Books and Literary Life; Two Memoirs

Lately, I've been reading Larry McMurtry's memoirs, the two books listed in the title.  He shows us what I've always believed, that reading and writing go hand in hand.  One can't exist without the other.  Here is a quote I found particularly inspiring:


Seeing my books reminds me that in a modest way at least, I'm part of literature and the whole complicated cultural enterprise that is literature.  . . . The commonwealth of literature is complex but a sense of belonging to it is an important feeling for a writer to have and to keep."


From Literary Life.


In talking about his book collection and the books he has amassed for his book stores, he confirms the importance of books themselves.  A Kindle, magical a it is, simply does not give one this feeling of belonging to a community of writers McMurtry calls "immortals."   As he says, "sitting with the immortals doe snot make one an immortal but the knowledge that they're around you on their shelves does contribute something to one's sense of what one ought to try for  (157)" [as a writer].