When the Book Review published a list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century last week, hundreds, then thousands, of readers weighed in, lamenting what was missing and trading reading recommendations in the comments. Others voted in a reader’s Top 100 poll — stay tuned for that list. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Some of you liked the list!
Ferrante, truly, forever. A major feminist Bildungsroman covering the slings and arrows of the second half of the 20th century deserves the No. 1 spot. — Kerry Gaertner, Beacon, N.Y.
What I love about lists like these is that they can serve as a lifelong syllabus or homework assignment, not to mention a reason to pick up a book you would never have anything to do with otherwise. Would I have picked up Anthony Powell’s A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME series without Modern Library’s list of the top novels of the 20th century? Not likely, and what a shame that would be. I don’t read much fantasy, but now my interest is piqued by THE FIFTH SEASON. I never would have given it a second glance, but now I mean to read it. And that’s a wonderful thing. — Becky Lake, Santa Clarita, Calif.
In some ways, this list is flawed. But, in other ways, it is brilliant. Who cares what the actual list is. If it gets me, you and lots of other people reading these and lots of other books, then we are better off for having it in the world! Stop quibbling and open a book. — Tom Braun, Ann Arbor, Mich.
This is exactly how literary prizes should be run: You ask a large, diverse, but uniformly brilliant group of people about the best books they’ve read over a significant period. You don’t ask four people to speed-read 300 books, and then make a decision in two days. This article provides a far more thoughtful, useful aggregation of expert opinion. — Raphael B. Folsom, Norman, Okla.
Others weren’t crazy about it.
A predictable list. A disappointing list. So much political correctness. That can’t be good for art. — Joyce Marshall, Provence, France
Once again, a timid “best of” list that plays it safe. Oh so predictable. Nary a shocker. How refreshing it would be if the list included a single, unexpected entry. Hmm. Perhaps a latter-day Mary Higgins Clark. Wouldn’t that be a showstopper? — Tom Davidson, Somerville, Mass.
More than a few readers wondered where the poetry was.
Remarkable how poetry has just disappeared from cultural significance. This should tell us something. Critics are able to register the stories that we tell ourselves, but they’re not able to hear the songs that we sing. — Jeremiah Crotser, Houston
I think the lack of poetry on this list completely disqualifies it from any serious contemplation. Were there any poets in the 500 people surveyed other than Claudia Rankine? Out of the thousands of books of poetry published in the last 24 years only one is worthy of the list? There are significant contributions to the literary world coming from poetry. Diane Seuss’ FRANK: SONNETS, Tracy K. Smith’s LIFE ON MARS, Ada Limón’s BRIGHT DEAD THINGS, Natalie Diaz’s WHEN MY BROTHER WAS AN AZTEC, anything by Etel Adnan. — R.L. Selden, Wilmington, N.C.
Lovers of genre fiction were disappointed.
It would have been nice to see more genre fiction (Ted Chiang, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Susanna Clarke). Much of it will endure longer than some titles on this list. My pick for an absorbing, fun, escapist read from a popular writer would be Stephen King’s 11/22/63. And thank you for reminding me how many of the titles I own should be on my ’24 TBR shelf (like AUSTERLITZ). — Paul Cowling, Los Angeles
Most of the NYT list are books people think they ought to read rather than the popular fiction most of America really is reading. America reads romance novels, mysteries and science fiction but there were few of those on the 100 books list. — Shelina Shariff, Forest Hills, N.Y.
And a whole bunch of you let us know what was missing.
Where are Emma Donoghue’s ROOM, Susanna Clarke’s JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL, Gary Shteyngart’s SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY and nonfiction by Jill Lepore, Susan Jacoby and Louis Menand? — Julian Gerstin, Brattleboro, Vt.
No Sally Rooney!? — Sheila Heti, Toronto
I knew there would be books I hated on this list and there were, and I’m OK with that. What I will not accept quietly is that somehow this list omits anything by Louise Erdrich, arguably the best American author alive today. That is a crime. — Vanessa Bembridge, Minneapolis
Karl Ove Knausgaard’s six-volume MY STRUGGLE is the 21st-century work that has most deeply affected me. Knausgaard’s intertwining of histories — his own and our world’s; his subtle and overt experiments with structure; his keen observation of the everyday and exploration of the passage of time; and his bravery as a writer in undertaking this impossible project all make “My Struggle” worthy of recognition. — Selma Thompson, New York
No Lauren Groff? Speechless. — Sarah Allan, Cincinnati
Personally I am crushed that ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE did not make this list — it is one heck of a masterpiece. If you’re reading this, Mr. Doerr, you have my undying respect and awe. — Jennifer Locke, Londonderry, N.H.
We are so lucky that books like these are being published at a great clip, even as very bad people are trying to push them off the shelf at an even greater clip. That being said, I’m sad that some really worthy books did not make the cut: Elizabeth Kolbert’s THE SIXTH EXTINCTION, Sheri Fink’s FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, Ben Fountain’s BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK, and a personal favorite: CITY OF THIEVES, by David Benioff. And LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN — how is there nothing on this list by Colum McCann? Most egregiously and most surprising to me: no HAMNET? — Lauren Phillips, Bellingham, Wash.
Any list that leaves out Haruki Murakami’s KAFKA ON THE SHORE as one of the best books written in the 21st century is incomplete. — Edward Park, Culver City, Calif.
Damon Galgut’s ARCTIC SUMMER is a poignant fictional imagining of E.M. Forster. While it is probably not popular enough to make this list, I would suggest it to anyone who loved Colm Toíbín’s “The Master.” — Kate Milkens, Brooklyn
Lots of fantastic, well-deserving books here, but I’m very surprised that Tommy Orange’s THERE THERE didn’t make the list! And I would definitely have included books by Yoko Tawada and Olga Tokarczuk. — Marit Reynolds, Minneapolis
I was hoping to see some books by Margaret Atwood, Milan Kundera, J.M. Coetzee, Paul Auster. Oh, and Kim Stanley Robinson’s work, especially THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE. Stephen Markley’s THE DELUGE. Gail Honeyman’s one and only but fantastically written book, ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE. Books by Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri and Ayad Akhtar are also missing. All I am saying is, we need another list. — Sohana Nasrin, Tampa, Fla.
No Margaret Atwood! How can this be? — Eithne Murray, Carlow, Ireland
Thank you! What a pleasure opening this list every morning this week. I’m a bookseller who will use this list for sure. Disappointed not to find Robin Wall Kimmerer’s BRAIDING SWEETGRASS or Amor Towles’s A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. — Amy Halvorson Miller, Yakima, Wash.
Am I correct that James McBride is not on this list? The absence of THE GOOD LORD BIRD makes this entire process suspect. Brilliant, hilarious and poignant. I thought perhaps you were saving it for No. 1, but at the end of my scrolling it still wasn’t there. — Steven Freedman, Lawrence, Kan.
Where is LIFE OF PI? Have we collectively forgotten that masterpiece? — Diana Kelley-Lurio, Buchanan, N.Y.
A final word we can all agree on?
Let’s all just take a year off and read! — Maureen Fitzgerald, San Francisco
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