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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?
50 Happens 
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.
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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!
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We don’t all these series.
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I started scrolling down the list and then said to myself, Who am I kidding? If an avid reader like you hit 11, I’m sure I’m below zero!
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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. 😉
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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.
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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.
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The movie was good but as is often the case, the book was even better.
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