In a full and sweeping writing career, Larry McMurtry wrote essays, novels and Academy Award-winning screenplays. However, his love for books went beyond writing. While living in Washington, D.C., he established a bookstore called Booked Up in 1971. Seventeen years later, a second Booked Up store opened in Archer City, Texas. It became one of the largest bookstores in the United States with an inventory between 400,000 and 450,000 books. By 2012, McMurtry decided it was time to downsize the business, and an auction was conducted, drawing book lovers, dealers and curious onlookers. "I've never seen that many people lined up in Archer City, and I'm sure I never will again,” McMurtry observed to a New York Times reporter.

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