Texas State and then returned to Rice to earn an MA. McMurtry offers wonderful and often surprising insights into the process of creative writing; for example, he asserts that writing a novel is far easier than writing a short story. Once McMurtry entered the fray as a professional writer, his reactions to his advancement and praise may seem bizarre, even to him. He also provides interesting views concerning the work of fellow writers, including Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey. This is an enjoyable and revealing look at the thoughts and career of a great writer.
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