Critical View of the NYT Top 100 Books of the 21st Century
NYT has to NYT. Here's where I think they're right and wrong.
So this is a bit silly. We are not yet a quarter of the way through the century and we have “best of the 21st century” lists. Not only that but “best of” lists that seem to mostly be “best popular book.”
See the full NYT list here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html
It all seems a bit arbitrary and serves as yet another reminder that “content must feed the content machine,” but here I am writing about it. While these lists are usually a bit contrived, I think they can be a helpful lens we can use to reflect on our own reading. Pointing us to what we have enjoyed, disliked, and perhaps help prioritize some new reads.
Why only books since 2000? Its arbitrary. If we allow that the turn of the century was a pivotal moment involving 9/11, increased reliance on the internet, the collapse of community and similar such backfitting narratives, I might be able to construct something resembling an argument that “books written since 2000” hold some sort of essence, detached from prior restraint, scholarship, and focus. I would be lying of course, people are still people, but I think I could manage to get us all there argumentatively. On face value, this is a clickbait list, from a well respected publisher of literati clickbait. It has some interesting books that I liked and a few I massively disliked. So I too will feed content into the content machine.
Naturally, as with many of these and similar lists, I haven’t read anywhere close to all of them. But I have read many. Roughly 21 out of the 100. 1 in 5. And my opinions differ in tangible ways that might save you time and annoyance. (please take every copy of Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow and put them in a dumpster where they belong).
So this is a post comprised of my thoughts on the books I have read, both positive and negative. I will largely ignore the books I have not read, except to say I think I am now more motivated to read some Ferrante, might prioritize Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, and the Phillip Roth book looked interesting. Then I will include a number of books from the post 2000 era, to add to a “best of” list. Finally closing with a few of my own top titles to spend your valuable time on if you’d like.
This post is organized as follows:
Overall
My overall thoughts are that there are some good titles but they seem to prioritize popularity over quality. The list is mediocre in my (ahem) professional opinion. As are most lists like this. It’s one of the challenges of making a list like this. Not to give too much credit to the multinational conglomerate New York Times, but if you just pick whatever you personally stroke yourself off to, all you’re gonna find is other weirdos who like obscure non-fiction and stuff only us and Kafka would have liked. See my recommendations of The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, Tender is the Flesh, and The Center Cannot Hold.
But on the other hand, the eternal failing of a list like this is to overly prioritize mainstream stuff. If it’s all things you’ve seen in other “best of” lists, then it’s all sort of high minded group think. Fine, I do admire high minded group think, but that's how you get a decidedly mediocre list.
I noticed multiple books that I did not finish, not because I thought they were bad, but because I didn’t think they were good. There’s about 40 or 50 books total that I have DNFd (out of thousands at this point) because I know they’re going to be a two or three star read; usually they’re popular, long and I just don’t want to further bother with them. Those books seemed to have found their way onto this list with surprising frequency.
There is no Poetry to speak of. And while I am not the guide to teach you the mysteries of modern poetry, I think it does speak to the mindset the sort of person who fills out NYT “best of” lists. Most of these books are fiction and of a sort of prose oriented “literate but in an undergraduate” sort of way. Pynchon, DeLilo, Kincaid, Oates, and DFW notably also miss this list. But like modern poetry, I am not (yet) the person to opine on the virtues of these writers. My sweet spot seems to be non-fiction and science fiction. Which leads me to….
Lastly, the only Sci-Fi that made the list is Sci-Fi written for people who review books instead of people who enjoy Sci-Fi. There is so much good Sci-Fi out there that did not come close to being mentioned. And that's a damn shame. Ursula K. Le Guin deserves a mention in this sphere, as do Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler. Some of their better stuff is pre 2000 but Oryx and Crake needs to be in here and it was written in 2006. Ted Chiang and Ken Liu also deserve mentions for being at the forefront of phenomenal short Sci-Fi. Neil Gaiman’s omission seems absurd as well.
So without further ado, here’s the books I’ve read in my thoughts on the list. Click here to go to my own personal recommendations and books that I think were missed that should be in the conversation.
The List
(2) The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson 2010 - DNF
Don't have a full recommendation here. DNF this one. It was so breathlessly recommended for awhile that I picked it up. But the writing was so cloying and repetitive in the first third or so that I just set it down, not to be returned.
I finished Caste by Wilkerson and thought it a gut punch, if at times she overfit the events portrayed to fit her narrative. The Warmth of Other Suns followed that pattern in a worse way, and because of that, I set it down.
(5) The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen 2001
This is up there. One of the few books I’ve read in the past 5 years where I emailed the author and asked "what the fuck man." Franzen kindly emailed me back and was quite gracious about it, stating (paraphrased) “the fuck do you mean, man.”
In my own list I think I prefer Freedom for its sweeping nature and overall storytelling, reminiscent of an East of Eden in modern form. Corrections was sarcastic and laugh out loud funny at times, but also fell short because of that. Wild to see this as the “5th best book of the 21st century.” As with many on this list, it’s good, but not THAT good.
(9) Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 2005
It’s an ok book. But again, not a "best of the past 24 years" book. It's fine. Fun even. Sort of an introspective fiction with a tiny dash of Sci-Fi. And for that, I really respect Kazuo Ishiguro. Klara and the Sun and The Buried Giant were similarly solid. I will probably read more Ishiguro in the future.
Not many authors use Sci-Fi as a chance to tell stories, most of the super modern Sci-Fi seems focused on "what if we figured out how to time travel," “SPACE WARRRR,” or "here’s my thoughts about modern politics as told on the moon" so my hat is off for the attempt. But ultimately it felt sort of flat. Forgettable. And for a "best of" list, I think we can skip it.
(12) The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion 2005
Boooooo. Tomato. Tomato. I disliked this book immensely. It felt written for the Oprah/Reese Witherspoon book club list. In it, a sad over-anxious person perseverates on a really terrible year of her life. If you want a book that deals with grief, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi did it better, with more style and impact. This felt like being trapped in a conversation with a narcissist who wanted to repeatedly tell you how bad they have it. Major yikes.
(13) The Road Cormac - McCarthy 2006
Yeah. This is the first one on the list I think really should be there. It's a good book. Excellent even. But go read Blood Meridian or All the Pretty Horses instead. No Country For Old Men even. The Road is good, great even. But BM and ATPH are exquisite, The Road is a watered down version of what Cormac is trying to do in those other books its a taco without salsa, a burger without cheese, get the full thing if you’re going to do it.
(19) Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe 2019
Neutral on this book for this list. Say Nothing was good. Deserving of a best of list. But after reading his Empire of Pain, on the machinations of Purdue Pharma and their dastardly scheming, I thought Say Nothing was a bit meandering and flat. I’d put The Snakehead and even Rogues over Say Nothing.
(21) Evicted - Matthew Desmond 2016
Good book. It being 21 on the list is a bit wild and smacks of poverty tourism. Check some of my recommendations for better examinations of nonfiction issues like this. Evicted follows several families struggling with housing in Milwaukee and tells their stories well. We’re left with an ethnography of sorts that provides good insight into low cost housing and the compromises and difficulty people face with it. Orwell did it better. This book is good, but pulls up short of being great.
(22) Behind the Beautiful Forevers - Katherine Boo 2012
Good. Feels like it was written for New York Times book reviewers in mind. Goes mentally in the same bucket as "poverty tourism" where we see "how hard our young protagonists life is" but then we are spared any real reflection or introspection as to why that is. Writing is beautiful but at times, but the book prioritizes that rather than telling a story.
(36) Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates
One of the few books on this list where I've cried after reading. Where I thought Jesmyn Wards Men we Reaped seemed hamfisted, Between the World and Me followed in the footsteps of Baldwin, Du Bois, Malcolm X, and other activists, using prose and storytelling to sway opinion and win support. It is a heartbreaking letter from a black dad to his son, talking about how things have changed and yet stayed the same during his life, how he feels society has changed him, and the lessons he’s learned. Outstanding book. Deserves to be here.
(39) A Visit From the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan 2010
A miss. Egan tells the same-ish story from multiple perspectives. It was an interesting way to tell a story, but this felt like a mishmash of jumbled thoughts at times. Dialogue is quite good but the overall arc of the story seemed like a mess. Frankly this book mostly bored me
(44) The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin 2015 - DNF
I have started this twice and just not gotten hooked. Its a sweeping fantasy and the writing is good, but every time I start it I kind of roll my eyes and think "do I really have time for this? I could be reading yet another pop psychology book about how communication really boils down to eye contact and non verbals." It’s not Tolkien, but it feels a bit too much like it’s trying to be.
(55) The Looming Tower - Lawrence Wright 2006
Lawrence is a great writer but this is not my favorite of his. God Save Texas, and Mr. Texas takes those spots for now. The Looming Tower was an impressive work of scholarship, but like Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing, it seemed at times to be scholarship that mostly was excited with itself. There were whole chapters that just seemed to say "look how much research I did" that did not serve to inform or drive the overall book forward. And for an already long book, these things should be cut. God Save Texas and Mr. Texas are immensely enjoyable books for Texans who like politics (me) but would not be books that I foist upon other people needlessly.
(57) Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich 2001
Good. Lump this with Matthew Desmond’s Evicted although Desmonds book was better. Ehrenreich writes well but it already feels dated. Again, smacks slightly of poverty tourism like Maid and other such books.
(61) Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver 2022
Awful. This book is David Copperfield but transposed by JD Vance in a fugue state. Cliched and awkward language. Condescending tone towards rural folks. Give this an easy miss.
(67) Far From the Tree - Andrew Solomon 2012
Its fine. Deserves to be here I guess but not a standout. My first thought when seeing this was “oh yeah I read that, what was it about?” So it’s not really a book that sticks with you. There is some interesting storytelling about families and the sort of cultural lineage they pass down, but this is a strong candidate for “biggest filler book” on this list.
(69) The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander 2010
Good. Chilling examination of how racial disparity affects incarceration. Highly recommend Pushout on these topics as well. Just Mercy somehow misses this list but deserves its place next to Alexander.
(73) The Passage of Power - Robert Caro 2012
One of the finest works of scholarship I've ever read. Caro is one of the few writers I genuinely idolize. This book is #1 on my list from this quarter century
(76) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin 2022
Terrible book. Genuinely bad literature. This is Ready Player One but for undergrad English majors. The writing is bad. The storytelling is bad. The characters are bad. I’m pretty sure the dialogue was written by a dog. This book contains the worst sex scene in existence.
I am a worse person for having suffered through this book. If I can save one person from having to read this atrocious book, this substack will be worth it.
Seriously, this is the sex scene:
“she put her hand between his legs, wrapping her fingers around the cylindrical chamber of blood sponges that was his (and every) penis. He felt the corpora cavernous, commanded by nerve messages from his subconscious brain, fill up with blood, and the tunica albuginea membrane, the penis’s straitjacket, trap the blood inside”
My overall sentiment is that you should take up hitting yourself with a hammer as a hobby before reading this book.
(83) When We Cease to Understand the World Benjamín Labatut 2020
From worst to best. My favorite book. It's nerdy, mathematical and lyrical. Starting with beautiful storytelling and carrying through to just a jaw dropping portrait of mathematics and those who pursue the unknown in it.
(93) Station Eleven Emily St. John Mande 2014 - DNF
I thought the show was mediocre and the book was forgettable. It felt like someone put literary ambitions and an apocalypse novel in a blender and the mixture of flavor made me a bit nauseous. I got about a third in and decided to set it down in favor of anything else. Not good enough to finish, not bad enough to hate read.
(97) Men We Reaped Jesmyn Ward - DNF
Jesmyn Ward is on this list three times and I thought her 97th spot showing was entirely forgettable. She just kind of progressively demoralizes you with her prose. I might give one of her other books a try, but I'm not going to hurry.
My Additions to the List
Books not mentioned but deserving.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain in 2000
Lets start with a bang. Who thought it was a good idea to leave the quintessential “tell all” memoir of the 21st century off this list. This book is highbrow-lowbrow personified. The failure of the NYT list to include this brings to light the absolute failing of their methodology, their questionable appreciation of art, of storytelling, of culture itself. Any list of “best books of 2000+” that fails to include the peoples liturgy, the original working mans tome, well that list is suspect.
If you haven’t read this. Go. Now. If you have, a reread with a glass of wine is probably in order. Let me leave you with a taste. So many have tried to ape his style but his prose is incomparable:
Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller in 2019
This book. I’ve already sworn once or twice I know, but I do try to keep it to a minimum. This book… Fuck. Told by Chanel Miller, the sexual assault victim of Brock Turner, stanford swimmer and person convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault.
This book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. Like a bag of rocks delivered to the face, and a soft ice pack afterwards whispering “it doesn’t have to be this way.” Chanel documents her remembrances of that night, and the several year long process afterwards she goes through to rebuild her life. It’s not cute. It’s not soft and cuddly. It doesn’t really leave you with a “oh man thats rough but Im glad shes all right now” vibe. This book just kind of rips Chenels experience out of her and documents it for the reader to see.
It’s so easy to see headlines or clips and have opinions about events like this, but its rare to see someone so fully document their experience. I felt changed after reading and still think of this book somewhat regularly years after reading.
Strangers Drowning by Larissa MacFarquhar in 2015
I have no idea how you people in substack land know I exist, but my internet presence seems to often be tangential to a lot of sort of rationality Internet discourse.From followers on Twitter to GR to TPOT. e/acc. LessWrong. Etc. If you recognize those words youre part of the problem. And I really liked things like 80,000 hours in my early 20s, but I always felt like there was sort of a strange disconnect between them and the real world. Strangers Drowning starts by examining people who believe in effective altruism, then moves to those who are “living their values” and have done things like move to third world countries to build wells and teach children. Halfway through I was getting uncomfortable MacAskill and Peter Singer vibes, two guys I really dislike.
If you will permit a short digression. Both Singer and MacAskill have made a career from pointing at causes and scoffing. Singer is better than MacAskill in not being an out-and-out grifter (MacAskill ran notably fraudulent crypto exchange FTX’s charity arm for a while, until it turned out that they were just stealing customers deposits to fund their other endeavors and with the CEO now convicted of fraud. Thats a mouthful). Singer has stayed an academic but also has nonsensical ramblings about the utilitarianism of suffering of fish and whatnot. MacAskill is a grifter, Singer is an ideologue who has been subsumed by a grift.
Anyways, Strangers Drowning dives into that and rescues us from this sort of wild eyed, screaming and wailing and teeth gnashing. Pointing to a well thought out examination of what it means to try and do good in the world while not getting obsessed with the process to the point of failure.
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Thomas Ligotti in 2011
In which Ligotti waxes poetic about the absolute darkness that surrounds us. Ligotti dives headfirst into the abyss, blending philosophy and horror in a way that’s as unsettling as it is thought-provoking. Although being forced to read philosophy at times can count as horror in itself. Seriously, what the heck is Wittgenstein talking about?
Ligotti explores the bleakest corners of human existence, crafting a narrative that’s both a philosophical treatise and a terrifying journey into darkness. It’s rare to find a book that can be categorized as both horror and philosophy, but Ligotti pulls it off with eerie elegance. This isn’t just a book—it’s an experience that challenges your perception of reality and leaves you questioning everything, in the most oddly liberating way. This book gets full marks for being weird and presenting an argument towards darkness and despair that somehow seems redeeming and freeing.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow in 2004
The book that inspired that musical you might have heard of. This is a phenomenal biography of a fascinating person, and the bonus is that you don’t have to listen to singing (unless you want to) while you read. Chernow delves into Hamilton’s life with meticulous detail, bringing to light his extraordinary accomplishments, deep flaws, and relentless ambition. Grant and Washington also get notable mentions but Hamilton remains my favorite.
First: Sandra Day O'Connor by Evan Thomas in 2019
Great biography of the first woman supreme court justice. Offers an in-depth and compelling look at the life and legacy of the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Thomas paints a portrait of a trailblazer who said the opposite of “Fuck the Police” (but with that attitude) and left an indelible mark on American jurisprudence. This biography not only captures the legal acumen of Justice O'Connor but also delves into the personal challenges she faced along the way.
Here we go on a Sci-Fi interlude. Skip to Pushout if you dont like Sci-Fi.
Blindsight by Peter Watts in 2006
Everyone knows The Three Body Problem exists. Go read it. It’s good. But Blindsight gets missed a lot and it is better in my opinion. “Vampires in space” sounds like a cringe Barnes and Noble “read this XOXO” recommendation next to the sexy Warewolf smut section, but Watts transforms it into great hard science fiction and psychological horror.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood in 2003
Dystopian future, genetic engineering, and environmental collapse. Or as I call it, a good weekend. Atwood is witty and tells a story that is thought provoking while being hugely readable. Modern literary Sci-Fi at its best.
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang in 2008 and Stories of Your Life and Others in 2010
Fantastic compilation of short stories. Ted is doing Sci-Fi the way I love Sci-Fi. These compilations have a few middling stories, but the good ones are so good.
Ken Liu also has a few stories that do it for me as well, but I haven’t read a full work of his. This Substack has JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY people!
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer in 2014
The movie was good. The book is better. Science fiction, horror, and the surreal mush together into a narrative that warps your brain a bit. VanderMeer’s prose is great, hypnotic even, pulling readers into a world where the boundaries of nature, identity, and sanity blur.
The Martian by Andy Weir in 2011
Including for completeness and credibility's sake. Fun. Super readable. If you haven’t read this. Get to it, what is wrong with you?
American Gods by Neil Gaiman in 2001
I’m surprised to not see any Neil on the list. Snobbery seems like an easy out, but American Gods, while being fantasy, was more thought provoking than many of the fiction titles mentioned. An easier read than N.K. Jemisin or Emily St. John Mandel and more fun than both by far. And the takeaway of “modern gods are what we spent our time on” is one that has stuck with me. His Norse Gods anthology of stories is also excellent.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica in 2020
Sort of Sci-Fi. Sort of not.
Kafka in his dark wisdom said:
“We need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
Tender is the Flesh is a story about cannibalism from an Argentinian author that touches on many parts of the modern experience. As I tried to read and interact with this book, I drew analogies to daily life, and then found myself repulsed by the conclusions because it is, ultimately, about cannibalism. The dehumanization and raw nature of reading this stings. There are parts that are visceral. Seductive. Sensual even. It’s like being tickled with a sledgehammer. Bound with barbed wire.
Kafka would’ve liked this book. I like this book. I’m slightly repulsed by my like of this book. It’s worth a read.
Back to non-scifi books
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris in 2016
This is the better written and better researched version of Wilkerson in my opinion. Looking at a narrow band of “why do black girls in school struggle” Morris paints a portrait of how the education system consistently chews up and spits out those who don't fit into a traditional, demure place. I read a lot of what I would consider “social justice” literature during 2020 and the BLM protests and this one has really stuck with me. Its focus and allows it to paint a compelling picture of the problem and the author trusts the reader enough to allow them to extrapolate further onto other problems.
Notable secondary mention: The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein meanders more, but also does a great job of providing evidence based argumentation on modern prejudices.
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake in 2020.
This is a book about Fungi written by a man named Merlin. Whats not to like? Inside is a interesting and thought-provoking journey into fungus and how little we actually know about our sporic friends. It’s an easy read and one that you’ll probably appreciate the most if you haven’t thought deeply about fungus. This was the first of several that I read about various mycological topics and remains one of my favorites.
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs in 2014
Reminiscent of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, except nonfiction, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is a heartbreaking tale of poverty, class, and cycles of self fulfillment. It seems at odds with the current ethos. Robert grows up in the hood in Newark, gets into Yale, and then goes back to selling drugs in the ghetto. There’s a certain modern throughput on “education fixes all“ which is at times opposed by the opposite of “education is a waste of money.“ Yet this book fits through the middle of those sort of bullshit goal posts. Education was an opportunity for Robert and yet not the solution to his problems.And i think that reading his story to see that for ourselves is important.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi in 2016
This is what you should read instead of Joan Didion’s naval gazing. Paul is a wannabe doctor (normal people call them residents) who finds out he has cancer and uses the medical backdrop as a foil to his struggles with mortality. The last couple chapters are deeply evocative and make you want to call your family members just to tell them you love them.
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks in 2007
One of my favorites of all time. A highly educated law school professor describes, in articulate detail, her experiences with schizophrenia. The fear, the personal examination, her descriptions of working through the brokenness of our mental health systems all result in a portrait that shows how scary getting sick can be, and really humanizes the disease. Heartbreaking and gutwrenching at the same time. Hidden Valley Road could never.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo in 2019
This was sort of a slow burn for me and something I found myself thinking about a lot over the following weeks and months after reading. It’s a look at three women’s lives, (wow go figure) and how they navigate intimacy, sex, romance, trauma, and modern relationships. It was a very well done portrait of the sometimes messy parts of our lives and at the end of the day, it did a really good job of telling those stories honestly instead of trying to spice them up or put some sort of moral spin on it.
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson in 2009
Another one where I’m not really sure how it got missed. It’s not highbrow literature, but it’s a well written read and heartbreaking look at the criminal justice system across the south from someone trying to do some good inside that system. It gets punched up at times and seemed a little inauthentic when it tried to be more hopeful about long-term solutions. However the overall portrait and stories in the book were very compelling and well done.
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets by Sudhir Venkatesh in 2008
A fascinating look at how gangs work written by a professor, who goes and spends a lot of time with a gang in Chicago. Venkatesh’s approach provides a look into an often misunderstood and understudied population, shedding light on the complexities of life in the gang world. I thought it was a compelling look at an understudied population and really appreciated the combination of academic and personal storytelling.
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson in 2017
I love biographies the way people with pink Stanley mugs love wine. This was a wonderful one by Isaacson and given it’s a claim at the time I’m surprised it doesn’t make the actual times list. My best guess is because the NYT list was sourced by people and other authors; most people don’t actually like reading 400 page biographies, and as such, they would prefer to read whatever fiction tripe is the flavor of the day. That or the recent Elon Musk biography (mostly missable) soured people enough on Isaacson that they didn’t want to be seen recommending. My rule of thumb is when Isaacson does historical figures, the books are good. Franklin and Einstein were both compelling reads as well. But his more recent figures get lost in the hype and propaganda. See: Kissinger, Jobs, and Musk.
Educated by Tara Westover in 2018
Best Platonic ideal of what I would consider an Oprah read. Are we solving societal problems at their core level here? No absolutely not. But we are getting a glimpse into someone’s life with honesty and humility and left with a heartwarming sort of bow on top. Tara’s lack of follow up since this has been published gives me the indication that her bow on top was a little contrived, but overall this is a very easy and heartwarming read
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong in 2019
Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous seems tailor made for a NYT list. It’s poetic and heartbreaking, shining a light not only on growing up gay in a minority community, but also prioritizing form over function. Surprised to not see it here. It’s a good book, better than many on the list that I recognized, but not the best book.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King in 2000
One of the most successful writers of our generation took the time to write out his process and did so in a clear and reasonable way. It’s a wonderful book on King's methodology and worth a mention as a great book of the past 24 years. Quick read. Page for page this packs a punch.
My Best of the 21st Century
My own top 7 - why 7? Because I felt like I was forcing it to name more.
When We Cease to Understand the World
Robert Caro - Everything he’s written. Working deserves a notable mention as well.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Freedom by Franzen over The Corrections.
The Road - but really Blood Meridian, All the Pretty Horses, No Country For Old Men, then The Road. In that order.
Oryx and Crake/Blindsight
Empire of Pain
I am sure that my overwhelming ignorance blinds me in significant ways. I welcome comments and thoughtful criticism.
Thanks for reading.
Rick