Robert Coover enjoys taking adventures whenever he can.
The Rhode Island native made his way to South Texas for the first time on Thursday to be the 50th speaker at the American Book Review Reading series hosted by the University of Houston-Victoria.
So far, he's enjoyed the hospitable people and exceptional barbecue, but said there's still so much he has to discover.
The author said he was always inquisitive by nature, but he learned through time that life is not always what it appears to be.
"You grow up thinking everything is natural," he said. "You realize it's all made up stories."
During his half-century career, he's learned to blur the line between fact and fiction.
Thursday evening, the storyteller encouraged his attentive audience to confront religious and political mythology. Coover, a Brown University professor, said he writes and re-writes fairytales.
ABR Publisher Jeffrey Di Leo said Coover was an ideal example of an author getting back to the roots of writing.
"He's one of the greatest writers of our generation," he said.
Coover captivated the crowd of 35 with a serious tone, then he said "Let's start off with a beer," he said. The crowd responded in laughter.
Throughout his hour-long presentation Coover, who has published 20 books, used intellectual humor. It would take a moment or two before some attendees got the joke.
Coover, who published his first novel in 1966, read excerpts from his latest novel "Noir" and other novels. His colorful description draws people into the story as though they are in it.
Forensic sciences student Ashley Luna enjoyed his palatable writing style. "It was so much like real life, I really liked it," she said.
Coover encouraged students to write more to become better readers. The two literary forms work hand-in-hand.
"Reading is the key to further your own thinking," he said.
