My Thoughts on the NYT Best Books of the Century

Has the moment passed to talk about the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century from the New York Times? I hope not because that’s what I have for you guys today! I read Engie’s list and then J’s and it inspired me to take a look at the list and write down my own thoughts. I have a few strong feelings about this list:

1. There’s way too much literary fiction.
2. Not a single romance novel? It’s only the best-selling genre, but okay.
3. Some books on this list should have been excluded, simply because we need more distance from their publishing date to see if they hold up over time. (There are some 2022 books on this list and that just feels “too soon” to give them this distinction.)
4. I enjoyed way more books on the reader’s complementary list (23) than the original list (12). I also had 6 DNFs.
5. NYT lost all credibility when it listed My Brilliant Friend as the #1 book of the 21st century. Love that book all you want, but it doesn’t deserve to be first (in my opinion).

Okay, so those are my spicy opinions about this list and now let’s dig into the books themselves. I’ve broken this post into four sections: Books I Loved, Books I’m Neutral About, Books I Didn’t Love, and Books I DNF-ed. Anything with an asterisk next to the author’s name was from the reader’s list.

Books I Loved

• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman* (★★★★★) – I have such fondness for this book. I read in 2019 and still think Ove may be one of my all-time favorite fictional characters. I feel like this book kicked off the slew of “found family” novels that are prevalent in publishing today.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini* (★★★★★) – I read this book in 2016 and I still remember all of the ways it impacted me. It showed me how different my life could have been if I had been born in a different country. It broke my heart and put it back together again. I named my first car Layla after one of the main characters in this book. <3
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (★★★★☆) – Another 2016 read! It’s a chunker at nearly 500 pages and I wanted it to be a bit shorter, but otherwise, I really liked this book. It gave a great insight into the way race and culture play into American society today. However, this is one of those instances of separating the art from the artist because Adichie has made transphobic comments in the past and has expressed vocal support of J.K. Rowling so I don’t think I will continue reading her work.
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (★★★★☆) – I read this book in 2017 and really liked it. It’s not a hopeful read, but that’s not what I’m looking for when I read racial justice books. I want the hard truth and Coates delivers it.
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson* (★★★★★) – An incredible amount of research went into this book and I am so grateful to Wilkerson for writing it. She posits that there is a racial caste system in American society and when people step into a different caste system (such as a Black man becoming President), things can go sideways. A must read, in my opinion!
• Deacon King Kong by James McBride* (★★★★★) – I can’t remember who recommended this book to me (maybe it was a Popcast green light?), but I downloaded the audiobook and just absolutely loved it. The characters were so rich and vibrant.
• Educated by Tara Westover* (★★★★☆) – Wow, this was quite the book. It made me angry and sad and ultimately hopeful. Tara Westover went through so much in her life and the fact that she was able to get out and find a new life thanks to academia is a true testament to her spirit.
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (★★★★★) – My Goodreads review (I read this in 2017) says that this book is the most important work of nonfiction I had ever read. I stand by that review. This book was phenomenal. So much research went into this book and it taught me a lot about the housing crisis today, a crisis that hasn’t really improved in the many years since this book was published.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn* (★★★★★) – I’m really surprised this book wasn’t on the original NYT list because it feels like Gone Girl was the book that kicked off the crazy psychological thriller trend (how many books after this one were touted as “the next Gone Girl?”). I loved this thriller. I remember throwing my book across the room after the first big twist! I’ve read better thrillers since this one, of course, but they all came after this one and I truly believe Gone Girl is the originator.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling* (★★★★★) – What’s there to say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s an 800-page book I read in mere days. It’s a great ending to the series.
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi* (★★★★★) – The fact that this book wasn’t on the original list is blasphemy. HOW IN THE WORLD. This is one of my all-time favorite books and if you haven’t read it yet, please do yourself a favor and add it to your TBR. It is phenomenal.
• Know My Name by Chanel Miller* (★★★★★) – Another book I really wish had been on the original NYT list. This is an excellent memoir, although it is so hard to read because Chanel Miller does not shy away from the raw, honest truth of healing from sexual assault and being made to relive her trauma during the ensuing legal case against her abuser.
• Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus* (★★★★★) – Gosh, I loved this book! It was just a fun book to read and I still need to watch the TV series that was made. Who can forget the genius of a dog named Six-Thirty?
• Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward (★★★★★) – This is a hard memoir, as Jesmyn Ward explores what happened to the five men in her life who died in close succession (starting with her brother). I learned a lot.
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (★★★★★) – Long, character-driven novels are not typically my cup of tea, but this story was so well-written and beautiful. It follows four generations of a Korean family living in Japan and I learned so much.
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir* (★★★★☆) – Andy Weir is the only author who can get me to read science fiction and love it. While I would put The Martian above this book, it was still an insanely compelling read with characters I haven’t forgotten.
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt* (★★★★☆) – I only recently read this book after hearing it raved about over and over again. I really enjoyed it, although I agree with others that I would have enjoyed way more octopus scenes.
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (★★★★☆) – I have to laugh at my review that I wrote in 2019: “Such an interesting concept for a novel!” It’s a book that feels more prescient today than ever, and I actually surprised myself by how much I enjoyed this pandemic book.
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak* (★★★★★) – It’s been so long since I read this book (12 years!) that I had to read the synopsis to get re-acquainted with the plot. It’s a WWII novel and it’s probably one I should re-read at some point.
• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (★★★★★) – I devoured this book even though it was long and mostly heartbreaking since it’s about people involved in the AIDS epidemic. It was so well-written and gave me a glimpse into a time period/epidemic that I know very little about.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins* (★★★★★) – I loved the first book in this series, liked the second one, and was indifferent on the third one. Was this the book that kicked off the YA dystopian craze? Not sure, but it definitely had a big impact.
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini* (★★★★☆) – Hosseini’s books are not for the faint of heart and this one was disturbing on so many levels. But it was a book I couldn’t put down and taught me a lot about Afghanistan and assimilation in a culture so different than your own.
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah* (★★★★★) – When I read this in 2017, it definitely felt like a standout in the genre, but as more time has passed, I don’t think it is. It’s a good book, don’t get me wrong, but there are other WWII novels I’d put on this list above this one.
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (★★★★☆) – Whew, this was a tough read. It reimagines the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad and it does not shy away from graphic depictions of slavery. The writing is exquisite but the subject matter comes with lots of trigger warnings.
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett* (★★★★★) – Brit Bennett crafted a masterpiece with this book. It’s about twin sisters who are Black but can pass as white. And so one twin does exactly that, shedding her Black identity for a white one, marrying a white man, and turning away from her family.
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens* (★★★★★) – I know this book has mixed reviews and I know the author is not a good person but ohhh, I adored this book. It was one of those books that had such a strong sense of place and I was captivated by the story.

Books I’m Neutral About

• Heavy by Kiese Layman (★★★☆☆) – This memoir was fine, but it wasn’t a standout for me. I found that the author was trying too hard to be literary and it annoyed me. But hey, it made it on a list that was filled with literary books so what do I know?
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann* (★★★☆☆) – Ehhhh. This was one of those “not for me” books. It makes sense why it has been such a well-loved book, but I found it a bit dry for my tastes.
• Normal People by Sally Rooney* (★★★☆☆) – This book was mostly depressing and I am not here for this new literary style of not including quotation marks when characters are speaking.
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (★★★☆☆) – This is a highly divisive book, it seems. Some people love it and some people don’t. There were parts of this novel I loved and parts that felt like a slog. Overall, an uneven read for me.
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead* (★★★☆☆) – This is an important book and it is beautifully written, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It’s a hard, heavy book so it’s not one I’d recommend to everyone but ultimately, I found it an important one to read.
• There, There by Tommy Orange* (★★★☆☆) – Oh, I wanted to like this story written by an Indigenous person about urban Indigenous people, but there were just too many characters to keep track of and I found it hard to follow the story.

Books I Didn’t Love

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr* (★★☆☆☆) – My review on Goodreads, “I feel like I’m being very generous with my rating.” I feel the same way today. I did not like this story. It was boring and I just kept reading because everyone else seems to rave about it. I missed something with this book.
• Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (★★★☆☆) – This is probably the book I read most recently on this entire list and it was a slog for me. I felt like Torrey Peters could have written such a more interesting book about the trans community. It was a disappointment.
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (★★☆☆☆) – I read this in 2016 and I think the review I wrote back then still stands true today, so I’ll leave it here: “It just wasn’t my kind of book. I found it overwhelmingly depressing and sad. I have this yucky feeling in my stomach finishing it.”

Books I DNF-ed

• Circe by Madeline Miller* – I tried but Greek mythology isn’t my thing and I was a bit weirded out by the plot.
• In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado* – I really wanted to love this book, but it just wasn’t holding my attention. This may be one I try again at a different time in my life.
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – I tried my best to get through this book for the CBBC but the toxic friendship was just too much for me to keep reading about.
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke* – I was recommended this book by a few friends, but abandoned it after 100ish pages because it was a little too out-there for my liking.
• Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward – I abandoned this book after listening to a few hours of the audiobook. It just wasn’t holding my attention and I decided to DNF it in favor of something else.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot* – Twice, I tried to read this book and twice, I DNF-ed it. This might have worked better as a podcast for me.

Do you have any strong opinions about the NYT list? Anything you agree or disagree about with my list? Let’s discuss!