CHECK IT OUT:

It’s time for the book critics to weigh in. The National Book Critics Circle has decided to present an Internet-accessible list of the books they want to honor and share with others.

They called their blog Critical Mass and have included award-winning novelists, historians, poets, critics and biographers in the conversation.

Their list covers fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, criticism and poetry.

So, which top five fiction titles do these highly regarded people consider the “best,” and who made these decisions?

Well, how about asking John Updike, Anne Tyler, Cynthia Ozick, Robert Hass and Julia Alvarez, just to name a few, for their opinions on their favorite books for 2007?

Treat yourself to the Inaugural List of what this group of more than 500 voters thought were the Best Recommended Books published in English during 2007.

Best of all, you can post your comments on their blog at: www.bookcritics.org. See whether you agree or disagree with their selections.

Also, remember the library will be closed Monday and Tuesday. Get your reading material now, heat up the hot chocolate and put another log on the fireplace. It’s cozy time.

“Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz: This first novel presents an overweight, girl-obsessed, anime and sci-fi fan/nerd from a Dominican Republic-American background trying to cope in urban New Jersey. The multi-perspective narration, the mid-sentence shifts from English to Spanish and historical asides make for a truly global approach to a coming-of-age story from a unique voice in modern fiction.

“Tree of Smoke” by Denis Johnson: Using multiple storylines, a large cast of characters and dreamlike, disoriented language, Johnson writes an ambitious novel about the Vietnam War and war’s effects on America. He synthesizes filmmakers’ visions and evokes other writers’ narratives along the way, making this a complex, layered work.

“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel” by Michael Chabon: Pulitzer Prize winner Chabon writes about the “frozen Chosen” in this genre-blended, classic-noir, murder mystery, speculative history, Jewish-identity novel that begins with the premise: What if World War II-era Jews had settled their homeland in Sitka, Alaska, instead of Israel as the real President Franklin Roosevelt proposed?

“Exit Ghost” by Philip Roth: The ninth Nathan Zuckerman novel finds Roth’s fictional surrogate hero returning to New York City like Rip Van Winkle. And he finds that everything has changed after Sept. 11. Witty and full of subplots, this story might well wrap up the series.

“Out Stealing Horses” by Per Petterson: Translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born, this deceptively-simple tale concerns elderly widower Trond Sander and his neighbor Lars who happens to be his one-time friend Jon’s younger brother. Parallels abound as the story explores Trond’s childhood memories as he prepares for the current coming winter of adulthood.

CHECK IT OUT is written by Newport Beach reference librarian Mary Ellen Bowman. Use your Newport Beach Public Library card to reserve these titles at www.newportbeachlibrary.org or call (949) 717-3800 and press 2.