The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry is one of my all time favorite authors and most people only seem to know his work because they saw the Lonesome Dove mini-series or The Last Picture Show as a movie. That is a shame as he is an excellent and prolific writer. He has also won Oscars for adapting the screenplays for Hud, Terms of Endearment and Brokeback Mountain.

Published in 1966, The Last Picture Show is in fact a trilogy; the story continues with Texasville in 1987 and Duane's Depressed in 1999. The book is set in a small Texas town and delves into the lives of three high school students as they come of age. It shows the struggles they endure and the mistakes they make as they grow into young adulthood. Hopefully this is the book that will get you started on a long list of great McMurtry books.