Books: A Memoir | 
 enlarge | Author: Larry Mcmurtry
Creator: William Dufris
Publisher: Tantor Media
Category: Book
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $28.43
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Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Format: Audiobook, Cd, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Library ed.
Number Of Items: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1400138051
Dewey Decimal Number: 809
EAN: 9781400138050
ASIN: 1400138051
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: New American audiobook. Shipped within the US in 4-7 days (expedited) or about 10-14 days (standard). Standard can occasionally be slower so we advise using expedited if quicker delivery is important!
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, July 2008: It wasn't enough for Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry to become one of the most prolific, bestselling, and beloved of American writers. Besides writing nearly forty books, including the Pultizer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove, he has emerged as one this nation's greatest bookmen. In Books: A Memoir, McMurtry shares with readers his lifelong passion and dogged pursuit of books. In short, gem-like chapters, he paints a fascinating picture of the landscape of American book culture and book selling over a 50-year period. The story is as dusty, musty and crusty as any of McMurtry's fictionalized Westerns, and filled with characters who seem like they stepped out of central casting. Whether you love McMurtry, books, bookstores or a combination thereof, you'll find something to love in Books: A Memoir. Settle in with a cuppa coffee and let McMurtry kindle your passion for physical books. --Lauren Nemroff
Product Description
With astonishing charm, grace, and good humor, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove returns with a fascinating memoir of his lifelong passion of buying, selling, and collecting rare books.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Confessions of a Bookaholic ... December 24, 2008
Who happens also to be a best-selling author. Some folks might find this book dreadfully dull, but if you are a book lover and a fellow bookaholic you won't have that reaction. One must wonder if the trade ion antiquarian books and second-hand books will become imperiled by the advancing march of the Borders and Barnes & Nobles of the world.
One nice feature in my mind is that each chapter is only about one to two pages long, making for quick and easy reading .
Any book collector who has thrilled by "the chase" of one more acquisition will enjoy "Books: A Memoir."
 Part memoir, part bibliophile munchies December 21, 2008
This is my first Larry McMurtry book. He has been quite the prolific novelist, producing very popular works such as Lonesome Dove: A Novel. As a consequence of my McMurtry novice status I think it puts me in a good position to evaluate this particular work on its own merit.
Books: A Memoir is a contemplation, a reflection upon a life of book-buying and selling which appears to have been McMurtry's true love, even over writing. He begins the tale at his youth in a household which happened to contain no books whatever. McMurtry was enthusiastic about reading and finally a cousin dropped off a box of 19 books which gave rise to his career as a book-buyer/seller.
McMurtry's endeavors were mostly those of renewed successes. His bookstores ultimately got bigger and bigger and the quality of his inventory graphed out a pretty steady incline over the years. There were books that he failed to obtain which encapsulates most of whatever brief suspense occurs in this mini-biography.
What I chiefly extracted from this book was that these were McMurtry's "thought flashes". The text meanders and ducks, I felt that there were omissions in that the details of the story behind each of the stories ("chapters," of which there are 109 in a 259-page book!) were likely often omitted. The work comes off like this: "McMurtry, tell me about your life as a bookseller." Then he tells the story, straight through, one time only and without going back to add notable caveats or other interesting anecdotes. What was initially forgotten never made print. I'm just guessing.
And it seemed to me that this book went to press in some haste because the proofreading was less than flawless. I felt that some comments could have been expressed a lot more coherently and at one point I ran into what I'm sure represents a "computer-failure typo": "Thus the four volumes were inscribed to the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Wales, the king of England, and the duke of Windsor: the same man under three of his titles." I read and re-read that passage and tried to make sense of the second 'Prince of Wales' and I failed in my efforts. So I say it's an oversight.
Clearly, McMurtry and I differ in our assessment of certain authors' works. Here's what he says of Graham Greene: "Graham Greene's travel books also leave me cold. So much gloom, so little color or bite." I don't know if it's specifically a travel book but Travels with My Aunt (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) is both terrifically warm and hilarious. In fact I love all the Greene that I've read which is pretty much everything he ever wrote.
Conversely, McMurtry sings the praises of Anthony Beevor: "'The Battle for Spain, 1936-1940' is 'engrossing'." I struggled through that particular volume and I found it muddily-written and as boring as a Wednesday night preacher.
But I did glean a couple of titles that McMurtry mentioned which I had not previously heard of. I wish he had focused more on this angle. This is not a book where every word counts -- it rambles a bit but, as the topic centered on my favorite subject (books) I probably enjoyed this one more than will the casual, weekend reader. In my retirement I read three books a week, a habit which I have maintained for many years.
In the end, if you are a book nut, you'll enjoy this one. It's essentially a history of bookstores and of bookselling. Other readers might wish to pass it up for one of McMurtry's popular novels, of which there are many.
 truly unreadable December 3, 2008
A random, and utterly boring, compilation of various bookstores and collectors that the author has encountered over the years. Don't expect memorable anecdotes.
Plenty of name dropping, but the names are meaningless to those outside the trade. No narrative drive. Left me wondering, "What's the point?"
 Big disappointment; bigger waste of time November 29, 2008
McMurtry's works are erratically brilliant, sometimes downright bad, but this is a huge disappointment. Sloppy, badly in need of an editor (how many Bostwana "late" references do we need?), way too random and dropping names so frequently that we either don't know or don't care about...the whole effect is "who cares?" And I happen to love books, frequent second hand booksellers and have some familiarity with the turf described.To say nothing of being -- more times than not -- a fan of McMurtry's. But this book is hardly a memoir and, frankly, if not for the author's fame, I seriously doubt this would have ever been published. It's that big a waste of time.
 Devoured book, ignored my kids November 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In our house the greatest tribute you can give a book is that, while reading it, you ignore everything and everyone around you, including all offspring. I brought McMurtry's book about books up to my daughter's room where I was supposed to "tuck her in." I promptly sat down and began reading. An hour later said daughter asks if we're ever going to turn out the light. There's school tomorrow. Got a big day, dad. That's how wonderful and entertaining BOOKS is. Great people, great anecdotes--read Chapter 98, which is all of a half-page long, for an example. One of the funniest punch lines I've read (or heard) this year. If you love books, book selling or book buying, sprint, don't run to your nearest Amazon check out button and press. Better yet, dash over to your favorite bookstore--if you can find one.
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