I love a Western.

Maybe it’s because my dad had old movies playing on the TV throughout my childhood, or maybe it’s because I grew up in rural California, where it was easy to imagine cowboys and campfires.

Nowadays, I gravitate toward what I would call “modern literary Westerns,” with their strong sense of place and complex look at the issues and ethics in how this side of America was built. Plus, they’re usually good yarns. 

What follows are novels, but I’ll add a nonfiction recommendation, too: One of the themes in these books concerns aging lawmen, soldiers or Texas Rangers who lament the things they’ve done for pay or progress. A nonfiction companion that gave me some perspective, especially for stories set in Texas, is “Empire of the Summer Moon” by S.C. Gwynne, a biography of the Comanches as they interacted with those men who sought their destruction.

So if it’s been a while, here’s a small sample to get you started on your next adventure.

“Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry

No list of Westerns should begin without “Lonesome Dove,” the greatest of them all. At its heart, it’s a story about how people, places and perspectives change over time – for better and for worse. Decades after winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1986, it’s still incredibly readable, full of quirky characters, adventures, humor and so much empathy. 

“In the Distance” by Hernan Diaz

A Western unlike anything else I’ve read. An immigrant boy gets separated from his brother on the voyage to America and ends up in California instead of New York. Alone and isolated by both culture and language, he journeys east against the flow of prospectors, naturalists, homesteaders and religious zealots. The writing is beautiful, heartbreaking and puts a fresh spin on the origin lore of the West through the eyes of an innocent outsider. 

“Butcher’s Crossing” by John Williams

An Ivy League college grad heads west to learn about something he can’t learn in books, and heads out on a buffalo hunt. This is as much eco-fiction as it is a Western, with gorgeous descriptions of nature and a brutal, inevitable reckoning.

SEE ALSO: How the American West story reveals the nation’s triumphs and tragedies

“True Grit” by Charles Portis

A master class in voice, told from the point of view of a 14-year-old girl set on avenging the death of her father. You’ve probably seen a movie version, maybe the one starring John Wayne, but the book is somehow visceral and charming at the same time and is worth a read. 

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“Hombre” by Elmore Leonard

Written about seven years before “True Grit,” this one also deals with the moral ambiguity of delivering justice. It’s told as an eye-witness narrative about a stagecoach ride gone wrong, in which the passengers of questionable character and common sense become dependent on the titular gunsman they snubbed to save them.

“News of the World” by Paulette Jiles

An aging Army captain finds himself alone after the end of the Civil War and takes up traveling through Texas, reading newspapers aloud to the townspeople. At one stop, he’s conscripted to return a kidnapped girl to her relatives through a perilous and emotional journey. There is a lot of empathy in this short novel, with themes of found family and questions about what we consider “civilized.”

Further reading suggestions: “Deadwood” by Pete Dexter, “The Plague of Doves” by Louise Erdrich, “Wounded” by Percival Everett, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones, “Lone Women” by Victor LaValle, “Outlawed” by Anna North, “Inland” by Téa Obreht, and “How Much of These Hills Is Gold” by C Pam Zhang.

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, and the marathon cooking sessions many undertake about to begin in earnest, one new cookbook is here to challenge some of the assumptions that underlie the holiday — while providing over 100 modern and historic recipes.

By three-time James Beard Award-winning Indigenous chef Sean Sherman, with authors Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly, “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America” (Clarkson Potter, $45) provides an in-depth look at the culinary history and traditions of Indigenous people across North America, broken down by geographic region.

Sherman, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, is a leader in the movement to rebuild Native American foodways. He started the Indigenous restaurant Owamni in Minneapolis and is the founder and executive director of North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS).

When it comes to Thanksgiving, the celebration is commonly associated with New England and Indigenous figures like Squanto, he writes. But some of the commonly told aspects of the Thanksgiving story are myths.

A new cookbook, “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America” by Sean Sherman with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly, out now, is promoted as “the most comprehensive work to date on the food traditions and legacies of the Indigenous peoples across North America or Turtle Island” by its publisher, Clarkson Potter. (Courtesy of Clarkson Potter)

“While based on an actual event between English colonizers and members of the Wampanoag Nation, the November holiday as many people celebrate it today actually took shape in the mid-nineteenth century, to help the United States heal after the Civil War.” he writes.

“Like many teachings perpetuated by our education system, these inaccurate history lessons largely disregard the devastating traumas that colonialism wreaked upon the area’s original residents,” he continues. “But against all odds, steadfast cooks, seed keepers, and food sovereignty warriors have strived to maintain connection to their foodways by reviving heirloom varieties and reintroducing important ingredients to their communities.”

This recipe comes from the Southwest, where a variety of wild potato that’s frost- and drought-tolerant known as the Four Corners potato has long been gathered or cultivated.

They’re hard to find commercially, or to grow, but if you find some, “treat them like any other wild food and eat a small amount first before consuming more. If a tuber is especially sour or bitter, it’s best not to eat it,” he writes.

Using this Indigenous potato as inspiration, this recipe features crisp-edged potatoes flavored with a pesto of garlic, pinyon pine nuts and wild greens. “Use the smallest potatoes you can find,” he suggests.

Roasted Smashed Baby Potatoes With Wild Greens Pesto

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds Four Corners potatoes or baby potatoes, scrubbed well

Sea salt

Sunflower oil, for the pan and drizzling

For the wild green pesto:

2 tablespoons pinyon pine nuts or other pine nuts

2 cups packed wild greens, such as lamb’s quarters, common plantain, watercress or wild mustard

1 bulb and greens from wild garlic or 1 small garlic clove

1/2 cup sunflower oil

sea salt

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

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DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes with water to cover by 1 inch and season with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 to 20 minutes, just until fork-tender.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Set them over low heat for a minute or two, just to dry them.
Grease a sheet pan with oil and set it in the oven for 1 minute. Pull it out just long enough to add the cooked potatoes and use the bottom of a mug to lightly crush each one. Drizzle them with oil and season with salt.
Roast for 15 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp at the edges.
Meanwhile, make the pesto: In a small dry skillet, toast the pinyon pine nuts over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until golden with a few browned spots. Transfer to a food processor to cool.
Add the greens and garlic and pulse to chop. With the machine running, add the oil until incorporated and the pesto is finely chopped. Season with salt. Transfer to a bowl. Just before serving, stir the vinegar into the pesto. Serve the potatoes with the pesto.

Reprinted with permission from “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America” by Sean Sherman with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly © 2025 by Sean Sherman. Photographs copyright © 2025 by David Alvarado. Illustrations copyright © 2025 by Jimmy Dean Horn Jr. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

By LAURA UNGAR, Associated Press

Shilpa Gajarawala struggled with hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems and brain fog. But given her history of breast cancer, treating these menopausal symptoms with hormone therapy wasn’t an option.

“For two years, I tried to kind of power through,” said the 58-year-old physician assistant from Jacksonville, Florida.

But doctors say women like Gajarawala don’t need to suffer.

Though many women take hormone therapy medications to ease menopause symptoms, recently announced label changes may encourage even more to start. But others choose not to use these medications that circulate throughout the body. And doctors advise some to avoid them because they have medical problems such as severe liver disease or a history of heart attack, stroke, blood clots or a type of breast cancer that grows in response to hormones such as estrogen.

For those people, there are lifestyle changes, medications without hormones and other strategies that can help.

“The key here is that there’s something for everybody,” said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director at the Menopause Society. “There’s always a solution. We have lots of other options available.”

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Lifestyle changes

Boosting physical activity can make a difference. While exercise hasn’t been shown to alleviate menopausal symptoms directly, it can help to shed pounds, which is associated with reductions in hot flashes and night sweats.

Doctors suggest a mix of aerobic exercise, such as running or walking, and strength training, which slows the loss of bone density.

Along with exercise, doctors advise watching what you eat.

Emerging science shows that a “plant-forward diet,” rich in produce and soy and low in oil, may help with managing hot flashes in particular, said Faubion of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health. Experts aren’t sure why this is true, but some suggest it may be because it also helps with weight loss.

Another key, doctors said, is to avoid things in the diet that may trigger hot flashes, like caffeine or alcohol.

Eating well and exercising also help with other midlife health issues, like rising heart and diabetes risks.

During menopause, the body’s production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone declines greatly. The drop in estrogen levels can lead to higher blood pressure and cholesterol.

“It’s important that we focus on maintaining cardiovascular health” such as stopping smoking, getting enough sleep and watching stress levels, Faubion said.

Prescription drugs

Beyond lifestyle changes, some nonhormonal prescription medicines have been shown to ease menopausal symptoms.

Antidepressants can help with hot flashes and mood issues. Recent data suggest that a drug for an overactive bladder called oxybutynin may reduce hot flashes while also treating frequent urination that’s common during menopause.

And doctors pointed to a new drug on the market – Veozah, a brand name for fezolinetant — which works in the area of the brain that controls body temperature and blocks a source of hot flashes and night sweats. Another nonhormonal drug called elinzanetant — marketed as Lynkuet — was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It works similarly, except it blocks two molecules in the nervous system instead of one.

One downside of such medications? Possible side effects.

Veozah’s label includes a federally required warning about the risk of a rare but serious liver injury. Lynkuet’s possible side effects include difficulty staying awake, fatigue and others. Some antidepressants can cause weight gain, although generally in doses higher than those used for menopause symptoms. And oxybutynin can cause dry mouth and, in some people, a condition in which they can’t completely empty the bladder.

“There’s no medication out there that’s entirely free of risk,” said Dr. JoAnn Manson at Harvard Medical School.

Other nonhormonal options

Over-the-counter products can also treat some menopausal symptoms. Lubricants available at drugstores can help women struggling with vaginal dryness.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on changing unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors, has been shown to help women cope with hot flashes.

“It’s not like it’s going to make you not have a hot flash,” Faubion said. “But it makes them less significant for you and less burdensome.”

Manson said there’s “moderate evidence” that clinical hypnosis might also help, with some studies showing reductions in the frequency and severity of hot flashes.

“That seems a promising option,” she said. “But more research is needed.”

The bottom line is that women don’t have to simply “get through” menopause, said Dr. Juliana Kling, a women’s health expert at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Arizona. “I would implore women to have that conversation … about what treatment might be beneficial for them.”

Gajarawala did that. She now skips red wine, walks at least 10,000 steps a day, practices tai chi and takes an extended-release antidepressant to address her symptoms.

“It’s been a significant improvement,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes increased last month to the fastest pace since February as lower mortgage rates helped pull more homebuyers into the market.

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Existing home sales rose 1.2% in October from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.10 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Sales climbed 1.7% compared with October last year. The latest sales figure topped the roughly 4.09 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

The national median sales price increased 2.1% in October from a year earlier to $415,200. That’s the 28th consecutive month that home prices have risen on an annual basis.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

Sales have remained sluggish this year, but have gotten a boost this fall as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level in more than a year.

Even so, affordability and uncertainty over the economy and job market remain significant hurdles for many aspiring homeowners after years of skyrocketing home prices.