What is a Western? What is western? What is the west? All fair questions, and all hard to really define, especially when it comes to reading tastes. Thankfully, we’re getting an idea of what the new west is, complements of bestselling author C.J. Box, who joined us (!!!!) for part of this episode of Booklovers. Box’s 23rd Joe Pickett novel, Storm Watch, was released to high praise in February, and the mystery amplifies the questions asked at the beginning of this paragraph: Is Storm Watch a Western? Is it a Western if it’s in the West? What makes a story of the American west different than an American Western? We’re tackling this topic with a discussion of what Box astutely calls the “rural new west”, a label that pulls together some of the most important issues facing the American west and the people who live and work there.

Also, screaming marmots.