8 Books to Read if You Love Taylor Sheridan Shows
An Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer, director, and producer, Taylor Sheridan has carved a great niche for himself on American television with his reinvented Western dramas. Beginning with Yellowstone, Sheridan has created a host of gritty, morally complex dramas boasting powerhouse casts that make his writing come to life with compelling energy. Sheridan’s TV shows are credited with revitalizing the Western genre with their fresh perspectives and sleek productions, some of which have become modern television legends.
If you are a fan of Sheridan’s expansive Western sagas, you might also like to indulge in literary classics that offer a similar experience, and some of those books have even been inspirations for Sheridan in his world-building. From page-turning romantic tales to chilling survival stories and epic adventures, these books make for a great read if you’re seeking a robust Western story or one that matches Sheridan’s beautifully rugged universe, exploring frontier ethics, dynastic family corruption, and the brutal American landscapes of the past and present. Without further ado, here are our recommendations of books to read if you love Taylor Sheridan’s shows.
1
‘How to Not Die in Prison’ (2026)
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After acting, writing, directing, and becoming a ranch owner, Taylor Sheridan has also forayed into publishing, debuting with a non-fiction book. Sheridan co-wrote the book with Tom Nelson, a personal trainer and former convict who served a 17-year prison sentence for various crimes. How to Not Die in Prison is a darkly funny, straightforward guide to surviving a sentence inside a maximum-security prison without getting involved in unnecessary trouble.
Published in 2026, How to Not Die in Prison has had mixed reviews, with many professional reviewers calling it eye-opening, praising its unfiltered, blunt style of writing and Nelson’s honesty about his past. However, others have critiqued the book’s depth and authenticity, political undertones, and cultural commentary. That said, if you’re a fan of Sheridan’s Mayor of Kingstown, you definitely need to read How to Not Die in Prison.
2
‘All the Pretty Horses’ (1992)
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Image via Alfred A. Knopf</figure>
A modern classic of American literature, Cormac McCarthy‘s All the Pretty Horses explores the coming-of-age story of John Grady Cole, a teenager from San Angelo, Texas, who sets out in search of work after his family ranch is sold. After he and his friends arrive in Mexico, John Grady gets a job at a ranch and falls in love with the owner’s daughter, Alejandra, sparking a deep, forbidden romance. All the Pretty Horses is the first book in McCarthy’s Border Trilogy and is followed by The Crossing and Cities of the Plain.
At the time of its publication, All the Pretty Horses became a massive success and McCarthy’s first bestseller, winning both the U.S. National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The book has since become widely considered his most resonant romance story, where he wonderfully combines coming-of-age trials with a heartbreaking love story and the fading traditions of the American West, all tied together with a haunting, poetic narrative. In 2000, All the Pretty Horses received its first film adaptation, directed by Billy Bob Thornton, with Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz starring as the protagonists.
3
‘Little House on the Prairie’ (1872–1894)
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Written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie is a series of classic children’s books that inspired one of the longest-running dramas on American television. Inspired by the author’s own childhood and adult life in the American Midwest, the books follow the Ingalls family as they leave their Wisconsin home to settle on the Kansas frontier, only to eventually leave after rising tensions with the local Native American community.
The Little House on the Prairie books have been adapted multiple times for stage and screen, including as an anime, with the most successful and widely known adaptation being the NBC classic series that ran from 1974 to 1983. The books are widely praised for their cozy charm and vivid explorations of 19th-century American life, which offer warmth and nostalgia to many. However, on critical reassessment, The Little House on the Prairie books have faced severe criticism for their historical inaccuracies and racial attitudes as well, which is something to keep in mind for modern readers.
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
4
‘The Son’ (2013)
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The second novel written by Philipp Meyer, The Son follows the generational saga of the McCullough family, centering on its ruthless patriarch, Eli, who was the first male child born in the newly formed state of Texas in the mid-1800s. The story chronicles the lives of Eli, his son, and his great-granddaughter, who eventually inherits her ancestral viciousness and becomes an oil baroness. The Son is the second in Meyer’s thematic trilogy of books after his debut novel, American Rust, and is followed by The City.
The Son is an expansive epic that traces three generations of a Texas oil and cattle dynasty in a sweeping narrative that would definitely remind fans of Landman. When it was published, the novel was widely praised for its stark storytelling and powerful analyses of the old American West, comparing Meyer’s work to legends of American literature like Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner. The Son was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and won the Lucien Barrière Literary Award, and the novel was adapted into a Western drama series starring Pierce Brosnan as Eli in 2017.
5
‘The Lonesome Gods’ (1983)
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Image via Bantom Books</figure>
Written by the legendary American Western fiction novelist Louis L’Amour, The Lonesome Gods follows the epic journey of Johannes Verne during the California Gold Rush of the mid-1840s. Left to die alone in the barren frontier desert by his vengeful grandfather, Johannes gets rescued by Native Americans and raised among them, shaping him into a resilient, self-reliant adult. As he navigates the violent, burgeoning world of California and builds a fortune and family for himself, his past keeps threatening his future.
Most of the Western novels by Louis L’Amour are icons of the genre, but Lonesome Gods is often considered his most ambitious work. The expansive tale of family, self-identity, and true grit against the backdrop of the harsh environment of the old American West is as thrilling as modern period sagas like 1883. The Lonesome Gods is a Western classic that has been widely praised for its rich exploration of earlier Spanish, Mexican, Indigenous, and Anglo-Californian cultures, as well as its hard-hitting story of survival.
6
‘All Things Left Wild’ (2020)
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The debut novel of author James Wade, All Things Left Wild is a story of two conflicting protagonists and their pursuits across the American Southwest at the turn of the 20th century. After an attempted robbery goes wrong, 16-year-old Caleb Bentley goes on the run with his spiteful brother and embarks on a perilous journey, while Randall Dawson, chasing the Bentley brothers, grapples with the brutal and rugged frontier life and the deadly ways of the West.
All Things Left Wild is a fast-paced and thrilling novel that is both a coming-of-age story and a midlife odyssey of grief and misguided vengeance. While a classic Western at heart, the dual character perspective is what makes this story refreshing for the genre. The book has been called a powerful debut for Wade, winning the 2021 Spur Award for Historical Novel and the Reading the West Award for Best Debut Novel.
7
‘Montana Sky’ (1996)
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Written by bestselling romance author Nora Roberts, Montana Sky is a sweeping thriller set on a Montana ranch that revolves around its three heiresses, Tess, Willa, and Lily, each unknown to the other. When the three estranged sisters inherit their father’s estate after his death, they are forced to spend a year on the ranch together to be able to claim their inheritance. While they learn to know and live with each other, the sisters must also protect themselves from a dangerous enemy who could destroy all their lives.
Packed with drama, romance, and a chilling mystery, Montana Sky is an absolute page-turner and mirrors several elements of Yellowstone that fans might find interesting. The book features several well-written characters and their convincing story arcs that unfold in the most unexpectedly complicated ways. A highly popular and bestselling romance suspense novel, Montana Sky was adapted into a television film in 2007 by Mike Robe.
8
‘Lonesome Dove’ (1985)
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An epic Western novel penned by Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove is set in the 1870s, in the fading years of the Old West. The story centers on the relationship between several former Texas Rangers and their perilous journey as they herd cattle from Texas to Montana. Lonesome Dove is the first published book of the book series, comprising four novels, and is followed by the sequel, Streets of Laredo, and two prequels, Dead Man’s Walk and Comanche Moon.
A book that influenced Yellowstone and most modern Westerns, Lonesome Dove is acclaimed for its beautiful exploration of mortality, aging, friendship, and unrequited love, and it’s often considered one of the greatest Western novels ever written. The haunted, emotionally complex characters and the book’s depictions of the stark reality of the American West are likely to feel familiar to fans of shows like Yellowstone, and it’s a great read for readers who are new to Western literature. The book was quite a success in its day as well, winning the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was adapted into a successful television series in 1989 starring Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall.
Lonesome Dove
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