Willie Nelson has many different roles in life, some of them being beloved country music artist, film actor, animal rights activist, humanitarian, and last but not least, author. Few people realize that in addition to Nelson’s success as a musician and actor, he also is a writer. Here is a summary of the many books and writings by Willie Nelson.
Nelson’s latest book, co-written with Kinky Friedman, is called Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road, released in November of 2012. This book is about his adventurous life traveling on the road throughout the years, and it is written with Nelson’s unique voice and perspective on life. With quirky tidbits of wisdom that Nelson has acquired in his successful career that has spanned decades, this latest book gives readers a personal glimpse into Willie’s life.
The Tao of Willie: A Guide To the Happiness in Your Heart, was written by Nelson along with Turk Pipkin. Released 
in May of 2007, this book is very loosely based on Tao Te Cheng principles, a type of Chinese philosophy respected by Nelson. However, the viewpoints given are straight from Willie himself, and he has something to say about a wide variety of topics including war, religion, cowboys, money, love, and others.
Quote from book here
Willie writes his autobiography with a little help from Bud Shrake in Willie: An Autobiography. An August 2000 release, this book tells of his childhood growing up during the years of the Great Depression, his rocky relationships with his wives, his eventual rise to fame, his experiences with alcohol and drugs,and his professional and personal relationships with several other famous musicians he has known, including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
April, 2003 saw the release of The Facts of Life: and Other Dirty Jokes, written by Nelson and Larry McMurty. This books explores the wisdom and special humor of Willie Nelson, where he relates his life experiences and at the same time throws in some hilarious dirty jokes as well. This book reflects the wonderful storytelling skills that Nelson possesses that have made him such a success as a country music songwriter and singer.
Willie Nelson – Joke here
A Tale Out of Luck: A Novel , by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely, is a 2008 book release. This novel deals with a plot line revolving around a retired Texas ranger, a mysterious murder, plenty of secrets, and loads of deception. The ranger, Hank, must do what he can to keep his sons safe from harm and away from such perils as facing dangerous outlaws and fierce Comanche warriors out for vengeance.
No Willie Nelson book collection would ever be complete without him writing something related to music. Willie Nelson – Guitar Songbook Guitar Tab Songbook, from 2007, contains guitar tabs, standard notation, lyrics, chords, and chord frames for several of Nelson’s popular songs. The Best of Willie Nelson E-Z Play Today 44, released in 1991, contains twenty five of Willie’s very best and most popular songs that you can play along with on guitar. There is also the Willie Nelson-Deluxe Anthology, featuring 260 pages of sheet music from the best of Nelson’s vast musical library. Traveling back in time a bit to 1984, Nelson released Willie Nelson-Just Plain Willie, which features piano, guitar, vocal in an artist songbook.
The 1995 book called Willie Nelson: Lyrics 1957-1994 (Country Poets) features over forty years worth of lyrics gathered from Willie’s country songs, brought together in this book of poetry from some of the most well loved country music songs ever.
Aside from writing his own books and poetry, Willie has also been the focus of several different books written by other authors. Some of these include 2009’s Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, by Joe Nick Patoski, Willie Nelson: The Outlaw, by Graeme Thomson and Keith Richards from March, 2010, and Willie Nelson: Country Outlaw, by L. Scobey, released in February, 1982.
As you can see, Willie Nelson’s writings include everything from poetry, to guitar tabs, to fiction, to autobiographical material, to off colored jokes. From tales from the road, down to snippets of wisdom from a guy who has been around the block a few times, any true Nelson fan will be sure to appreciate this vast collection of the books and writings by Willie Nelson.
