100 Best Books of the 21st Century

~ MaryG

According to the New York Times Book Review, these are the 100 best books of the first quarter of the 21st century.

My second child is a Golden Dragon. (He was born in the Year 2000.) So I’m going to go ahead and blame him for how few of these books I’ve actually read. I was busy!

I have read some. And I’ve seen many movies and limited series (and one Broadway musical) based on others.

These are the ones I’ve read:

Bel Canto; Olive Kitteridge; The Great Believers; Demon Copperhead; Middlesex; The Goldfinch; Small Things Like These; A Visit From the Goon Squad; Between the World and Me; Sing Unburied Sing; Atonement

So, 11 out of 100. Pretty bad!

How many have you read?

One book that I can’t believe I never read because everyone was always talking about is: Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.

One book I assume I’d like, based on other books I’ve read by the author is: The Runaway by Alice Munro.

Predictably, readers of the New York Times had a different list. Here in the main article, you can see which ones readers chose that didn’t make The Book Review’s list. I concur with readers on many of those including A Gentleman in Moscow, The Nightingale, The Glass Castle and Just Mercy.

If I had to pick one book that was left off both lists, I’d say Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. Such a great memoir!

And one author that was left off both lists: Anne Lamott. I mean, I know she wrote a lot of great stuff before the year 2000, but I feel like at least one of her later books should have been included, like maybe Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith.

Thoughts?

NYTBestBooks.pdfDownload
A bookshelf in my family room

20 thoughts on “100 Best Books of the 21st Century”

  1. My total from the NY Times list is 5. Five! At book club last week someone swanked that they were” currently reading a NY Times best seller book”. Every book from the USA seems to have that printed on the front cover ! Of these five my favourite was “The Underground Railroad ” by Colson Whitehead.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My husband read that one and a couple of other Colson Whitehead books including Nickel Boys, which he really liked. They made “Underground Railroad” into a miniseries that I tried to watch, but the brutality was just too much for me. Thanks for commenting May!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lol! Didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m not avid compared to the women in my book group. 3 of them read 50+ books per year!
      Nice to hear from you! Hope all is well and that you’re not working too hard. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I have read thirteen of the books listed, and I started several more but dropped them. Actually, I am surprised I read that many. Most of the books I read are written by mid-twentieth century British women writers. Add in well-written fantasy with a dash of contemporary fiction. On that list, Colson Whitehead is my absolute favorite. What a writer! Nickel Boys was excellent, too, and should have been on the list.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much for commenting Laurie! I know you’re a big reader. And OK, now you’ve convinced me I need to READ something by Whitehead. I saw Nickel Boys and loved it.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. 21, It would have been 20, but I read (well, listened to) 2666 just a few weeks ago! We’ve talked about the Ferrante novels (so that’s two), and I read the Wolf Hall series (also two) .I still haven’t seen the Brilliant Friend TV series and really should. Gilead I read because it is a favorite of Obama, I think. Well worth your time!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Last night I went looking for a conversation between the author and Obama, but was paywalled. I think it’s NYT so you can find it if you like. 🙂 2666 is really impressive, but a big section of it I found frustrating/sloggy.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. I am an avid reader but unfortunately cannot access the list from the UK without setting up an account for the New York Times so cannot comment on how many I’ve read.
    I have a habit of sticking to certain genres and favourite authors so I’m guessing my achievement would be low

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Thank you, I’ve found it now.

    As I suspected I have a grand score of 0!

    I’ve read 47 books this year so far and I read 81 last year. I read for pleasure, to switch off from the world and immerse myself in someone else’s world so I’m not surprised.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.