Books
October 18, 2023
Texas Indie Bookstore Week
To celebrate the enduring power of the Texas bookstore, we’re publishing odes to shops old and new, essays by some of our favorite novelists, conversations with booksellers, and more.
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Film & TV
October 18, 2023
Four Reasons November Will Be a Great Month in Texas Culture
A Texas legend finally gets top billing, Willie spills on his songs, the Black Pumas return, and Sugar Land hosts Honeyland.
The Stand Up Desk
October 18, 2023
Editor’s Letter: Our Food Team
A celebration of beloved neighborhood restaurants—and the many folks who cover food for Texas Monthly.
Energy
October 18, 2023
The Year the Texas Legislature Changed the Energy Game Forever
In 1999 lawmakers radically altered the electricity marketplace. We can all breathe easier—literally—because of it.
Books
October 18, 2023
Larry McMurtry’s Bookstore Was Legendary. It Still Exceeded My Expectations.
"Bookseller" was one of the Pulitzer winner's core identities, and at Booked Up, it showed.
The Stand Up Desk
October 18, 2023
Roar of the Crowd: November 2023
Reader letters published in our November 2023 issue.
Books
October 18, 2023
How Dallas Became the National Capital of International Books
Sorry, New York. The largest U.S. publisher of literature in translation, plus a thriving global books scene, resides in the Metroplex.
Tex-Mexplainer
October 18, 2023
Red, White, and Covered in Salsa: How Two Colors Came to Dominate Taquerias
You can thank an internationally famous soda brand and psychology for the classic red-and-white design of your favorite taco spots.
Books
October 17, 2023
The Greatest Western You’ve Never Heard Of
A new movie adaption, starring Nicolas Cage, may finally bring the 1960 novel ‘Butcher’s Crossing’ the fame it deserves—right when we need to heed its message.
Books
October 17, 2023
How BookWoman Plays Matchmaker for Texas’s Avid Readers
At nearly fifty years old, the feminist bookstore remains a safe haven for those seeking a place to process the world.
Books
October 17, 2023
Dispatch From the Ghosts of Bookstores Past
The independent bookstores of sixties and seventies San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas created community and opened whole new worlds for Texans.
Books
October 17, 2023
A Celebrated Texas Author and the Indie Bookstores That Sustained Him
From McAllen to Austin, indie bookstores have provided Fernando A. Flores with far more than just reading material.
The Texanist
October 17, 2023
Why Does Everyone Outside of Texas Call a Corny Dog a Corn Dog?
A Texan exiled in Arkansas is baffled by the misnaming of this beloved, meaty treat on a stick.
Books
October 17, 2023
“This Way to Nowhere,” San Antonio’s Community Bookshop
COVID put Texas author Katie Gutierrez’s book launch for her debut novel on hold. This San Antonio independent bookstore came to the rescue.
Books
October 17, 2023
8 Texas Bookstore Cafes Worth Digging Into
Whether you prefer to read Harry Potter with a stack of pancakes or ‘Jane Eyre’ with a charcuterie board, you’re encouraged to stick around awhile at these bookshop bistros.
Food & Drink
October 17, 2023
The Good Place
The food is from scratch, the decor is from another time, and the welcome is straight from the heart. Here are 31 Texas restaurants we return to again and again.
Style & Design
October 16, 2023
Houston’s Lesser-known Chapel by Philip Johnson Is a Golden Wonder
Just a few minutes from the celebrated Rothko Chapel, the Chapel of St. Basil provides a spiritual respite.
Politics & Policy
October 16, 2023
What’s Behind the Fact-Challenged Freak-out Over Colony Ridge?
The Houston exurb offers cheap land to hardworking families. But some in the GOP see the benefit in demonizing the migrants who’ve moved there.
Travel & Outdoors
October 16, 2023
Texans Worship Brands, but We Should Celebrate Our Native Flora and Fauna Too
Step aside, Buc-ee’s and Blue Bell. Where’s the love for horny toads, swallowtails, and passion vine?
Books
October 16, 2023
I Think a Crime Bookstore Is the Best in Texas, So Stab Me
Houston’s Murder by the Book serves up bloodshed with a smile.
Books
October 16, 2023
The Big Map of Texas Indie Bookstores
We scoured the state for every indie we could find. Texas readers, you’re going to want to bookmark.
Books
October 16, 2023
We Thought Amazon Killed Local Bookstores. We Were So Wrong.
And not just in big cities—in suburbs and in small towns, new shops are serving up classics, cocktails, and community.
Film & TV
October 16, 2023
Ken Burns’s ‘The American Buffalo’ Isn’t Really About Bison
It’s about the violence that white settlers wrought upon the West—and the path to redemption.
Books
October 16, 2023
How Two Texas Bookstores Are Leading the Fight Against Book Bans
When I wrote my YA novel, I hoped to inspire teens to figure out their beliefs around complicated political questions. But amid a wave of book bans, my book could get prohibited from school shelves.
Sponsored
October 15, 2023
The Business of Conservation
Learn more about how Wildlife Partners' successful business model combines economic incentives with the goal of doing good for threatened wildlife worldwide.
Sports
October 13, 2023
An All-Texas MLB Playoff Series 50 Years in the Making
Much like indoor baseball in Houston or an MLB team in Arlington, a Houston Astros–Texas Rangers ALCS was once a dream and is now a reality.
Critters
October 13, 2023
The Ghost-Faced Bat Is So Ugly It’s Cute
Found along Texas’s southwestern border, the creature has a mug only a mother could love.
BBQ
October 13, 2023
Italy Meets Texas in This Must-Try Pork Dish
Fort Worth is the center of pork belly innovation, and Brix Barbecue’s herby porchetta is just the latest example.
News & Politics
October 13, 2023
Superintendent Mike Miles Has Big Plans for Houston ISD. A Five-Foot-Tall Retired Teacher Stands in His Way.
This summer, the Texas Education Agency took control of the state’s largest school district. Ruth Kravetz has mobilized an army of parents and educators to fight back.
Politics & Policy
October 12, 2023
First They Came for Those Who Met With Nazis
After right-wing activist Jonathan Stickland hosted Nick Fuentes in his office, many in the GOP have attacked Stickland’s critics.
Travel & Outdoors
October 12, 2023
Why the Amtrak Sleeper Car Is the Ultimate Way to Travel Across Texas
A veteran of many Sunset Limited trips to Alpine finally indulges in a private room and finds a lot to love. Especially the French toast.
Film & TV
October 12, 2023
The Endless Assassination of John F. Kennedy
After his murder in Dallas, our perception of what happened has been shaped by the pop culture—and subculture—it inspired.
BBQ
October 12, 2023
The 13 Best Texas-Raised Wagyu Burgers
The prices of Wagyu burgers range across the state, but they’re still the most accessible way to taste the well-marbled, often-expensive beef.
Health
October 12, 2023
While We Were Sleeping: The Feds Say a Price-fixing Scheme Costs Texas Patients Tens of Millions
A New York financier’s scheme “rolled up” anesthesiology practices across the state, according to a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission.
Sports
October 11, 2023
Let the Texas Rangers’ Creed-Inspired Playoff Run Take You Higher
After blowing the AL West division lead on the last day of the regular season, the suddenly white-hot Rangers swept their way into the ALCS.
Sponsored
October 11, 2023
Texans Supporting Texans
How small business owners Ben Collins and Peter Nasr found a shared approach to business with Texas Capital Bank.
News & Politics
October 11, 2023
Former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings Isn’t Giving Up On Texas Public Schools
She may be a Republican, but she doesn’t love vouchers (though she doesn’t think they’re the end of the world, either).
Film & TV
October 11, 2023
The Movie That Shattered the Dallas Cowboys Myth
‘North Dallas Forty’ revealed the ugly truths behind America’s Team. But nearly 45 years later, it inspires more nostalgia than outrage.
Made in Texas
October 11, 2023
A Late Composer’s Music Lives On in His Austin-Made Wind Chimes
More than twenty years after its founder died, Music of the Spheres continues to produce striking outdoor chimes.
Meanwhile, in Texas
October 11, 2023
Meanwhile, in Texas: Building the World’s Biggest Piñata, One Bag of Corn Nuts at a Time
Plus, a harrowing vehicular encounter with a spear and a harrowing vehicular encounter with a cornfield.
Texas History
October 11, 2023
The U.S.S. Texas, Once the World’s Most Formidable Battleship, Gets a Dramatic Makeover
The famously powerful dreadnought was hailed by Hemingway and played a key role in several famous battles.
Sponsored
October 11, 2023
Where’s the (Goodstock) Beef? Central Texas Edition
Goodstock by Nolan Ryan believes that a truly great restaurant experience must be built on quality local Texas beef, and the Central Texas region boasts some of the best BBQ the world has to offer using their high quality beef.
Tacos
October 11, 2023
A New San Antonio Taqueria Misses the Mark When It Comes to Tacos de Trompo
Tacos Vitali, which has two locations in the Alamo City, is the talk of the town, but it didn’t live up to the hype on my multiple visits.
Health
October 11, 2023
Is a New Study Linking Autism to Aspartame Overblown?
Researchers in San Antonio found that boys whose mothers drank diet soda were more likely to be on the spectrum, but critics point out the data’s shortcomings.
Politics & Policy
October 11, 2023
Will Hurd Was Both Too Late and Too Early to Run as an Anti-Trump Moderate
Once a rising star in the Republican Party, the former congressman’s pitch as a “common-sense” Republican didn’t resonate with today’s GOP.
Sponsored
October 10, 2023
Texans Shape Our Water Future
Making better decisions about how we manage, allocate, and invest in water starts with awareness of the role it plays in our daily lives.
Best Thing in Texas
October 10, 2023
Hats Off to the Arctic Cowboys, Who Just Became the First Paddlers to Cross the Northwest Passage
The Texas-based kayaking team completed the 1,600-mile journey over 83 grueling days.
Style & Design
October 10, 2023
The Best of ACL Festival Fashion, in Photos
Three days on the field and not a single pair of Crocs cowboy boots? Are y’all okay?
Working Life
October 10, 2023
A North Texas Couple Turns Creepy-crawlies Into Works of Art
Butterfly wings, tarantula legs, and “Frankenstein” beetles—the insect taxidermists of Pinned Ptera find the beauty in it all.
Sports
October 10, 2023
On Texas MLS Teams, Argentine Players Are the Barbecue Grillmasters
For soccer pros like Austin FC’s Maxi Urruti and FC Dallas’s Alan Velasco, starting beef is the secret ingredient to team-building.