Photo: Stuart Tyson/Studio D

All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers
By Larry McMurtry

Background:
Larry McMurtry wrote this novel when he was still figuring out who he was going to be. It's about a young man, Danny Deck, trying to become an author, trying to find his voice, literally and figuratively, and trying to figure out who he is as a man.

Why he chose it:
I've always related to Danny Deck. I've probably read this book more than any other. I love how it just drifts along, and its characters make me laugh.

Hawke's praise of playwright Sam Shepard's short stories