Friday Mood Recs: Westerns for people who don't read Westerns
The classic, the contemporary, and the unabashedly queer
Now that we’re all in our Cowboy Era—or at least Cowboy Curious—thanks to Beyoncé, it’s the perfect time to explore the Western genre. I was completely uninterested in Westerns before starting a teaching job where I was required to teach True Grit by Charles Portis. I read it the summer before that school year began and found myself completely enthralled by the story of Mattie, Rooster, LaBoef, and the coward Tom Chaney. For my students, True Grit served as an entry point into discussions about how we read and think about genre fiction as distinct from “the classics” or “literary fiction.” For me, I started noticing the way this single Western novel was in conversation with many of the contemporary fiction I loved.
I still haven’t read many classic Westerns, but True Grit instilled a fascination with the genre and I’m always interested in authors who use Western tropes and settings for their novels. Today I’m sharing some favorite Westerns. If you this Westerns aren’t for you, allow me to try to convince you otherwise.
Note: If you’re looking for book pairings for specific Cowboy Carter tracks, be sure to check out this post from
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