By The New York Times Books Staff
When the Book Review published a list of the 100 best books of the century, we knew we’d hear from readers who were incensed or gutted or driven wild by grief. How could So-and-So’s book not make the cut?
One of the best things about working in books is just this: the passion of our constituency. No way would we deprive readers of the chance to vote for their own list and make their voices heard.
And so you have. There’s some overlap between your list and ours — we agreed on 39 books. As for the 61 new entries here, what stands out most is that they’re the books that captured cultural moments and sparked lively literary conversations. They’re also great. Enjoy!
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
- The Book Review’s List of 100
- See how your favorite authors voted
- Let us help you find a new book to read from the list
- Sign up to receive the Books newsletter
The Reader Top 100
1. Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver No. 61 on the Book Review’s list
2. All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
3. A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles
4. The Goldfinch Donna Tartt No. 46 on the Book Review’s list
5. Pachinko Min Jin Lee No. 15 on the Book Review’s list
6. Educated Tara Westover
7. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin No. 76 on the Book Review’s list
8. My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante; translated by Ann Goldstein No. 1 on the Book Review’s list
9. Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro No. 9 on the Book Review’s list
10. Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel No. 93 on the Book Review’s list
11. A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara
12. The Overstory Richard Powers No. 24 on the Book Review’s list
13. The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead No. 7 on the Book Review’s list
14. Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel No. 3 on the Book Review’s list
15. The Road Cormac McCarthy No. 13 on the Book Review’s list
16. Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders No. 18 on the Book Review’s list
17. Atonement Ian McEwan No. 26 on the Book Review’s list
18. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides No. 59 on the Book Review’s list
19. Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie No. 27 on the Book Review’s list
21. Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
22. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell
23. The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson No. 2 on the Book Review’s list
24. Bel Canto Ann Patchett No. 98 on the Book Review’s list
25. Gilead Marilynne Robinson No. 10 on the Book Review’s list
26. The Corrections Jonathan Franzen No. 5 on the Book Review’s list
27. Normal People Sally Rooney
28. Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese
29. Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe No. 19 on the Book Review’s list
30. A Visit From the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan No. 39 on the Book Review’s list
31. Circe Madeline Miller
32. Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr
33. The Book Thief Markus Zusak
34. Cloud Atlas David Mitchell No. 28 on the Book Review’s list
35. The Covenant of Water Abraham Verghese
36. The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion No. 12 on the Book Review’s list
37. The Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead
38. The Great Believers Rebecca Makkai No. 64 on the Book Review’s list
39. Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout No. 74 on the Book Review’s list
40. The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
41. Life After Life Kate Atkinson No. 51 on the Book Review’s list
42. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz No. 11 on the Book Review’s list
43. Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates No. 36 on the Book Review’s list
45. There There Tommy Orange
46. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
47. Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus
48. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong
49. Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
50. James Percival Everett
51. Caste Isabel Wilkerson
53. Trust Hernan Diaz No. 50 on the Book Review’s list
54. 11/22/63 Stephen King
56. The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins
57. Small Things Like These Claire Keegan No. 41 on the Book Review’s list
58. White Teeth Zadie Smith No. 31 on the Book Review’s list
59. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens
60. The Dutch House Ann Patchett
61. North Woods Daniel Mason
62. The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen No. 90 on the Book Review’s list
63. The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin No. 44 on the Book Review’s list
64. 2666 Roberto Bolaño; translated by Natasha Wimmer No. 6 on the Book Review’s list
65. Evicted Matthew Desmond No. 21 on the Book Review’s list
66. Just Kids Patti Smith
67. Piranesi Susanna Clarke
68. The Devil in the White City Erik Larson
69. Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann
70. Know My Name Chanel Miller
71. Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward No. 30 on the Book Review’s list
72. Crying in H Mart Michelle Zauner
73. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling
74. Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
75. The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles
76. Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson
78. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami; translated by Philip Gabriel
79. 1Q84 Haruki Murakami; translated by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel
80. Deacon King Kong James McBride
81. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot
82. Tom Lake Ann Patchett
83. Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann
84. Tenth of December George Saunders No. 54 on the Book Review’s list
85. When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi
86. Life of Pi Yann Martel
87. Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
88. The Plot Against America Philip Roth No. 65 on the Book Review’s list
89. The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls
90. In the Dream House Carmen Maria Machado
91. Project Hail Mary Andy Weir
92. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Olga Tokarczuk; translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
94. The Bee Sting Paul Murray
95. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
96. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett
97. My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
98. Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart
99. Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
