04/07/2026
This is how I spent my June.
I started Lonesome Dove on June 1st and turned the final page on June 30th. 866 pages of dusty trails, unforgettable characters, heartbreak, humor, and more cowboying than I’ve experienced in my entire reading life.
The funny thing is… I’d never seen the miniseries.
I vaguely remember my parents watching it when I was younger, but beyond that, I knew almost nothing. I made a decision before I started reading: no spoilers. I didn’t Google the characters. I didn’t look up the cast. I didn’t watch clips. I went in completely blind.
I’m so glad I did. Larry McMurtry didn’t just write a Western, he wrote one of the richest stories about friendship, loyalty, love, aging, adventure, and the quiet weight of ordinary lives I’ve ever read. Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call have firmly earned their place among my favorite literary characters, and I already know they’ll stay with me for a very long time.
When I closed the book, I finally watched the four-part miniseries and what a gift. The cast is phenomenal, and seeing these characters come to life after spending an entire month imagining them myself felt incredibly rewarding. It captured so much of what made the novel special while letting me revisit people I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to.
This wasn’t just a great book. It was an experience. One month with one remarkable story. This is one of those rare reads that quietly reshapes the landscape of your reading life.
If you’ve been putting Lonesome Dove off because of its size, let this be your sign. Saddle up. It’s worth every single page.
