Author Larry Mcmurtry Auctions His 450,000 Books!

Larry MCMurtry, the famed author behind such titles as The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment, decided to sell off his nearly 450,000 strong book collection at a two-day auction.

Running from Friday 10th to Saturday 11th of August, the writer decided to sell off his huge collection at an auction house in the small Texan municipality of Archer City simply because they would be "a huge burden" for his heirs. Coincidentally, Archer City was also the place where the film adaptation of The Last Picture Show was shot, although in the film the name was changed to Anarene ( in the book it was titled Thalia). MCMurtry built up his impressive 450,000 collection in his used and rare book establishment, called Booked Up, whose four buildings have become something of a landmark in the North Texan conurbation.

The Pulitzer Prize winning writer has since said that he plans to finish writing fiction now, citing the fact that authors tend to get worse with age as the reason why he wants to stop. MCMurtry wrote more than 20 novels in his time as a fiction writer, as well as scribing many works of nonfiction. The writer also wrote for Hollywood too, including working on major screenplays such as the Heath Ledger starring Brokeback Mountain. The auction proved to be a major success, with many of the books going for more, or close to, their guideline valuation.