Check out what very well-read people are reading

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has issued its second list of books a lot of very well-read people hope you will read. Initially called the “most recommended” list, the NBCC has decided on a seasonal theme for this quarterly offering, namely “Good Reads: Winter List.” Five hundred critics and authors voted.

Here’s the winter fiction list:

1. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead)
3. Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee (Viking)
4. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Viking)
5. Zeroville by Steve Erickson (Europa Editions)

For more information, visit the NBCC website.