Perhaps we’ve all moved on from the discourse launched by the New York Times’ list of best books of the 21st century. But, well, better late than never (and I haven’t seen enough people criticising the fact they included a Tove Divletsen book from long before the 21st century, simply because… they hadn’t read it before? Idk. It was wild.)
I’m going to do a bit of cheating with mine. I thought I’d go back through my ‘best books’ lists on my blog from the end of each year, and pick out the ones from the 21st century. Unusually for me, I’ve avoided further ranking and just put them in year order. Here goes… (let’s just say that the New York Times and I don’t have much in common.)
FICTION
Virginia (2000) – Jens Christian Grondahl
Three To See The King (2001) by Magnus Mills
Ignorance (2002) by Milan Kundera
Alva & Irva (2003) by Edward Carey
Yellow (2004) by Janni Visman
Gilead (2004) by Marilynne Robinson
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets (2005) by Eva Rice
The Other Side of the Bridge (2006) by Mary Lawson
Speaking of Love (2007) by Angela Young
Molly Fox’s Birthday (2008) by Deirdre Madden
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008) by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Bestowing Sun (2008) by Neil Grimmett
Vanessa and Virginia (2008) by Susan Sellers
Home (2008) by Marilynne Robinson
Suddenly, a Knock at the Door (2012) by Etgar Keret
The Making Of (2013) by Brecht Evens
Americanah (2013) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Road Ends (2013) by Mary Lawson
Boy, Snow, Bird (2014) by Helen Oyeyemi
The Snow Queen (2014) by Michael Cunningham
Things That Fall From the Sky (2015) by Selja Ahava
Jack (2020) by Marilynne Robinson
A Town Called Solace (2021) by Mary Lawson
Day (2023) by Michael Cunningham
NON-FICTION
Stet (2000) by Diana Athill
Marrying Out (2001) by Harold Carlton
Watching the English (2004) by Kate Fox
Being George Devine’s Daughter (2006) by Harriet Devine
Two Lives (2007) by Janet Malcolm
Phantoms on the Bookshelves (2008) by Jacques Bonnet
The Book of William (2009) by Paul Collins
Howards End is on the Landing (2009) by Susan Hill
Wait for Me! (2010) by Deborah Devonshire
Contested Will (2010) by James Shapiro
Let Not The Waves of the Sea (2011) by Simon Stephenson
Hallucinations (2012) by Oliver Sacks
Virginia Woolf’s Garden (2013) by Caroline Zoob
My Salinger Year (2014) by Joanna Rakoff
The Shelf (2014) by Phyllis Rose
On the Move (2015) by Oliver Sacks
A Curious Friendship (2015) by Anna Thomasson
Terms and Conditions (2016) by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
This Little Art (2017) by Kate Briggs
The Diary of a Bookseller (2017) by Shaun Bythell
Jacob’s Room is Full of Books (2017) by Susan Hill
On Color (2018) by David Scott Kastan and Stephen Farthing
All The Lives We Ever Lived (2019) by Katharine Smyth
In The Dream House (2019) by Carmen Maria Machado
Notes Made While Falling (2019) by Jenn Ashworth
Inferno (2020) by Catherine Cho
Gentle and Lowly (2020) by Dane Ortlund
The Wreckage of My Presence (2021) by Casey Wilson
Delicacy (2021) by Katy Wix
The Painful Truth (2021) by Monty Lyman
Remainders of the Day (2022) by Shaun Bythell
A Flat Place (2023) by Noreen Masud
Hmm, interesting. I haven’t read most of the fiction list, though (with the exception of the Guersey LitSoc which I thought was twee) I mostly enjoyed the ones that are familiar to me.
I shall try to store these titles in the brain so that if I see them in the library I can pounce on them.
Tbh I wouldn’t put Guernsey LitSoc on any list now – I was apparently a bit more open to that sort of book in 2008! Though tbh I don’t mind tweeness in small doses. I’d rather have it than grimness :D
Howards End Is On the Landing is surely non-fiction?
I think I changed that about 2 minutes after I posted the article, so by the time you commented it had been correct for 6 hours :D
Thank you so much for this, not only has it prompted me to think about my list, I have added a good few to my ‘to be purchased’ list.
Excellent, thanks!
It’s great fun to see lists like this, especially from readers whose tastes have something in common with your own. I’ve only read four books from your list, but I enjoyed/loved them all, especially Molly Fox’s Birthday. Have you read any Elizabeth Strout? She strikes me as someone you would probably like.
I have read a couple! Rachel is such a big fan, so we did a couple on the podcast – I liked them, but didn’t love them. Well, I admired them a lot.
Oh dear … I have only read seven of them despite reading most of my free time. I have written down the names of about half a dozen that I am sure I will wish to purchase. More shelves need to be made by my long suffering husband. He has books but mostly books about maps & expeditions as he has been on several with the BSES (British Schools Exploring Society) …
Excellent! Could you send your husband to visit my flat…
I’ve read precisely 1 of your books from your fiction list (and 4 incl the 2 Bythells from the NF). I was just starting blogging, and Speaking of Love was lovely as I remember – and we both got a cover quote on the paperback!
I’ve been thinking that I want to reread Speaking of Love (again!) – such a wonderful book.
Interesting Simon! I haven’t even looked at the NYT list because I suspect it would annoy me, and when I do read modern books they’re usually translated or fairly obscure! I haven’t actually read many from your list (but agree with Lisa that Guernsey was too twee for me)
Pleased to see This Little Art, though – loved that book! :D
I was quite surprised Guernsey made it to a Top Books list for whichever year it was, if I’m honest! I almost left it off (as it wouldn’t make a Best Books list for me now), but I decided to honour the process :D
I like your list posts! I don’t know what is on the NYT list and am not sure I am that inspired to rectify my ignorance! I have read 7 from your fiction list here: my highlights being Deirdre Madden, Molly Fox’s birthday, which I loved and Gilead. For the non-fiction list my tally is 5; Inferno, A Curious Friendship and Watching the English were ones I particularly enjoyed.
I’m afraid Guernsey would not get any votes from me!
I thought my non-fiction would far outstrip my fiction for the 21st century, so I was quite surprised – but Robinson certainly earned lots of places!
I’m thrilled to see people making their own lists; I think that’s the intent of lists like these, even though I’m happy to overthink and challenge (and oooo and ahhh) over them too. It was actually quite fun, on this side of the pond (for me, anyway) to have them released in chunks over a period of time along with the (American, though I’m in Canada) news, which is not fun to read (especially given that they’re in election season, so fraught of late). I’ve read two of your F choices and two NF but I’m sure I’d enjoy many of the others as well (and just a shade over half of the Times choices) and I hope others are inspired to write and share their faves too.
Yes, it’s all just a fun chance to discuss, isn’t! I think I’d read about 20 of the NYT list, if memory serves, and only read loved two of them – the overlap being Gilead.
Haven’t looked closely at your lists yet, but intrigued that you included 3 of the 4 Marilynne Robinson ‘Gilead’ series, but not Lila. Which, in my view, was the best of the four (a very high quality field, and we’d be the poorer for omitting any of them, but you know, that’s the nature of lists, innit?), and so I wonder what you think of this one? I suppose Lila seems like the biggest imaginative stretch for the very erudite author – an itinerant field hand is a longer way from her own realm, I guess, than a pastor, or a pastor’s daughter and son. I actually read Home first, and I will go back to it – it’s magnificent.
Anyway, thank you, as always for the food for thought – rather enjoy seeing you leave the shores of the 1930s!
I am intrigued by that too, tbh! I loved Lila, so I’m quite surprised it didn’t make my Top Books of 2015 (unless I simply forgot about it) – I restricted myself to books that made my end of year lists, and 2015’s list suggests it was a really strong reading year. Having said that, I think I probably would rank it 4th of the series – as you say, a very strong field. My favourite is probably Jack.
I just finished re-reading “Howards End is on the Landing” — must look out for “Jacob’s Room is Full of Books”!
It’s basically more of the same, so I’m sure you’d enjoy it too!
What interesting choices!
Wait for Me! (2010) by Deborah Devonshire Darling Debo! I also enjoyed (not always the best word for some of the events) Anne Glenconner’s books. I’ll be checking out some of the nonfiction titles. Other than Debo’s I’ve only read Howard’s End is on the Landing. I may be the only person alive who just didn’t like Gilead or any of that series. It was about as exciting to me as listening to my great-uncles yammer on and on after family dinners. I understand the importance of the work, it just wasn’t something I found enjoyable. There. I’ve admitted it. If you want to disown me entirely I also couldn’t stand Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [Am I now blocked from your page?]
Interesting. I read a few of the books you mentioned and liked them all, except Gilead.
Mary Lawson is one of my favourite authors, so I’ve read all of hers. Also those by Shaun Bythell, he is just brilliant. And the Guernsey book, what a story!
I’ve read three of your fiction and nine of your nonfiction list and agree with you and everyone else about Guernsey! I wonder if all mine would hold up under review, though!