The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century As Voted By Us!
Excited to unveil the results of this huge, fun, fascinating project
Hello!
I’m thrilled to begin rolling out our list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. I’m going to do it 20 a day, the same way the New York Times did. It’s going to be a whole week of fun, plus some extra analysis at the end. But before we get into it, some housekeeping…
Wait, what is this? Two weeks ago, the New York Times shared a list of the “100 Best Books of the 21st Century” as voted by 503 writers, critics, and staff members. The list was massively viral, but many takes—including my own—were a little head scratchy. It felt like there were some major snubs (IMO Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara); plus, where was the genre fiction? The list was stuffed with enormous tomes of Serious Literature ™, but few books that represented landmark cultural moments over the past 25 years (Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, the rise of romantasy, Colleen Hoover mania etc.).
So, I decided to crowdsource my own list! Last week, I invited you to submit the 10 books that topped your list. In total 1,327 people submitted ballots, which translated to 13,216 individual votes for 2,320 books. It was A LOT of data.
Who voted?
They’re young(ish). Of the voting pool 48% are 25 – 34; the second largest group is 35 – 44 with 43.6% of respondents.
They’re (probably) female. I didn’t ask about gender, but scanning the voter email addresses, I feel fairly confident at least 90% are women. That tracks, as Instagram tells me 92% of my followers are women.
They’re capital-R Readers. 54.9% self-report reading 50+ books in the past year, while another 30.1% read 25 – 49. Of note, while the NYT polled mostly authors, only 3.5% of respondents self-report as published authors.
What’s the methodology? I used a straight unweighted tally to count votes. I disqualified 1 book that received enough votes to be in the top 100, but came out before the year 2000 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). In the case of ties, ranking is assigned alphabetically by title. I considered using the same number for ties, but things started looking very confusing, very quickly. After I unveil the entire list, I’ll share a spreadsheet of the anonymized raw if you want to dig deeper and see how close other titles got to the top 100.
One ask… This was a fun but MASSIVE undertaking. If you value this work and are in a position to afford it, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter. Book recs are always free, but paid subscribers get access to travel guides, more personal content, Q&A’s, and more.
Alright, let’s do this! Today, we have books 100 – 81:
100. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012) – 26 votes
I like that we’re starting with something spicy. Something that feels like it would shock—maybe even horrify—the NYT list voting body. But it’s hard to deny the fervor around this YA romance about teens who meet at a cancer support group.
99. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2022) – 26 votes
Truly, look at the range here already. Next up we have this speculative fiction novel that the flap copy describes as about “art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later.”
98. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008) – 26 votes
I’ve been meaning to read this book about a fictionalized Laura Bush—a shy small-town librarian who falls for the charismatic son of a Republican political dynasty—for years. This might be the nudge that pushes me over the edge.
97. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (2007) – 26 votes
Our first crossover with the NYT list (but only the crowdsourced list…). This novel chronicles three decades of Afghan history as it follows an unlikely friendship between women brought together by war, loss, and fate who become family to one another.
96. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (2019) – 27 votes
Our first non-fiction! A powerful and inventively structured memoir about an abusive relationship.
95. 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (2020) – 27 votes
Oh, okay. So, you all like to cry. I’m learning something new about you. This emotionally-intense novel follows a one-weekend-a-year affair that lasts 28 summers.
94. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (2012) – 28 votes
This book about a woman who undertakes a 1,000+ mile hike in the aftermath of the death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage inspired hundreds—thousands, probably—of women to undertake similar trips. This feels very worthy of a spot on a best books list.
93. We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (2022) – 28 Votes
Oh… you want me to know you mean it. You REALLY like to cry. This book about a woman loving her best friend through her final days as she dies of ovarian cancer left me in tatters. Definitely read this beautiful ode to friendship and getting through the hard times, but be sure to have tissues handy.
92. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2003) – 28 votes
When I initially talked about the NYT list, this book came up frequently in the comments as a snub. The story chronicles the first-generation immigrant experience of a family that moves from Calcutta to America.
91. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003) – 28 votes
Anecdotally, I have multiple friends who call this book about a serial killer at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair their favorite book of all time.
90. Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2019) – 28 votes
WOW, our first crossover with both the main NYT list and the crowdsourced list. This makes me really curious about this reported non-fiction book about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland.
89. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (2005) – 28 votes
I’m going to tell you now that the Harry Potter fans came out for this voting process and this is the first of three Harry Potter entries.
88. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (2013) – 28 votes
Do you remember when every person you know was reading this book at the same time? Do you remember the (much-deserved) hype around the movie? This definitely feels like a “best book” for the cultural phenomenon it created.
87. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (2022) – 29 votes
I was delighted to see this gem of a time travel book on this list because I loved it so much! Despite the time travel, this novel is so human: it’s about a woman mourning the impending loss of her father and all the directions she thought her life would take.
86. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (2020) – 29 votes
I completely missed (or somehow tuned out?) anything about this fantasy novel, which follows a man exploring an infinite labyrinth of a house, but I’ve gotta say… I’m intrigued!
85. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy (2022) – 29 votes
An explosive memoir from a child star about her incredibly complicated relationship with her mother.
84. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (2016) – 29 votes
A multi-generational drama about a kiss that dissolves two marriages and the ties between two families. I’m going to have to loop back to read this one. Why is this not what I thought this book was about?
83. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – 31 votes
This book-turned-TV-miniseries follows two very different families brought together through their children.
82. Atonement by Ian McEwan (2002) – 31 votes
Another three-fer (a book that made this list, the main NYT list, and the NYT crowdsourced list)! This World War II novel tells the story of an innocent mistake made by a young girl and how that ruins lives and reverberates through her own.
81. This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel (2017) – 32 votes
I’m ashamed to admit this book has been sitting in my TBR since its release. I need to read it! Especially after it made this list. The story follows the family of a trans child. A family who keeps that a secret, and how that secret explodes into the world.
In case you’re counting: so far, we have 2 crossovers with the main NYT list and 5 crossovers with the NYT crowdsourced list.
20 more coming tomorrow.
But I’m so curious to know: any initial feelings? Surprises? Predictions? Are you having the best time (I am!)?
See you tomorrow,
Becca
PS: Just discovering this? Good news, the next installment of this list is already live. Keep going!
Nothing but respect for *MY* Best Books of the 21st Century list!!! 💕
I will be living for this content all week! Not surprised at all to see Wild on the list. Who among us didn’t buy those cute boots and try to become a hiking girlie after reading it??