Exploring the New York Times 21st Century Book List

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been immersed in the recent New York times feature on the top 100 books of the 21st century. A big thank you to my work colleague and friend, John, who turned me on to it since I had been living under a rock and had missed out on the start of it.

Each day the Times has been counting down to their top 20 books, releasing 20 titles at a time. Over 500 writers and book lovers were selected to share their books and the top 100 were tabulated. Stephen King, Karl One Knausgaard, Roxanne Gay, and Marlon James were among the many selected to submit their rankings. In addition to the master list, NY times has released the top 10 lists for each of their participants so readers can see what books were selected by each participant. It’s a fascinating read and worth following if you haven’t. You can read the feature here: New York Times 100 Best books of the 21st Century

So far, I’ve only read 28 out of the top 80. I don’t read much non-fiction and many on the list are non-fiction. Those of you who have followed me for a while know about my obsession for lists. This blog started when my co-blogger and I were reading through the 1001 books to read before you die list (I’m around 500 currently but now there are more than 1001 books listed across the various versions). So now I have another book list to tackle.

Two of my all-time favorite books have made the list: Cloud Atlas and Savage Detectives. I read the latter in Spanish and it’s a book that has stuck with me through the years. And those who know me well may know that I have a mild obsession with David Mitchell and his novels. Cloud Atlas is not my favorite of his novels but it is the one that turned my on to my obsession. Fun fact: In 2020, I participated in a Mitchell Trivia night and was one of 7 finalists nationwide to make it through to the finals for a chance to have our names featured in his next novel. I didn’t win, but I did get a private one-on-one meeting with him where I proceeded to embarrass myself by stuttering and fan-girling like a fool. Cloud Atlas was one of those books that had a huge impact on my identity as a reader. It was innovative, dazzlingly-written, and unlike anything I had every read prior. It opened a whole new world of literature for me and I have devoured the remaining of his books that are all connected in a masterful way. On a side note, the movie sucked, but I think it’s pretty impossible to capture that novel in a movie.

Other books from 100-21 that I have read and:
Loved or liked
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (and I normally do NOT love her books)
Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
A Brief History of Seven Killings: It was hard as hell to get through but a brilliant book.
A Visit from The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. This probably moved up to a Love for me after meeting the author and hearing her speak about her sequel to this book.
Americanah by Adichie: I did not like this as much as Half a Yellow Sun so I hope that makes the top 20. Reviewed on our blog here.
Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Fifth Season by Jemisin
Exit West by Hamid: Reviewed here for Booker Season
How to be Both by Ali Smith
Persepolis by Satrapi: I don’t typically read graphic novels but this is worth the read and one I recommend to readers trying to tackle the genre.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Trust by Hernan Diaz: Reviewed here for Booker season.
Pastoralia by Saunders: I don’t typically like short stories but I did enjoy this one.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. A bit of a mixed bag for me but I did love the first 75% of it. Reviewed here.
Small Things Like These by Claire Egan: not a favorite but I liked it. I’m not sure it merits a place on the top 100 though. Reviewed here.
Overstory by Richard Powers: Amazing book and one of my favorites in recent years. Reviewed here.
Between the World and Me by Ta-nehisi Coates: A powerful and impactful book. Reviewed here.
Atonement by McEwan: We did a Love or hate it feature for this blog several years ago. I was the “Love it” side. You can read that here: Atonement

Thought was meh or disliked:
The Plot Against America by Roth. I probably liked this more than his other books because I mostly hate his other novels.
The Human Stain by Roth: I just don’t like Roth.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett: I put this here because I read it but don’t remember any of it and therefore it didn’t make much of an impression on me.
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel: I know I may stand alone in this, but I hate her writing style. I had to read and re-read chapters over and over again. I find the style dry and hard to follow in a pretentious way – and I usually like pretentious books
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel: I enjoyed this book but I don’t for the life of me understand how it made the top 100 list. It’s entertaining but a bit too commercial for my tastes (yes, I’m a book snob).
Life after life by Atkinson: Same as the above. I found it enjoyable but light read.
H is for Hawk by MacDonald: This probably comes down to my preference for fiction over non-fiction.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith: I hated this book with a passion.

I own copies of most of the books on the list so far so I may have to push some up on my list. I’ll post more once they release their top 20 books of the 21st century. And I think we will copy the NY Times and have our panel list their top 10 books of the 21st century next week.

We want to hear from you! Which books have you read? What do you think of the list? Are there any that stand out as books you want to add to your list? Which books do you want to see make the top 20 list?