The following are December's selections for the Reading the West program, sponsored by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association and honoring "exceptional new books and authors" from the region:
Crossers: A Novel by Phillip Caputo (Knopf) about "the brutality and beauty of life on the Arizona-Mexico border and about the unyielding power of the past to shape our lives." The selection committee commented: "A great examination of the problems at the border. Caputo can write."
Western: A Novel by Christine Montalbetti, translated by Betsy Wing (Dalkey Archive Press), the story of "a mysterious cowboy--a stranger in town with a terrible secret." The committee said, "Wow. Beautiful examination of the spaghetti Western from the perspective of a Frenchwoman. Very different."