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As I sat at my desk to start Monday’s article I felt inclined to completely rearrange my content schedule and write about some more current news. Last week, The New York Times released their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century List. As an avid reader, I wanted to share my input after reading the list. (Also how unbelievably uncultured I feel as I haven’t read a single book on the list yet!). 

My first thoughts are how well they curated this list by having so many different kinds of books ranging from different genres to featuring some kind of book that could resonate with everyone. There was a wide variety of different characters, backgrounds, and experiences throughout the book descriptions. As a historical fiction lover, I found lots of interesting books related to American history and presidential history. There were a few books that were based on the idea of what would have happened if something in history didn’t occur. This premise reminds me of the book Rodham by Curtis Sittenfield that I have been meaning to read but is essentially about Hillary Clinton’s life if she had never dated Bill Clinton (or if she had left him after the whole Monica Lewisnky scandal). 

Another common theme that was threaded throughout this list was coming of age stories or books with very strong and deep meanings. I think books with profound meanings or books that really delve into deeper topics or patterns in society can be essentials for all readers. It reminds me of high school English and reading the classics and then having to study the deeper meanings, themes, and symbols, but without the stress of a pop quiz. When we read not only for enjoyment but to learn more about the real world we live in, we can gain so much more from the experience and in our lives. 

In addition to being a list of very meaningful books, many of the listed novels also reaped inspiration from classic novels. Number 41 on the list, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) is said to have been a “Dickensian miniature”. Another novel number 76, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) is titled after Shakespeare. 

There is a range of wicked long books and shorter books or compilations of short stories included. This really helps everyone find something they would love on the list. Even though some of the books can be 600-700 pages long like number 38, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Balano and translated by Natasha Wimmer (2007). In addition to the range of book length, the list really does encapsulate the entire 21st century (thus far) by including books from almost every single year of the last quarter century. 
It was a blessing and very eye opening to read this list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. I was able to add many new books to my good reads TBR list. Some of these books include The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, Veronica by Mary Gaitskill, and The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.