David regrets having chose Westerns for this week's genre. That is, until Teresa, Diane, and Joe started questioning what exactly makes a Western a Western.

The usual suspects led to discussions of Larry McMurtry, Charles Portis, Louis L'Amour, Cormac McCarthy...but then came Elmore Leonard, John Steinbeck, and even Stephen King.

What makes a Western a Western? Join us to find out!

NOTE: This one gets a little adult language-y, so keep that in mind with the littles around.

Diane, Teresa, David, and Joe get caught up after a week off and discuss their favorite books of 2025 (so far).

Here are their favorites:

Diane:

• The Wedding People by Alison Espach
• The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
• The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Teresa:

• The Incredible Kindness of Paper by Evelyn Skye
• Cat’s People by Tanya Guerrero
• The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
• Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

David:

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
• The Bookshop of Secrets by Kerry Barrett
• The Mystic Caravan Mysteries by Amanda M. Lee (latest: Freaky Festivals; first: Freaky Days)

• The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Chickens by Matthew Bawerman

Joe:

• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
• The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
• On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

Diane and Joe join the 'cast from the road, in Las Vegas, as Teresa leads the discussion of legal thrillers, like Phillip Margolin's latest, FALSE WITNESS, and John Grisham's latest, THE WIDOW.

The friends discuss the unforgivable sins of legal thrillers and the things that make great thrillers great.

Listen to hear what's coming next, as bibliophilia moves into the holiday season!

David rises from his sick bed as Diane honors Native American Heritage Month by recognizing the contributions of Tommy Orange, author of THERE THERE and WANDERING STARS.

The four friends discuss the importance of seeing the world through the eyes of others and Diane introduces our followers to poet Joaquin Zihuatanejo. The four discuss banned books, hidden histories, and fry bread.

The Friends discuss book lists - celebrity lists, publisher lists, crowdsourced lists, and more. They also welcome in a new friend: Joe's son, Jon. He may not be renowned but he's definitely nowned.

The Friends confess their deepest, darkest secrets: which books they just couldn't get through. Milquetoast characters, overwrought writing, and just plain "I didn't like it" were among the reasons for noping out of a book somewhere between the first and last page.

The Friends celebrate the season as Teresa turns the podcast spooky. The group breaks down what makes a good spooky read, the difference between spooky and creepy (spoiler alert: Teresa believes the distinction is clowns), and some of their favorite mind-bending favorites. A celebration of fright from the heart of Halloween, Texas!

David shares his comfort genre -- cozy mysteries -- with the crew. "Cozies" cover everything from series involving vampire knitting club to Ellory ("baked in the North and buttered in the South" Adams' "Secret, Book, & Scone Society" series. Plus lots of talk about Denton being officially designated "Halloween, Texas."