Getting up early and feeling awake was the one skill he had never truly perfected - he got up, of course, but it never felt natural.

— Larry McMurtry

Great readers (are) those who know early that there is never going to be time to read all there is to read, but do their darnedest anyway.

— Larry McMurtry

He had known several men who blew their heads off, and he had pondered it much. It seemed to him it was probably because they could not take enough happiness just from the sky and the moon to carry them over the low feelings that came to all men.

— Larry McMurtry

He liked to get off by himself, a mile or so from camp, and listen to the country, not the men.

— Larry McMurtry

He ought to let the past keep its glow and not try to mix it with what he had in the present.

— Larry McMurtry

How about a kiss?”“Are you man enough to try?” she asked.

— Larry McMurtry

If we know anything about man, it's that he's not pacific. The temptation to butcher anyone considered undesirable seems to be a common temptation, not always resisted.

— Larry McMurtry

I sing about life. I am happy, but life is sad.

— Larry McMurtry

It doesn't do to sacrifice for people unless they want you to.

— Larry McMurtry

It is sometimes the minor, not the major, characters in a novel who hold the author's affection longest. It may be that one loses affection for the major characters because they suck off so much energy as one pushes them through their lives.

— Larry McMurtry