HoustonChronicle.com - Bookaholics aren't lonesome at Archer City store

HoustonChronicle.com - Bookaholics aren't lonesome at Archer City store: "The tumbleweed is gone, but the main drag of this one-stoplight town can still be a windy, lonely place - especially when the temperature hits 104 degrees as it did on a recent afternoon.

Look a little closer, though, and there's a lot going on under that half-deserted appearance. Much revolves around Booked Up, four bookstores owned by writer Larry McMurtry that contain upwards of 250,000 second-hand, rare and antiquarian books.

Since the bookstore opened in the late '80s, visitors have trekked to this isolated North Texas town made famous by The Last Picture Show, from around the country and the world.

Many are drawn by the chance to get even a glance at McMurtry, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment. Others are devoted bibliophiles looking for particular books or just enjoying the art of browsing.

In February, book lovers and Archer City residents were shocked by the news that the store would close Dec. 31.

McMurtry, 69, wrote in a note posted on Booked Up's Web site that he needed a sabbatical and wanted to travel before 'I become too decrepit. The books will stay right where they are - they can slumber in their majesty until the next turn of the wheel.'

In early August, McMurtry changed his mind.

"I'm thrilled it's staying open," says town librarian Cheryl Beesinger. "It brings people here from all over the world and exposure to Archer City that I never dreamed of. I've had people come to the library after visiting the bookstore from Australia and Israel.""