The main building of McMurtry's famous bookstore Booked Up. Who would think that Larry McMurtry’s world and that of Chip Gaines’ (former star of HGTV’s Fixer Upper) would ever collide? But as of December 2022, it has. More about that later. Larry McMurtry left Houston and Texas in 1969. By this time, he had published … Continue reading Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry, Part 2
Category: Novels
Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry
Archer City's "Last Picture Show." I have a confession to make as I write this piece. I have read only one book by Larry McMurtry and that a nonfiction book titled Paradise. I cannot now find the book (a common problem for me) nor can I remember it well. I did, however, see the movie … Continue reading Literary Texas: Larry McMurtry
Exhortation of the Dawn
Happy Groundhog’s Day! It is always a special day for me. My parents were married on Ground Hog’s Day. I used to tease them about such a romantic choice for the occasion. I suppose Valentine’s Day was out of the question. To each couple their own, I suppose. I decided to take a brief break … Continue reading Exhortation of the Dawn
Literary Texas: Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard, another rural, small-town Texan born around the turn of the twentieth century, made a lasting mark on the fiction world. He was, though, quite different from both the high church architect of literary fiction Katherine Anne Porter and the son-of-the-Texas-soil Fred Gipson despite this fact of time and space, a space that … Continue reading Literary Texas: Robert E. Howard
Literary Texas: Fred Gipson, Part 2
Fred Gipson (1908-1973) published his most famous work Old Yeller in 1956. A prolific author of short stories, fiction and non-fiction books, articles, and movie scripts, he was born in the ruggedly beautiful Texas Hill Country. It was a place he loved and could never leave for long. When, after its publication in 1956, Walt … Continue reading Literary Texas: Fred Gipson, Part 2
Children and Literature
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Christmas Day is over for another year. So, now is the time when I like to imagine houses, where children of all ages live, filled to the rafters with new, dazzling books sporting velveteen rabbits, talking trains, courageous … Continue reading Children and Literature
The Christmas Season in Media
Last night I watched Eloise at Christmastime. I love Christmas movies. Actually, I’m fond of most Christmas media—short stories, books, and movies, in particular. Eloise at Christmastime was a movie I’d never seen, and I’ve seen most of the “old favorites” and a lot of others. Like many Christmas movies, it was a bit over … Continue reading The Christmas Season in Media
The Brontes of Haworth, West Yorkshire
Parsonage home of the Bronte sisters and their curate father in West Yorkshire, England. "No coward soul is mine No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere..." wrote Emily Bronte in 1848. It was a remarkable time for herself, her elder sister Charlotte, and younger sister Anne. Each of the young women had recently published poetry … Continue reading The Brontes of Haworth, West Yorkshire
Story Mill Ranch 