This blog post is all about the best 100 books of the 21st Century.
The New York Times recently revealed a list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. This list was compiled by authors, critics, those in the publishing industry and more.
However, they also released a readers’ version of this list. And this was the list that I resonated with a lot more.
Of the 100 books listed on the Readers Pick of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, I have read 26.
I’ve added these in below, along with my rating and review to see if I would have also placed these in the top 100 books of the 21st century.
You can find the full list from the critics here. And if you’d like to keep up with my reading, follow me on Goodreads here.
This blog post is all about the best 100 books of the 21st Century.
The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century
Below are the best 100 books of the 21st Century according to the New York Times. How many have you read?
1. Demon Copperhead
By Barbara Kingsolver
2. All the Light We Cannot See
By Anthony Doerr
3. A Gentleman in Moscow
By Amor Towles
4. The Goldfinch
By Donna Tartt
5. Pachinko
By Min Jin Lee
6. Educated by Tara Westover
My rating: ★★★★
An incredible memoir that shows no matter how hard life deals your cards, you can overcome them.
7. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: ★★★★★
Not my usual genre, but one of the best books I read in 2022.
8. My Brilliant Friend
By Elena Ferrante
9. Never Let Me Go
By Kazuo Ishiguro
10. Station Eleven
By Emily St. John Mandel
11. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
My rating: ★★★★★
Probably the most heartbreaking book I’ve ever read.
12. The Overstory
By Richard Powers
13. The Underground Railroad
By Colson Whitehead
14. Wolf Hall
By Hilary Mantel
15. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
My rating: ★★★★
I wouldn’t have ranked this so highly myself, but a modern-day classic.
16. Lincoln in the Bardo
By George Saunders
17. Atonement
By Ian McEwan
18. Middlesex
By Jeffrey Eugenides
19. Americanah
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
20. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
By Michael Chabon
21. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
My rating: ★★★★★
A must-read!
22. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
My rating: ★★★★
A story about Shakespeare where Shakespeare isn’t the main character. Highly recommend.
23. The Warmth of Other Suns
By Isabel Wilkerson
24. Bel Canto
By Ann Patchett
25. Gilead
By Marilynne Robinson
26. The Corrections
By Jonathan Franzen
27. Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: ★★★★★
One of my favourite books of all time.
Related blog post to read: Sally Rooney Books You Need to Read: In Order
28. Cutting for Stone
By Abraham Verghese
29. Say Nothing
By Patrick Radden Keefe
Related blog post to read: 9 Books to Read About the History of Northern Ireland
30. A Visit From the Goon Squad
By Jennifer Egan
31. Circe by Madeline Miller
My rating: ★★
This wouldn’t have made my top 200 list, never mind number 31 on the readers choice.
32. Cloud Cuckoo Land
By Anthony Doerr
33. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: ★★★★★
An incredible book I read in my teens.
34. Cloud Atlas
By David Mitchell
35. The Covenant of Water
By Abraham Verghese
36. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
My rating: ★★★★
A great book about grief.
37. The Nickel Boys
By Colson Whitehead
38. The Great Believers
By Rebecca Makkai
39. Olive Kitteridge
By Elizabeth Strout
40. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: ★★★★★
Another great book I read in my teens.
41. Life After Life
By Kate Atkinson
42. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
By Junot Diaz
43. Between the World and Me
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
44. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
By James McBride
45. There There
By Tommy Orange
46. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
My rating: ★★★★★
This is so much better than Circe. Would have been higher on my list!
47. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: ★★★★★
Another book that’s not my usual genre, but I loved it!
Related blog post to read: 10 Binge-Worthy Books to Read Before They Hit the Big Screen
48. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
My rating: ★★★★
Enjoyable, but not overly memorable.
49. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: ★★★★★
One to keep you on your toes.
50. James
By Percival Everett
51. Caste
By Isabel Wilkerson
52. The Nightingale
By Kristin Hannah
53. Trust
By Hernan Diaz
54. 11/22/63
By Stephen King
55. Braiding Sweetgrass
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
56. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: ★★★★★
One of my favourite series from my teens.
57. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
My rating: ★★★★★
Incredible for such a short book. I would have ranked this higher than number 57.
Related blog post to read: 10 Books You Should Read By Irish Authors
58. White Teeth
By Zadie Smith
59. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My rating: ★★★★★
I loved the book, couldn’t stand the movie.
Related blog post to read: 10 Binge-Worthy Books to Read Before They Hit the Big Screen
60. The Dutch House
By Ann Patchett
61. North Woods
By Daniel Mason
62. The Sympathizer
By Viet Thanh Nguyen
63. The Fifth Season
By N.K. Jemisin
64. 2666
By Roberto Bolano
Related blog post to read: 17 South America Books For Those Who Love South America
65. Evicted
By Matthew Desmond
66. Just Kids
By Patti Smith
67. Piranesi
By Susanna Clarke
68. The Devil in the White City
By Erik Larson
69. Killers of the Flower Moon
By David Grann
70. Know My Name
By Chanel Miller
71. Sing, Unburied, Sing
By Jesmyn Ward
72. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
My rating: ★★★★
Another great book about dealing with grief.
73. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
My rating: ★★★★★
Every Harry Potter book is a five-star read.
74. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: ★★★
Not my favourite genre and didn’t love it.
75. The Lincoln Highway
By Amor Towles
76. Just Mercy
By Bryan Stevenson
77. Sapiens
By Yuval Noah Harari
78. Kafka on the Shore
By Haruki Murakami
79. 1Q84
By Haruki Murakami
80. Deacon King Kong
By James McBride
81. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
By Rebecca Skloot
82. Tom Lake
By Ann Patchett
83. Let the Great World Spin
By Colum McCann
84. Tenth of December
By George Saunders
85. When Breath Becomes Air
By Paul Kalanithi
86. Life of Pi
By Yann Martel
87. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
My rating: ★★★★★
Bernadine Evaristo is one of my favourite authors, and this one of her best works.
88. The Plot Against America
By Philip Roth
89. The Glass Castle
By Jeannette Walls
90. In the Dream House
By Carmen Maria Machado
91. Project Hail Mary
By Andy Weir
92. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
By Olga Tokarczuk
93. Remarkably Bright Creatures
By Shelby Van Pelt
94. The Bee Sting
By Paul Murray
95. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: ★★★★★
A must-read book that would have been higher on my list.
96. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: ★★★★★
An incredibly told story.
97. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My rating: ★★★★★
An interesting story, but I had a personal dislike to the main character wasting her time in New York.
98. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
My rating: ★★★★★
Incredibly heartbreaking but funny at the same time. This would be higher in my own list.
99. Empire of Pain
By Patrick Radden Keefe
100. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: ★★★★★
Incredibly wholesome and heartwarming. I love that they made a movie of this book too.
