45(ish) Books
I’ve seen people discussing the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, and my first thought was, ‘that seems kind of premature, doesn’t it?’ Then I went and checked it out, and found I had read 25 of the books, so decided to write a blog post about it. Blog fodder! Then I found that Engie had done exactly that. Great minds think alike! So, here’s my list, with links to my book reviews.
- Bel Canto – Ann Patchett – #98 – I had this book for quite awhile before I read it, the premise didn’t seem that interesting to me as I don’t know much about opera. I absolutely loved this book. I read it prior to starting my blog, no review.
- Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel – #93 – You know, maybe I haven’t read this one. I read The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility, which are connected, but I think I only watched Station Eleven on HBO. Maybe I will give it a try, since I liked the others so much.
- The Story of the Lost Child – Elena Ferrante – #80 – I loved the Neapolitan quartet. Loved. I haven’t written about them yet, but was considering doing a full reveal for those of you who read My Brilliant Friend and might be interested in knowing how the books turn out, but are unlikely to read them yourselves. Would that be rude?
- An American Marriage – Tayari Jones – #77 – One of the few books I’ve read on my Kindle. I loved this book, though it’s pretty heartbreaking.
- Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout – #74 – I adore the Lucy Barton books, so I gave this one a try. It was good, I warmed to prickly Olive, but I didn’t like it as much as the Lucy Barton books. This is a recent read.
- Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver – #61 – Finally a book I reviewed on my blog! Kingsolver is hit and miss for me, and this one was a hit. I really liked it.
- Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides – #59 – The first half really dragged for me, but the second half was great and I tore through it. Take that for what it’s worth.
- Runaway – Alice Munro – #53 – I really liked this book, Munro was the queen of the short story genre (not one I usually love). I was sad to hear of her dying in May, and devastated to hear of her daughter’s accusations of sexual abuse from her stepfather, and that when Munro found out years later, she stayed with him. UGH.
- Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi – #48 – I LOVED these graphic novels, The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return. They are the autobiographical story of Marji, a young girl in Tehran, whose parents send her to live in Austria because she is outspoken and free spirited, which is not a safe way to be in Iran.
- The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt – #46 – No review. I read this in the middle of my initial RA flair, and wasn’t blogging much. I don’t remember a lot about this book, but I am pretty sure I liked it well enough.
- Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates – #36 – No review. I liked this book, but it was kind of depressing. No shock, given the subject matter. The book is a letter from the author to his son, on the experience of living in a Black body in the US. Maya gave this book to me as a gift, she loved it so much.
- Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell – #28 – This was such an interesting book, written in nesting chapters, with different characters and different genres. The stories are interconnected in interesting ways. I had trouble getting into the first chapter, but after that I really enjoyed this book.
- Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – #27 – A great book that explores the experience of an African immigrant to the US, and how her experience is different from African Americans born here.
- Atonement – Ian McEwan – #26 – This was another book that took me awhile to get into, but once I did I loved it. Very well done story about seeking forgiveness.
- Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage – Alice Munro – #23 – Loved this book, but didn’t write a review. I think I read it prior to having my blog. More Alice Munro. Ugh.
- Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon – #16 – I tried. I failed. DNF.
- The Road – Cormac McCarthy – #13 – This book was so amazing, but it almost killed me. It’s bleak bleak bleak. Highly recommended but consider yourself warned. There was a film version and no way in hell I was going to watch that.
- The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion – #12 – I had this book on my TBR, and then my mom died, and reading about someone else’s grief and the tricks your brain plays on you was exactly what I needed. (I comforted myself by reading after she died. When my dad died, I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm to read anything. Strange how the brain works.) Didion’s confusion, her brain’s inability to understand what was going on, really resonated with me.
- The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz – #11 – This is TBR for me. Maya gave it to me awhile ago, she really liked it a lot, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
- Gilead – Marilynne Robinson – #10 – Snore. I stuck with this one all of the way through, but not sure why. I wonder if I would like it more now? I read it in 2007.
- Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro – I wanted to love this book. I adored The Remains of the Day. But it was a DNF for me.
- The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead – #7 – I wanted to love this book, and it was pretty good, but not great. I guess I didn’t review it.
- The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen – DNF, I don’t remember why.
- The Known World – Edward P. Jones – #4 – No review, this was pre-blog. I remember really liking this book about a former slave who becomes a plantation owner with slaves of his own. It’s complicated.
- My Brilliant Friend – Elena Ferrante – #1 – Like many of you, I read this for Engie’s book club, and I LOVED IT. I was all in, I read it, I listened to it, and I re-watched it on HBO. Wonderful. I haven’t written a review yet.
That’s it for the official list, which was compiled by writers. As might be expected, readers chimed in, and the Times compiled a list of readers’ 100 favorites as well. The two lists have 39 books in common. Of the books that are NOT on both lists, I have read 23.
- Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo – #87 – No review. All I remember of this one is that I couldn’t really concentrate. It was early in the pandemic, maybe that was part of it.
- Life of Pi – Yann Martel – #86 – No review. I remember liking this one a lot though.
- Tom Lake – Ann Patchett #82 – I liked this one a lot. I listened to it, read by Meryl Streep, which surely helped. I liked it enough that I listend to it twice.
- The Lincoln Highway – Amor Towles – #75 – I liked this one a lot, too. I don’t do star reviews, but if I did I would probably say 4/5.
- North Woods – Daniel Mason – #61 – This is a recent read, and I haven’t written a review yet. I liked it a lot, very different.
- The Dutch House – Ann Patchett – #60 – You know, in my mind I write reviews of all of the books I read, but I’m starting to realize that this is not true. This was a weird story about a brother and sister and their house. I listened to it, it was read by Tom Hanks. I liked it a lot.
- Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens #59 – One of the first books I listened to, I liked it a lot. (I say that a lot, don’t I? I need to find new words, clearly.) In some small ways, the character’s living wild reminded me of live on a homestead.
- The Hunger Games – Susan Collins – #56 – No review. Gripping and disturbing. Did I love it? No. Did I read them all? Absolutely.
- The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah – #52 – I enjoyed this story of 2 sisters in WWII occupied France.
- Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn – No review. Did I read this, or just see the movie? I don’t remember. I think I read it.
- On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong – #48 – I wanted to like this. I listened to it and I found it incredibly depressing. DNF.
- Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus – #47 – I loved this one and tore through it pretty quickly. Really liked the TV show too.
- The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller #46 – Pretty good book, though I liked Circe better.
- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store – James McBride – #44 – A recent read. I liked this one.
- The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini – #40 – No review. Excellent book, made me cry. I couldn’t face the movie version.
- The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese – #35 – I liked this one OK, but it was just too long.
- The Book Thief – Markus Zusak – #33 – I loved this book. Very touching. I also loved the movie. I should probably give it a reread. My BFF likes to collect books, and bought me a first edition, which is really big. I’ll probably stick with the paperback.
- Circe – Madeline Miller – #31 – Really good, enjoyed this one.
- Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese – #28 – I liked the writing, but the surgical stuff made me squeamish.
- Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrel – #22 – The writing is beautiful in this story of the plague and William Shakespeare’s family.
- A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara – #11 – I really disliked this book. A lot. I don’t even like seeing it in the bookstore. I have no idea why people like it so much. I finished it, but who knows why. Torture porn.
- A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles – #3 – I loved this book so much. One of my very first books that I listened to. I listened to it twice. Charming.
- All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr – #2 – I loved this book. Lovely, lyrical, horrible. I tried to watch the TV version and could not get into it.
Speaking of reading, I haven’t written anything close to a book review in ages. I think since February. I have listened to quite a few books since then, and even read a few physical books. I like having some record here on my blog, so I’m going to have to do some kind of brain dump here at some point. Right now I’m slogging through Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, which is SLOW GOING but I am determined to finish for some unknown reason.
34 Comments
nance
I’ve read shockingly few of the NYT 100, but I’m giving myself some grace. I went through a long period of time when I simply couldn’t read anything. I wrote about it on my blog. Then I read a ton of nonfiction because after teaching Creative Writing for decades, I found that I couldn’t JUST READ: I was constantly editing and revising and refining in my head; it was awful and worky.
I know–I’m a project.
Anyway, of all the books you listed, I have read some! I bought Middlesex, intrigued by the premise. I found myself annoyed, lost, and irritated beyond belief after about 50 pages. I donated it to the library’s annual book sale, DNFed. I finished Never Let Me Go, but I thought it was dumb. It went to the book sale, too. I did, however, love The Corrections, and I just reread it this summer, appreciating new things about it the second time around. I’d put Hamnet on the list. That book and its gorgeous writing will stay in my Top Five forever.
J
Nance, I go through periods like that too, when I just can not read anything. I remember when you were in the midst of yours, and how sad that made you. I’m glad that you were able to come back to it eventually.
I think I will give The Corrections a second chance.
I was glad to see that Hamnet made it to the Readers’ choice list!
Sarah
Our lists overlap a bunch. I am always so turned off my books that can’t engage me and I always blame the book. So, I was g;ad to see that most of these picks were so readable.
J
Absolutely, blame the book!
Margaret
I’ve read 9 off the first list and many more from the second. I generally like Patchett but couldn’t get through “Bel Canto.” Otherwise I agree with the ones you enjoyed. Circe was wonderful. I loved Station Eleven and it was an excellent Book Club discussion.
J
I think Bel Canto was my first Patchett, and I’ve loved everything of hers that I have read since. I need to read Station Eleven, clearly.
Ally Bean
On the first list I’ve read 3: Bel Canto, Olive Kitteridge, Never Let Me Go
On the second list I’ve read Gone Girl and have 4 other ones in my TBR pile
In truth I’m amazed I’ve read as many of these books as I have. I’m never up-to-date with what’s considered hot stuff now.
J
Ally, did you like those 3? I wanted to like Olive Kitterage more than I did, for sure.
Ally Bean
I’m with you about Olive. I understood why the book was considered a wonderful novel, but I didn’t like Olive as a person so I felt conflicted.
J
I came to like her more, but she was so…abrasive.
NGS
A new rabbit hole!! I’ve read 45 of the Reader’s Picks and I’m so glad to see Homegoing on there because I think it might be my #1. I’d probably have some Ken Follett on my list, too. And Robin Hobb. Hey, maybe a long-term project for my own blog would to create my own top 100 list. Ha ha ha. No. That seems like too much work. In my new rabbit hole, I’ve also discovered that The Guardian released a list with the same title around five years ago. How am I supposed to read all these books?! I am stressed thinking about all the good books I have not read and yet I still am going to read that fantasy book that’s on my Kindle that will obviously never make any of these lists.
J
So many books, so little time! I think I am going to have to put Homegoing on my TBR.
NGS
I just saw that the r/Truelit subreddit is also going to do a reader’s poll! If I were the NYT, I would be super happy that this sparked so much discussion.
J
They’re sure getting people talking, aren’t they?
Lisa’s Yarns
I have read 27 and a good number overlap with yours. I am thinking about posting my list next week. I have to say that many were not hits. I actually hated The Road. I read it at a time when I bought all my books and I made a point to sell that to a used bookstore after I read it. I remembered there being a ton of dialogue with no quotation marks or identifiers for who was talking. The format plus the dark topic made it a major miss. I also disliked Middlesex. I read one more by that author and then decided he is just not for me. I read a lot but the award books are often misses for me. Maybe I am just not smart enough to enjoy them! But I loved The Dutch House although Commonwealth is my favorite of her works. I was disappointed to see multiple books by the same author. Did we need multiple books Ferante books? I love Jesmyn Ward but would have limited the list one book/author.
It was fun to see the reader list. I did not count how many I had read, though. I was happy to see Homegoing on that list. I thought it was a major oversight to not have it on the original list.
J
Funny that when we don’t enjoy a book, we think we are not smart enough. I’m guilty of that as well. I remember my mom telling me once that she wasn’t a fan of literature, she liked to read STORIES. 🙂
Diane
I find the Readers’ list so interesting too. I’ve read 24 of those. (vs. 11 on the NYT’s list). I wonder what thay says? Probably nothing. It’s interesting that my favorite book (The Great Believers) as well as my most reviled book (Gone Girl) is on that second list. To be fair, I think the writing in Gone Girl is really good, but I hated the story and the way it was peeled back and the ending. Hated that ending.
J
I don’t remember the Gone Girl ending. I’ve never heard of Great Believers.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I have seen this come up so so many times. And while it is always interesting it is very American/English speaking focused. There are so many more books out there. It is the same on goodreads. At times annyoing…
That said, I read almost none of the ones you mentioned here. Some I DNFed and some are on my TBR.
Maybe I need to sit down and look at this list seriously and make my own post…
What do you think, if I could only read one book of the ones you read.. which one should I pick?
J
You’re right, the list is very English Language oriented, and mostly American.
I really liked Lessons in Chemistry, that was a good read.
Jacquie
I would be really interested in your review of the Neopolitan Novels! I was part of Engie’s online book club and enjoyed the book and continued on with the the rest of the series, including watching the HBO series. Can’t wait for September when season 4 is to launch.
I’ve read 32 of the NYT list, 2 were DNFs, H is for Hawk and The Overstory. Of the readers’ list, I’ve read 55, with 3 DNFs – Hamnet (I loved her novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox), Gilead (I agree with you, it was a snore and for some unknown reason I read the 2nd novel in the series, Home, and it didn’t get any better!), and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.
The fiction standouts for me on the readers’ list were Homegoing, Pachinko, Demon Copperhead, The Nickel Boys and I love Ann Patchett. The nonfictions I really liked were Just Kids and In the Dream House.
I have wanted to read The Glass Castle and Station Eleven, but they keep falling off my radar so I’ll add them to my TBR list and Cloud Atlas – sounds interesting.
J
Welcome Jacquie! I am going to have to write a review of the Neapolitan novels I guess. Have you written one? I’ll come by and check out your blog. I’m also excited for the final season of the HBO series, I loved it so much, and really enjoyed re-watching as I was reading the books.
Another vote for Homegoing! Definitely going to read that one.
Jacquie
I have not written a review, and I do not have a blog. I continued on with the series after the first book and felt a little lost not having anyone to discuss it with like the first one! So, I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the other books when you feel up to sharing a review.
Homegoing is a novel I recommended to several people and they all liked, so I hope you enjoy it!
J
Thank you Jacquie! I will put together my thoughts on all four books, and you, Engie, and I can have a conversation. 🙂
Ernie
I typically onky read the books my book club reads and rarely find the time to add more books to my life. I’m never on the cusp of what is popular or hot. I finished most of my book club books so i am reading All The Light You Cannot See rn, something they read before I joined. It was so good. I agree with Nance (I think it was Nance) that Hamnet will forever be on my top 5 books. Loved it. So much. Home going – a few people mentioned it here, so I will add thst to my TBR list. Thanks for putting this together.
J
Another vote for Homegoing…I’m looking forward to reading that one!
Daria
I am too lazy to do all the math lol so I eyed the NYT list- some items rang a bell so I left it at that. Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese – I had it on audio in 2022, and I could’t take all the surgical stuff either!! Did not finish, it was just wayy too long for that stage in my life.
J
Some people loved that medical aspect of it, it grossed me out!
Stephany
This was fun – I love that this list is sparking so much discussion! There were a lot of the books on the NYT list that I didn’t agree with (especially My Brilliant Friend being #1!), and my tastes aligned much more with the reader’s list.
J
Yeah, it was fun wasn’t it? I liked looking it over, thinking about what books I liked and why.
Anne
The good? So many people talking about books and reading!
The bad? I… do not have the same reading tastes as the reviewers for the NYT.
Audio is mostly nonfiction. I am JUST NOW getting into Ann Patchett (Commonwealth, recommended by Lisa, was awesome), as well as books like Gilead. Audio works for me – 2x speed, don’t tell Engie – and I can listen while doing mindless tasks like cutting up vegetables. 🙂
I’m so impressed with your reading list!
J
2x speed? Oh goodness, that sounds distracting to me! I know a lot of people who like to listen that way. I agree, I love the conversation around all of these books!
Kyria @ Travel Spot
On the orginal list, I have read 33 of them. However, I would say at least 4 were DNFs and at least 5 were given 2 stars, so I am not sure that any of them were really hits out of the park for me. My favorite of all that I read was probably Station Eleven.
For the reader list, I have read 70 of them, and my ratings are much higher! I really loved The Nightengale, Educated, All The Light We Cannot See, Empire of Pain, and When Breath Becomes Air.
PS Covenant of Water is WAY TOO LONG, and I could not get into Little Life either! Also I DNFed Girl, Woman, Other, I think because there was no punctuation and I kept getting distracted.
J
I’m listening to Station Eleven right now! I read The Glass Hotel and Sea of Traquility, and enjoyed them both quite a bit, but had not read or listened to Station Eleven because we watched the series on HBO and I felt like that was enough. But because of this list, I’m listening to it now and really enjoying it!