Larry McMurtry Reading Order

4 books (1993–2003)

Larry McMurtry edited four complete anthologies between 1993 and 2003, all of which should be read in publication order. The series includes Southwest Stories, Still Wild, Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression, and Lone Star Literature, offering curated collections of nonfiction writing across various themes and periods.

Start with Southwest Stories, the first of 4 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Southwest Stories 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Still Wild 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Lone Star Literature 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2002–2004)

The Berrybender Narratives is a four-book historical fiction series by Larry McMurtry, published between 2002 and 2004. The complete series consists of Sin Killer, By Sorrow's River, The Wandering Hill, and Folly and Glory, and should be read in publication order. This finished series follows the interconnected stories of the Berrybender family and their companions across the American frontier during the nineteenth century.

Start with Sin Killer, the first of 4 books in the Berrybender Narratives series.

#	Title
1	Sin Killer 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	By Sorrow's River 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Wandering Hill 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Folly and Glory 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1983–1995)

Larry McMurtry's Desert Rose series consists of two complete novels published over a twelve-year span from 1983 to 1995. The two books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Desert Rose followed by The Late Child. This finished series offers readers a self-contained narrative arc across its two installments.

Start with The Desert Rose and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Desert Rose 1983Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Late Child 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (1970–1992)

The Houston series is a complete six-book collection of literary fiction by Larry McMurtry, published between 1970 and 1992. The novels should be read in publication order, beginning with Moving On and concluding with The Evening Star. This interconnected series explores the lives and relationships of characters in and around Houston, Texas across more than two decades of American history.

Start with Moving On, the first of 6 books in the Houston series.

#	Title
1	Moving On 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Terms of Endearment 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Somebody's Darling 1978Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Some Can Whistle 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Evening Star 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1966–2009)

Larry McMurtry's Last Picture Show series consists of five interconnected novels published between 1966 and 2009, following the lives of characters in a small Texas town across decades. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The Last Picture Show and continuing through Texasville, Duane's Depressed, When the Light Goes, and concluding with Rhino Ranch. Each installment revisits the fictional town and its inhabitants at different points in time, allowing readers to observe how characters and their community evolve over the years.

Start with The Last Picture Show, the first of 5 books in the Last Picture Show series.

#	Title
1	The Last Picture Show 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Texasville 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Duane's Depressed 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	When the Light Goes 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Rhino Ranch 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1985–1997)

The Lonesome Dove series consists of four complete novels by Larry McMurtry published between 1985 and 1997, following a Texas Rangers saga across multiple decades. Read in publication order beginning with Lonesome Dove, the series continues through Streets of Laredo, Dead Man's Walk, and Comanche Moon. While the books can be enjoyed independently, reading them in the order they were published provides the intended narrative experience of this sprawling Western epic.

Start with Lonesome Dove, the first of 4 books in the Lonesome Dove series.

#	Title
1	Lonesome Dove 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Streets of Laredo 1993Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Dead Man's Walk 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Comanche Moon 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

14 books (1968–2015)

Larry McMurtry's non-fiction series spans fourteen books published between 1968 and 2015, exploring American history, culture, and literature through essays and memoirs. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas and concluding with Missouri River. McMurtry's collection ranges from focused historical studies like Crazy Horse and Custer to broader cultural commentary on Hollywood and American geography, alongside three memoir volumes that reflect on his own literary career and life experiences.

Start with In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas, the first of 14 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Film Flam: Essays on Hollywood 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Crazy Horse 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Roads: A Millennial Journey Along America's Great Interstate Highways 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Paradise 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Sacagawea's Nickname: Essays on the American West 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Oh What a Slaughter: Massacres in the American West, 1846-1890 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Colonel and Little Missie 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Books: A Memoir 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Literary Life: A Second Memoir 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Hollywood: A Third Memoir 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Custer 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Missouri River 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

32 books (1960–2011)

The Penguin Lives series is a collection of 32 biographical works published between 1960 and 2011, with each volume written by a different acclaimed author and focusing on a notable historical or cultural figure. The series spans subjects ranging from political leaders and artists to philosophers and activists, offering concise yet comprehensive life narratives suitable for general readers. These books should be read in publication order, though each volume stands independently as a complete biography. The series is now complete.

Start with Abraham Lincoln(By: Thomas Keneally), the first of 32 books in the Penguin Lives series.

#	Title
1	Abraham Lincoln(By: Thomas Keneally) 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Crazy Horse 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	James Joyce(By: Edna O'Brien) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Mao Zedong: A Life(By: Jonathan D. Spence) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Marcel Proust(By: Edmund White) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Mozart: A Life(By: Peter Gay) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Saint Augustine(By: Garry Wills) 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Herman Melville(By: Elizabeth Hardwick) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Leonardo da Vinci: A Life(By: Sherwin B. Nuland) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Rosa Parks(By: Douglas Brinkley) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Virginia Woolf(By: Nigel Nicolson) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Woodrow Wilson(By: Louis Auchincloss) 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Andy Warhol: A Biography(By: Wayne Koestenbaum) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Buddha(By: Karen Armstrong) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Dante(By: R.W.B. Lewis) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Jane Austen(By: Carol Shields) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life(By: Marshall Frady) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Simone Weil(By: Francine du Plessix Gray) 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Charles Dickens(By: Jane Smiley) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Elvis Presley(By: Bobbie Ann Mason) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Joseph Smith(By: Robert V. Remini) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Pope John XXIII(By: Thomas Cahill) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	Winston Churchill: A Life(By: John Keegan) 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Robert E. Lee(By: Roy Blount Jr.) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Saint Therese of Lisieux(By: Kathryn Harrison) 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life(By: Ada Louise Huxtable) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	George Herbert Walker Bush(By: Tom Wicker) 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	Napoleon(By: Paul Johnson) 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	Julia Child(By: Laura Shapiro) 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Joan of Arc(By: Mary Gordon) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	Martin Luther(By: Martin E. Marty) 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Branch Rickey: A Life(By: Jimmy Breslin) 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2005–2005)

#	Title
1	Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay(With: Annie Proulx,Diana Ossana) 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

9 books (1982–2014)

Larry McMurtry's standalone novels span from 1982 to 2014, comprising nine independent books that should be read in publication order beginning with Cadillac Jack. The series includes works written both solo and in collaboration with Diana Ossana, with the final entry being The Last Kind Words Saloon. Each novel stands alone and can be enjoyed separately, though readers who follow the publication chronology will experience McMurtry's evolving storytelling across three decades.

Start with Cadillac Jack, the first of 9 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Cadillac Jack 1982Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Anything for Billy 1988Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Buffalo Girls 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Pretty Boy Floyd(With: Diana Ossana) 1994Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Zeke and Ned(With: Diana Ossana) 1997Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Boone's Lick 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Loop Group 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Telegraph Days 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Last Kind Words Saloon 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1961–2017)

Larry McMurtry's Thalia, Texas series consists of three novels published across more than five decades, beginning with Horseman, Pass By in 1961 and concluding with Thalia in 2017. These interconnected stories centered on a small Texas town should be read in publication order to fully appreciate McMurtry's exploration of the region and its characters across generations. The series is now complete.

Start with Horseman, Pass By / Hud and read in order.

#	Title
1	Horseman, Pass By / Hud 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Leaving Cheyenne 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Thalia 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible