Well, it must be true, cuz I've seen it several times around the web now (and, really, isn't that the earmark of veracity these days?): Author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, etc.) is barring the door to Booked Up, his used and rare bookstore in Archer City, Texas.

Apparently (according to an article in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram reported in today's PW Daily email list), McMurtry wants to travel a bit, so he's closing the doors for a year.

For those who don't know, for the last some-odd years, McMurtry has owned (and, apparently, operated) some really amazing bookstores in Archer City, which is in way north Texas, and not really easily accessible from anywhere, though the drive from Dallas is really pretty (and, in parts, really boring). My husband and I went up there in, I think, 2000, not long after we moved back from Los Angeles. At the time, we were hot and heavy into collecting rare books, and when we heard about Archer's store, it sounded too good to pass up.

We drove and drove and drove, not really knowing what to find. What we finally found was, in fact, a charming little town that (to us anyway) seemed dominated by several huge buildings that made up the bookstore ... and not much else (there was a cute little antique store that sold bar-b-que. That was lunch. There was also a bed and breakfast, but ours was a one day trip.

We started prowling through the buildings, which seemed to be organized more or less by the type of book (really rare books, for example, were housed in one building, while your traditional used book store fare was in another). And we're talking lots and lots books here. Towering shelves reaching up to towering ceilings. It was, in a word, cool.

We got some great stuff there, putting quite a dent into our credit cards. I'm trying to remember the exact timing, but I know I was working on Silent Confessions because I picked up some historical erotica for research purposes (no, really!).

The interesting thing, though, to me about McMurtry's shutting of the doors is that we never once saw McMurtry himself. The stores seemed to be operating just fine without him. So I have to wonder: why keep folks away? Why not let the business operate as so many businesses do? With managers and employees in charge?

I don't know, but even though we didn't have a tripped planned this year, I'm a little sentimental. Even though we'd only gone once, the idea of a bookstore town appealed to me, and I have to say, I'm sad to see it go, even if it's only for a year.