New York Times Readers Pick the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Reaction

[@vomittux]

I just love these types of videos. I feel like I'm taking a class on book lists and you're my cool college professor haha

[@SupposedlyFun]

I love that idea! I should get a tweed jacket (although it's too hot to wear one right now).

[@onourpath]

​@@SupposedlyFun make sure it has suede elbow patches, Greg, and better pick up a pipe while you're at it, lol 😂🤣🤪

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@onourpath 😂 😂

[@MJ-in-Canada]

This list has got me wondering which books European readers would rate as their top 100. Ditto for readers from other continents.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I would absolutely like to see that list.

[@ES_LA969]

Delighted to see Chanel Miller's "Know My Name" on this list. That book left a lasting impression on me. I especially recommend the audiobook, which is narrated by Chanel.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I was so glad to see it make the list. She does a great job with the audio.

[@LisaJones-l4d]

I'm thrilled to see my favorite A Gentleman in Moscow at #3. It is on my top tier bookshelf. Great video!

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thanks! I need to catch up to Gentleman in Moscow.

[@marciaalbaum2597]

lincoln highway is my favorite

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@marciaalbaum2597 Towles seems to be an author who has different books that speak to different people.

[@LisaJones-l4d]

​@@marciaalbaum2597it's on my tbr.

[@MsPixieD]

I recently read my first Towles, Rules of Civility, and it was definitely on my list. Can't wait to read more!

[@jf8559]

Thanks for your analysis, Greg! I prefer the Readers’ List to the original list. One of the reasons is the absence of works written in the 20th Century that made it because of translation in the 21st. I thought that was a bit of a cheat in the original list. This feels more coherent to me as a list. And some great nonfiction choices.

[@SupposedlyFun]

There are some great nonfiction additions to the list. Translated literature really did have a tough go of it on both lists.

[@triciapearce8545]

Thank you for telling us that the list is available on Instagram. Though I'm from the UK, I have read 53 on this list and own a further 23! Very chuffed! 🙌🎉😂❤📖 Thank you for another great video.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much!

[@capturedbyannamarie]

I would say if namesake did not get included, it’s probably meaning that it will not be sticking around. It’s most likely going to be forgotten. If a book sticks around in peoples minds. That to me is significant. I know I personally have never even heard of Namesake, but have heard of a lot of these.

[@shannongeier8155]

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is next on my reading list. Thank you for being so passionate about books!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

[@TF-lk6co]

I think you're right about Demon Copperhead being a future classic because it appeals to three key groups: 1) Literary critics, 2) Fans of literary fiction, 3) People who prefer genre fiction but nevertheless found DC to be authentic and riveting.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That all makes sense!

[@OnomonopiaBangBoom]

You're absolutely right that it's wild that Jhumpa was on neither.. list. Even more shocked that she didn't appear on the writers/critics list tbh. But The Namesake was definitely on my NYT top ten submission though.

[@SupposedlyFun]

In hindsight, Interpreter of Maladies was published in 1999 (it just won the Pulitzer in 2000), so it wouldn't qualify. But The Namesake is a gorgeous book.

[@lautarohutz5757]

I mixed the results of both lists and made a third one of 50 books. Of course the books that appear in both lists did it better than the ones that only appear in one. In case of drawns I gave the advantage to the book that did better on the first list (For example Pachinko and The Underground Railroad were even, but I gave the advantage to the second one). 01 My Briliant Friend, Elena Ferrante 02 Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 03 Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 04 The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 05 Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 06 The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 07 The Road, Cormac McCarthy 08 The Corrections, Jonathan Frazen 09 Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 10 Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 11 The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon 12 The Overstory, Richard Powers 13 Atonement, Ian McEwan 14 Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 15 The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 16 Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 17 The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 18 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 19 Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 20 Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 21 A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 22 2666, Roberto Bolaño 23 Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 24 Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 25 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 26 Evicted, Mathew Desmond 27 White Teeth, Zadie Smith 28 Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 29 Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 30 Sing, Unburied, Sing; Jesmyn Ward 31 The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 32 Trust, Hernan Diaz 33 Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 34 All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr 35 A Gentlemen in Moscow, Amor Towles 36 The Known World, Edward P Jones 37 The Fifth Season, N K Jemisin 38 Educated, Tara Westover 39 Austerlitz, W G Sebald 40 A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara 41 Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 42 Outline, Rachel Cusk 43 The Sellout, Paul Beatty 44 Erasure, Percival Everett 45 Bel Canto, Ane Patchett 46 Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi 47 Behind The Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 48 Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage; Alice Munro 49 Random Family, Adrian Nicol Leblanc 50 The Last Samurai, Helen Dewitt

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's really interesting! Thank you for doing that.

[@athertonca]

Excellent video! Overall, I like both lists. I have read 60-65 on each and discovered some that I am very much interested in. I do agree with Demon Copperhead over Brilliant Friend as number one.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Me too!

[@yvespiderssmells9956]

Totally agree with you about Louise Erdrich! I was disappointed that she was omitted. Plague of Doves was my favorite from her too

[@SupposedlyFun]

Plague of Doves is such a good book!

[@MountainShadow8]

I am very happy to see Just Kids by Patti Smith on this list. It is one of my very favorites. Anytime I pick it up and start to read it, I have to finish it once again. I am a fan of Patti Smith's writing, including her poetry. To me, Just Kids has so many layers: New York city, fifty years ago now, The Chelsea Hotel, the writer and art scene. Most important a great and unique love story.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I remember hearing a lot of good things about Smith's book.

[@M.R-q9m]

I absolutely love "Just kids"!!!!! It reminds me of my experiences in New York City in the late 80's. A vibe that never leaves you.

[@sandeesandwich2180]

I'm definitely going to check this out, as I lived in NYC at that time and could use a geed dose of nostalgia.

[@MountainShadow8]

@@M.R-q9m I'm envious, but glad that the vibe has never left you. Happy reading.

[@MsPixieD]

I honor the paywall by supporting my local library, which gives us access to the NYT. It lets us sign into the app for 2 weeks. I hope it's renewable, but at least for now I have access and can report that the link to the "submit your top 10" article is no longer there. I had thought a lot about what would be on my list but didn't get around to filling out the survey in time. I'd decided that The Hunger Games (in my perfect world, the trilogy as a whole) would have been in my top 10 and probably #1 (I guess I weight "seriously impactful" over "seriously literary," who knew?) So I was glad to see it on the list! I would've put Ready Player One on there as well.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I do feel a bit weird essentially plugging a NY Times subscription when the paper itself has been doing awful work in recent years (Book Review aside--and even then, the previous editor revealed herself to be a transphobe the moment she stepped down). What a time to be alive!

[@MsPixieD]

@@SupposedlyFun I hope lots of your readers have access through their local libraries instead. 💙

[@Schwendan]

No surprise to me that I've read way more on this list (42) than the first one, and if I had submitted a list, 9 of 10 would have made it (all but The Round House). You are right about recency bias, both by what has been published recently and by what appeared or didn't on the first list. I wonder if they put this follow-up list out there quickly to avoid any orchestrated campaigns having an influence. I was hoping you would have a Friday reads and talk about Sandwich. I was reading it last night at a restaurant and got some strange looks when I laughed out loud. It's nice to have something to laugh about these days. I enjoyed your reactions to both these polls.

[@SupposedlyFun]

My Friday Reads publish on Saturday (but I usually film them on Friday, hence the name 😂)--so it will be out tomorrow! And I will discuss Sandwich.

[@daytoy]

So happy to see The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot get love from readers. A riveting combination of medicine, biography, detective and social advocacy work in one masterfully structured book. Also elated to see The Great Believers much higher on the readers' list--that book broke my heart wide open, structural problems or no. I'm not surprised The Sympathizer jumped up, thanks to the HBO miniseries adaptation. Personally, I found it overwritten, like an essay written by a prodigy.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I'm so with you on The Great Believers. I see why so many people have problems with the structure, but the overall impact is so great that those problems were minor for me. And I was relieved to see it come so high on both lists.

[@mel-m-o]

As someone who liked The Bee Sting, but didn't LOVE it, I will say it has stayed with me more than I would have ever anticipated. I thought it was good when I originally read it, but I didn't seem to love it as much as other people did. Fast forward nine months and I still have vivid images from that book and think about it fairly often. I still wouldn't consider it one of my favorite novels, but I wonder if it will have a similar staying power among readers in years to come.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That happened to me with Tom Lake. I thought it was good when I read it, but over time I found that it had burrowed into my being.

[@marciajohansson769]

I read only 5 books on the original list and the reader's list : 26 books. On the original list I wanted to read 47 and 45 on the readers list. Ridiculous. Simply too high of an aspiration to read so many books. How to prioritize which ones to read.😕 I have come to love the lesser known/less popular books that I have heard about from the booktubers I follow. One of my favorite books was not published here in the US. The Stranding by Kate Sawyer (yes Read and Reread, talking about it again) which I had heard about from someone on booktube a few years back. You made some good points throughout the video that gave me something to think about with regards to the lists.

[@readandre-read]

LOL, The Stranding again?! I'm taking it with me on a trip this week; a dash of apocalypse for my travels.

[@marciajohansson769]

@@readandre-read now that I'm officially old at 66 I can blame it on my memory lol

[@SupposedlyFun]

Lists like this are endless sources of curiosity for me. I think that's why I wanted to do my Pulitzer Project: it's a way of thinking about what literature was seen as important at a specific time and why.

[@lorettafpol2006]

Thanks for your informative you tunes. I'm getting such good reading ideas from you. Here is my top reads-Bel Canto, Gilead, All the Light We Cannot See, Demon Copperhead, Lessons in Chemistry, Cutting for Stone, The Covenant of Water, Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Dutch House, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Pride reading for me feels like I need non-fiction for my education so any suggestions I will appreciate. At my age (85) this is something of a new world view. Thanks again ❤

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thanks for watching! I need to try to do better with nonfiction. Your fiction list sounds great!

[@marciaalbaum2597]

my under the radar are instance at the fingerpost by pears, I am radar and the lonely poligomist by udall

[@SupposedlyFun]

I've heard good things about those!

[@derekvanlehn5012]

LOVED Cloud Cuckoo Land. Even more so than all the light we cannot see and I was a pretty big fan of it. I can definitely see why it might not stand the test of time for most people but I loved how it played with the structure and will almost certainly remain a top book of mine

[@floweryhue1214]

recently just read crying in h mart and even though im not half, i feel like there's so many beautiful things that i got out of michelles story that she tells. she writes with so much comfort in the face of death and manages to find a way to make it easy and digestible. it also helps if you are a fan of her music and listening to the audiobook. hearing her speak these words to me elevated it for me. cant wait for the new book shes working on!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I've heard great things about the audio!

[@readandre-read]

I had read 36 on the first list and 53 on this one. Where, oh where is Louise Erdrich still!? At least James McBride made it this time. These lists and your videos have been good fun.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thanks! If Erdrich and McBride had both missed again, I would have been so upset. But justice for Erdrich!

[@Itismebruna]

I love this discussion and this new list has great additions. I've been thinking a lot about books surviving the test of time lately - how this affects our TBR pile and what new books we purchase, especially with so many new ones being released every year. In my opinion a bias towards news releases is clear. I enjoyed The Bee Sting, but I don't think the hype will be the same in five years. Dare to say the same about Trust.

[@SupposedlyFun]

So far, two people who liked Bee Sting have said the same thing, so I feel pretty comfortable assuming it ultimately won't be one of the books that stands the test of time.

[@elbamariasosa-velasco4665]

Hi...I always watched you on my TV that's the reason I never leave a message. But at the end of this video you asked a question about translated books because the #1 book. And my answer would have been A hundred years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I really enjoyed your channel. Elba M Sosa (from Puerto Rico)

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you so much! I love 100 Years of Solitude. One of my favorite books!

[@judybrown1624]

39 books were on both lists. I've read 78 on this list v 52 on the other. There are a few of my favs that didn't make either list.

[@SupposedlyFun]

It's amazing how with two different lists, it still feels like so many books are missing.

[@myreadinglife8816]

I enjoyed your discussion of this list! I do think some of these books are on the list and placed where they are because of recency bias.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thanks! I definitely think recency bias came into play here.

[@megansmiley9540]

They should have made the readers' ballot available before they released the initial list. Also, a timetable to complete the ballot would have been nice. I have read more books on this newer list than I had on the initial one. I definitely agree that recent popular releases may not be on there in a few years. I almost wish it were broken down into the best books of 5 year periods and then compiled into the top 100 overall.

[@SupposedlyFun]

It definitely would have been nice if they had been less vague about when they planned to release the reader picks.

[@cynthiamiller3236]

I agree with you about Louise Erdrich! I love LaRose. Also agree about A Little Life - honestly hated it. And I’m still processing The Bee Sting.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Erdrich should be here somewhere!

[@AmberlyyK.]

Hey Greg, i think you’d love to know that because of you i suggested “A Place for us” as the monthly pick for my feminist book club and we’ll be meeting this evening to discuss it. But from what I’ve heard from the other members, everyone seemed to love it! This is your impact cause I’d never heard of this book before and I don’t think here where i live (Germany) it is all that popular. (And about Elena Ferrante, i think that people from all ages love that book and also i can tell you she is our book club’s unofficial favourite author and basically required reading haha. Maybe you would enjoy The Lost Daughter more than my brilliant friend? That ones a very short standalone)

[@SupposedlyFun]

Ahhh, I'm so excited for your book group! I hope you all love it as much as I did. Thank you for telling me. I did like the film adaptation of The Lost Daughter, so I should try the book!

[@ChristinaStern-x9d]

My top ten included North Woods; The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store; Deacon King Kong; The Days of Abandonment (Ferrante); Sebald's Austerlitz; and Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow...which came in no. 92 on the reader's list, a brilliant book that is unlike any other.

[@larajean1]

I like a lot of the changes in this reader's top 100 list...but still think Geraldine Brooks should have been included.... Year of Wonders or People of the Book... I read 38 of the list by the "literati" and 69 of the books on the reader's list... It is a fascinating to see these lists! I mean I don't feel like I know everything out there and have read so much that I really can judge the list as a whole. Another one I love that has really stuck with me is "Still Life" by Sarah Winman... would have loved to see it on there. I wish I could check off the books I've read and print out the llist in its entirety for future reference! I do agree with you about Louise Erdrich but "The Night Watchmen" is my favorite of the ones I've read...although I think I"ve only read 3 of hers... Thanks for your analysis! Great video!

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thank you! I do feel like enough people consistenly recommend Year of Wonders and People of the Book to me that it feels surprising that they didn't make the list. I am hoping to get to Still Life soon now that I finally read Tin Man.

[@Roscoethecat]

I loved Atonement. It's one of the few books I've read more than once. And the movie was so good! Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I should reread Atonement at some point. I read it immediately after it was first published.

[@Roscoethecat]

@@SupposedlyFun You should watch the movie right after you reread it. It doesn't deviate from the book and Keira Knightley in her green dress is stunning.

[@bobbykeniston7240]

A great video. Oh my God, though. I don't put down the books people love, but "Demon Copperhead" making number 1 really just hurts me a little bit. I knew it would make the list, of course, maybe even high, but, oh my God. I know you love it, so I don't want to be here trashing it, as we agree on so many other books. I also have to remember that I didn't HATE "Demon Copperhead", I just thought it was very much okay, with many, many faults that everyone seems to overlook. I won't go into them here (though it would feel very cathartic), but this just reminded me how at the time, when I read it, I felt like I would be excommunicated from bookish communities for not really liking it very much. But I suppose I will be happy for the many, many people who love the book. In terms of "The Bee Sting", I do think it will stand the test of time, not that I'm the hugest fan, but just the subject matter and how it is written. Feels like a bit warmer Franzen or something (speaking of which, his "Crossroads" is far better than anything else he has written IMO)

[@SupposedlyFun]

Well THAT hurts. 😉 I've gotten a lot of comments from people who didn't like Demon Copperhead nearly as much as I did--so all is good. I understand that it's frustrating when a book you didn't like gets so much praise. I think it's merited, but hey.

[@tonybennett4159]

Even though I liked Demon Copperhead a lot, I completely understand where you're coming from in feeling that you might offend Greg or the bookish community, as there are some books or authors I just don't get. Three authors in particular wrote books so terrible that they will forever be excluded from any future plans : Rooney's Conversations With Friends was the first, followed by Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (she sounds a very nice person, but I was close to throwing that book across the room) and Hamnet (so amateurishly written and poorly characterised that I was left puzzled by the love for it). To think that Rooney represents Ireland while Anna Burns and Colm Toibin (I love The Master) are shunned leaves me sick to the stomach. I do, however agree with Greg about A Little Life : dishonest and cynically manipulative.

[@SebastianHegele]

You should give The Corrections another chance. One of my favourite books ever.

[@katrianamacmillan]

I was happy to see Shuggie Bain, Homegoing and authors Khaled Hosseini and Armor Towles on this list, but sad to see Honorée Jeffers, Lauren Groff, Colm Toibin and Louise Erdrich left out again. I am someone who read Remarkably Bright Creatures and liked it, but no it absolutely does not belong on this list. It’s a warm hug of a book. One I’d recommend if you need something light to get lost in with a happy ending. There are so many warm, light books like this released every year. They serve a purpose but are not books people will still be thinking of five or ten years from now.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I agree about Remarkably Bright Creatures. I think people had such an emotional response to it that there's a sense of urgency. I had that response to The Secret Life of Albert Entwhistle, but it wasn't on my ballot.

[@lauratesta3876]

I love a good list 😜 Thanks for sharing. Would love to have seen THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE by Michel Faber on the list ❤. This book has lived in my brain for 20yrs☺️🥳

[@SupposedlyFun]

I would be willing to bet that had this list been done in 2010, that would have made it. I can't explain how it faded for most readers like that.

[@rede4trip365]

If you read The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles I suggest the audiobook. Voice actor/narrators were amazing.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I've heard the audio is great--thanks for the feedback.

[@mact8190]

I was more and still am a fan of The Bee Sting, but as time goes by, I think I'm getting to understand more why Prophet Song won over it in last year's Booker and why I think it will be better regarded in the future vs TBS. Having said that, I still enjoyed TBS.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@shannongeier8155]

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado is one of the most beautiful, sad, stunning books I've ever read. So glad it was on the reader's list!

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's one I need to catch up to!

[@LetsStormTheTeaCupRide]

I enjoy book lists as opposed to other lists (music, books, sports, movies etc.) because I honestly don't know anyone who reads in my life which is sad. I had read 58 on the original list and went out and got Pachinko and binge read that two days ago and just about done and it was amazing. I am a massive Otessa Moshfegh fan as well as George Saunders who lived down the street from me and admire his unique style and imagination. Also, one of the nicest guys roaming the planet. I liked Bee Sting and don't think it will be stand the test of time.

[@SupposedlyFun]

George Saunders sounds like a really cool guy. I need to catch up to Pachinko!

[@sandeesandwich2180]

Remarkably Bright Creatures and North Woods were both excellent on audio. I can imagine that the print version might not hold up as well. Even if you have read (or tried to read) these in print, the audio books are well worth your time.

[@FeelToBelieve]

I just finished The Bee Sting this week. I definitely liked it and can understand the hype, but didn’t love it. However, like another viewer said, I’m pretty sure it will stick with me longer than many books. Not sure I “liked” what it did at the end, but it draws you in and grabs your attention for sure.

[@SupposedlyFun]

The discourse over The Bee Sting has been fascinating, if nothing else. It will be interesting to see where it lands over the years.

[@neetupd8510]

Covenant of water is very nice... Hope you get to it soon... someday... Pachinko is beautiful too😊

[@SupposedlyFun]

I've heard so many good things about both books. Someday!

[@mitchellbrenner6663]

I loved The Bee Sting and it would definitely make my list in 10 years

[@mandykarlin]

Much preferred the reads in this list :)

[@SupposedlyFun]

It's a very interesting comparison!

[@judybrown1624]

Books on my list that made it to one or both lists are Life After Life, Lincoln in the Bardo, Girl, Woman,Other, Just Mercy, Hamnet and Homegoing.

[@SupposedlyFun]

That's a solid group!

[@jordana99]

I love Barbara Kingsolver's books. She's consistently good.

[@SupposedlyFun]

And she seems like such a good human, too.

[@karenbrouard697]

Thanks for doing this video😂 I have read 31 books on this list 4 of them non-fiction books. Being British probably a lot of my reading lines up with those from the United States. I have brought both Murakamis books but dnfed so not countered on my total. Want to read I have Tom Lake at home loved Bel canto and Dutch house by Patchett.. Also interested to read The bee sting and Demon Copperhead

[@SupposedlyFun]

I hope you like the ones you haven't read yet! I need to catch up to Bel Canto, but I loved Tom Lake.

[@BroadwayBabyyy744]

Appreciate your views here

[@jacksontalley]

I loved, loved, loved the Bee Sting, but it will not be something that will stand the test of time. It was phenomenal but not something that should have been on this list.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Most comments on it so far align with you, but there are some defenders. Interesting!

[@lynniepie52]

Well, I will admit I must be more aligned with the readers list, but two of my favorite books from that time frame are shadow of the wind and the murmur of bees…neither on the list but I feel the stories are timeless…tickle Teddy for me💕

[@SupposedlyFun]

Teddy loves a tickle!

[@SherylEsau]

A Place For Us would be in my top 5 best books. So very good.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I love it so much!

[@DianaLong-om3ck]

I didn't realize I had read all these more recent books, I read 47 on the list. I tend to read old books.

[@rhughes2962]

I wonder what a combined list would look like, presumably My Brilliant Friend at 1, but then the rest of the top 10? I also wonder if anything just missed out on both lists and would have made a combined 100.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I'm forever going to be wondering what books were trapped in places 101-125.

[@SherylEsau]

I will also read anything by Otessa Mosfegh - she's so bizarre, and I haven't liked them all, but I totally loved My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I feel like she likes to shock her readers just for the thrill of shocking them, and that's something I never enjoy. But I'm glad so many people do get something out of her work.

[@M.R-q9m]

I also didn't like North Woods but was rewarded by reading "This other Eden" by Paul Harding.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I kinda expected Tinkers to get more love, but here we are.

[@M.R-q9m]

Thank you for what you do! Without you I still would be in the stone ages of reading. Your likes and dislikes align with me 90 percent of the time, so I trust your recommendations. Thank you for that!

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@M.R-q9m Thank you! That means a lot.

[@jonathanrodriguez4666]

Funny, because when i finished the physical copy of Deacon King Kong I thought “I might have liked this more if I had listened to the audio.”

[@SupposedlyFun]

That is funny!

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

If an Irish newspaper did this type of list ? I suppose it would contain a majority Irish writers? It would have to have separate lists for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. I loved The Bee Sting on audio. I think it will stand the test of time. It may even become a book on the A level English literature syllabus.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I feel like you could do an entire 100 best books of the 21st century just with Irish authors, to be fair.

[@maria83maria]

I love The bee sting!!! Maybe just me, but i enjoyed the jurney

[@SupposedlyFun]

A lot of people agree with you, and I'm glad that many people got more out of Murray's work than I have.

[@maria83maria]

@@SupposedlyFun a name that i missed from this lists is Paul Auster, i loved 4321, i reread sections every year

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@maria83maria I've only read the New York Trilogy and remember liking it.

[@anne4562]

What would be your #1 choice? I enjoyed this video. Another surprise to me was that Barbara Kingsolver didn't have at least one more book on the list. Read A Gentleman in Moscow!!

[@SupposedlyFun]

My #1 choice could be Gilead, but I need to read The Known World. Demon Copperhead actually does make sense to me the more I think about it.

[@anne4562]

@@SupposedlyFun I read both Gilead and The Known World, but it has been a long time. I enjoyed and agreed with your comments about how we had listed books we had read more recently.

[@anitaderouen]

I thing the inclusion of Demon copperhead reflects more on the quality of Dickens’ plot construction, character creation, and storytelling and less about the actual quality and longevity of THAT story.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I both agree and disagree. I think part of the brilliance of Demon Copperhead is how Kingsolver adapts and updates the story to make it feel resonant to a modern audience. A workhouse swapping out for a tobacco farm. A villainous character becoming a football coach in the present day. There's no denying that Dickens' fingerprints are all over Demon Copperhead (Kingsolver would say as much, too), but the genius of it is how Kingsolver used that framework to tell a story with modern urgency.

[@mercedehb4257]

Two other amazing authors who still didn't make it were Geraldine Brooks and Matt haig.. both of which have an amazing body of work, one better then the other.

[@SupposedlyFun]

It is surprising that they didn't make it.

[@michaelo3832]

Why didn't you mention anything about Americanah? Suspicious.

[@SupposedlyFun]

Why suspicious? I skipped over several books to save time. I can only assume that you find this instance suspicious because you already know why: the author of Americanah has made numerous transphobic comments and instead of acknowledging the problematic nature of her comments (or the harm they could cause the transgender community), she chose to attack the people who spoke out. I'm not going to claim that Americanah doesn't deserve to be on the list or that it should be removed, but I also don't feel I need to give a platform to that. It's the same reason I skipped over the HP book.

[@ht6743]

Feels more inclusive than the original, and it somewhat invalidates the former with 61 new entries. It's still very Western-centric, and more translated titles would have been cool, but I wasn't really expecting that. Demon Copperhead topping the list is superb. It's the modern-day classic of our time, and the Booker will continue to be clowns for snubbing Barbara Kingsolver. Wish I'd been able to participate in the readers poll, but I guess I didn't see this in time. Also, since my respect for the NY Times is at 0%, I don't share your slavish devotion to its paywall. I'll spill everything, b/c I know the NY Times police won't come around and get me. But alas, they wouldn't get my money in the first place either. The way they're covering this election is vile. But yeah, nice list and responses. Ha Jin is a genius. Love the War Trash mention!

[@SupposedlyFun]

I still feel bitter that the Booker didn't even longlist Demon Copperhead. I do agree that the election coverage and coverage of transgender rights) has been atrocious.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

I’ve read 36? Which is twice as many as the original list. Several books I’d encourage you to read on audio Cloud Cuckoo Land Circe

[@SupposedlyFun]

Thanks!

[@jackwalter5970]

IMO, the Readers' List is meh! Not impressed at all.

[@i_dont_know_who_i_am69]

i feel like many people say this about most lists. not that i disagree in this case, but the only good lists are probably the ones you make yourself.

[@SupposedlyFun]

If nothing else, it's fun to compare the lists.

[@SherylEsau]

Don't bother going back to the Goldfinch. Only 1 star I've ever given to a book, but only because 0 was not an option. I wish I would have DNF'd.

[@SupposedlyFun]

If I weren't doing the Pulitzer Project, I would probably leave it alone. At some point, I'll probably give The Secret History a go as well.

[@SherylEsau]

@@SupposedlyFun I hear The Secret History is very different, but I'm scared to try it. Maybe someday.

[@arlissbunny]

I worry that when you say “popularity” there is an inference (and I could well be wrong) that these books are less well written or less deserving and that, to me, does lean in to the litfic attitude toward genre fiction. Genre fiction does as much heavy lifting as litfic in many, many ways and the best genre writers are easily as skilled at the craft as litfic. IMO moreso because genre writers often speak to a significant IRW issues all the while doing intensive world building. The Three Body Problem, The Book of the New Sun, American Gods these are all heavy weights and they deserve to be on any fiction “best books” list but, of course, they are not alone. If the thinking is that popularity of an author in any way makes them lesser then that needs to go. Litfic snobs (not you, I mean the so-called literary readers) have absolutely no idea what they are doing when they rate books and the lack of genre fiction on their lists is the best possible proof of this.

[@SupposedlyFun]

When I say popular, I do not mean to imply that the quality of the book in question is lower. What I mean is that there's a difference in the way book industry professionals think about great books and the way a popular vote on the same subject will turn out. Look at the way the Goodreads Choice Awards compare to critic lists of the best books of the year, or the way the People's Choice Awards compare to the Academy Awards. When I say, for example, that I'm not surprised Abraham Verghese made the reader list (twice) because his books have been so popular with readers, it isn't intended as a coded insult. It's more to point out that when a list is structured in a way to prize popularity, as both of the New York Times lists are (because the books that make it are the ones that get on the most ballots), it isn't surprising when a bestselling word-of-mouth smash is recognized by readers and not by critics.

[@arlissbunny]

Thank you for the clarification. You are kind to give me such a lengthy reply. Honestly, my push back is really against the supposed literary elite and their uninformed characterization of genre fiction. They either need to educate themselves or retitle their lists. It’s exhausting to be a genre reader who also reads widely in litfic and consistently see several of the best books of the year (according to critics who do read genre) entirely left out of lists and awards while books like Overstory thrive. I mean it’s not a bad book but Piranesi was more well crafted in every way (in my opinion, of course.) And no one ever peters out midway through anything written by Mick Herron. This is a golden age for mystery and thriller and while I’m not personally a big fan of thrillers I know they are paying for 99.9% of all of litfic to be published. Well, that and romance. These big book awards should be giving Lifetime Achievement awards to authors like Nora Roberts, Sara J Maas (god forbid), and (I may be a bit ill) Rebecca Yarros. I haaaate their books but no one gets published, publishing does not exist as a major industry, without authors like these. They have earned respect and publishing needs to find a way to reconcile its snob instinct with both the best of genre fiction as a well as the hugely successful books upon which the publishing industry stands. Romantasy, which I can’t even believe is a word now, is reshaping genre fiction in dramatic ways because it is so successful. Any reader’s choice list is highly suspect if authors like Maas and Yarros are not on it. It means the population allowed or targeted for voting was in no way reflective of the majority of readers. I’m betting if you take the combined 2023 sales of every book on the original list, all 100 of them, they don’t come anywhere close to Yarros in either dollars or number of copies sold. That is the power of readers loving a book. And finally, you are so right about Louise Erdrich. I’m guessing votes divided between Round House and Love Medicine but she really, really should have been on the list.

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@arlissbunny I agree that genre books are unfairly overlooked, but I think it would be equally bad to run in the opposite direction and offer recognition simply on the basis of popularity. Selling well just isn't a guarantee of quality. Titles like The Da Vinci Code or Fifty Shades of Grey are to be commended for perfectly capturing what mass audiences were looking to consume (in large quantities), but I don't think many people are surprised or disappointed that they didn't make either list from the Times. I think there's a big difference between something with entertainment value and something with the kind of quality that will stand the test of time. In fact, if you look year by year since 1950 at the bestselling book of the year, you will find that most of the books that sold the most at the time have been completely forgotten by now.

[@arlissbunny]

@@SupposedlyFun TOTALLY agree on not including books only because they are popular and the examples I gave are, IMO, terrible books. I think there is a conversation to be had around not leaving books off a list or ignoring books only because they are popular. And all this has made me think that non-fiction is included and the quality of a NF book is judged based upon its project, how well it does what it sets out to do. Do we extend that same informed understanding to mystery, thrillers, SFF, romance, or romantasy? I don’t think that, collectively, we do. If Nora Roberts is writing a romance book that will hold up over decades, isn’t that just as worthy? It causes me to wonder about how I judge books.

[@AvAlanchian]

Salvage The Bones > Sing unburied Sing. And again no Love Songs of WEB Du Bois??!!! Gaaahh. Note: Nightcrawling disappeared quickly eh?

[@SupposedlyFun]

Nightcrawling really did disappear quickly. Salvage is my personal best for Jesmyn Ward, but I can see why so many people prefer Sing, Unburied, Sing.

[@Rubz3211]

Remarkably Bright Creatures was genuinely one of the worst books I've ever read haha. Lost a bit of faith in the list a bit from then on 😅

[@SupposedlyFun]

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think that was the first book that reminded me that popularity and recency bias really come into play.

[@JayFernandes-b8c]

I really did NOT like Lessons in Chemistry !!

[@nealsteplaws]

The Namesake made LitHub’s list, which they released this week.

[@SupposedlyFun]

I haven't had time to look up their list yet. It sounded interesting.

[@mradcaqbdb]

Naked Teddy! 💜🤎🖤 So I did the counts manually for this list. I have read 9 on the readers list compared to 5 on the original list and I want to read 19 on the readers list compared to 17 on the original list. So actually very little difference. I guess my reasoning for thinking the readers list was “better” was because there were more books I recognized maybe. I guess this comes down to my personal taste, even if I exclude crime and thrillers, is just different. I will have to try to come up with my personal top 10 of this century. But the exercise today did show I’m not a massive fan of either list. 🤷‍♀️

[@SupposedlyFun]

At least you're consistent? 😉 😂

[@mradcaqbdb]

@@SupposedlyFun Oh, and the obvious thing that I much prefer British, Irish authors to Americans. I guess that’s a rather large sticking point here. Oops.

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@mradcaqbdb That would do it!

[@mradcaqbdb]

@@SupposedlyFun Yes, it was like duh, 💡🤣🤣🤣

[@SupposedlyFun]

@@mradcaqbdb 😂