Tom Gillispie: All of my favorite writers are dead

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Larry McMurtry, one of the greatest Texas authors of all time, dies at 84

I was looking at the list of my favorite writers, and it occurred to me that all of them are dead.

Alphabetically, Isaac Asimov (the Foundation series), Lilian Jackson Braun (the Cat Who series), Dick Francis (horse racing books), Ken Grimwood (one book, Replay), Robert A. Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land and other science fiction), Janet Kagan (Hellspark, Uhura's Song), Louie L'Amour (Conagher and other westerns), Jack London (The Sea-Wolf), John D. MacDonald (the Travis McGee series), Robert B. Parker (the Spenser and Jesse Stone series) and Rex Stout (the Nero Wolfe series) are all gone.

Then I added Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) to the mix, and at least ONE of my faves was still around. That made me feel better; and then McMurtry died today (March 26, 2021). Sigh.

I've picked up new faves via recommendation, such as Francis and MacDonald. I found Robert B. Parker because of Spenser: For Hire on TV, and London wrote classics like The Sea-Wolf.

I've realized that I haven't picked up a new favorite writer since Braun in the 1990s. I'm going to have to look at my personal library and see if I have any other faves.

I wonder who my next favorite writer will be.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK