List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

100 Best Books of the 21st Century (Non Pretentious Version)

We've seen a lot of these lists recently and this is my version. You will see that these picks are not very "high brow" because I mainly read for enjoyment and I don't think that makes books any less valuable. I also focused a lot on genre fiction because I feel like those are often under appreciated by lists like these.
My limits were max 2 books per author and only 1 book in a series. I also read every book on this list.
Read More
1,063 users · 3,950 views
 
made by witchyMary
avg. score: 9 of 100 (9%)
required scores: 1, 3, 5, 9, 15 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 3
All Boys Aren't Blue (George M. Johnson)
All Boys Aren't Blue
1
George M. Johnson
All Systems Red (Martha Wells)
All Systems Red
2
Martha Wells
An Immense World (Ed Yong)
An Immense World
3
Ed Yong
Annihilation (Jeff Vandermeer)
Annihilation
4
Jeff Vandermeer
The Bear and the Nightingale (Katherine Arden)
The Bear and the Nightingale
5
Katherine Arden
The Beautiful Ones (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)
The Beautiful Ones
6
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Becoming (Michelle Obama)
Becoming
7
Michelle Obama
Bitterthorn (Kat Dunn)
Bitterthorn
8
Kat Dunn
Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
Braiding Sweetgrass
9
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Brief Answers to Big Questions (Stephen Hawking)
Brief Answers to Big Questions
10
Stephen Hawking
Bunny (Mona Awad)
Bunny
11
Mona Awad
Call Us What We Carry: Poems (Amanda Gorman)
Call Us What We Carry: Poems
12
Amanda Gorman
Chlorine (Jade Song)
Chlorine
13
Jade Song
The City of Dreaming Books (Walter Moers)
The City of Dreaming Books
14
Walter Moers
Cultish (Amanda Montell)
Cultish
15
Amanda Montell
Dark Matter (Michelle Paver)
Dark Matter
16
Michelle Paver
A Darker Shade of Magic (V.E. Schwab)
A Darker Shade of Magic
17
V.E. Schwab
The Death of Vivek Oji (Akwaeke Emezi)
The Death of Vivek Oji
18
Akwaeke Emezi
The Deep (Rivers Solomon)
The Deep
19
Rivers Solomon
The Diviners (Libba Bray)
The Diviners
20
Libba Bray
A Dowry of Blood (S. T. Gibson)
A Dowry of Blood
21
S. T. Gibson
Echo (Thomas Olde Heuvelt)
Echo
22
Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Every Heart a Doorway (Seanan McGuire)
Every Heart a Doorway
23
Seanan McGuire
Exhalation (Ted Chiang)
Exhalation
24
Ted Chiang
Felon (Reginald Dwayne Betts)
Felon
25
Reginald Dwayne Betts
Firekeeper's Daughter (Angeline Boulley)
Firekeeper's Daughter
26
Angeline Boulley
The Hacienda (Isabel Canas)
The Hacienda
27
Isabel Canas
Happiness Falls (Angie Kim)
Happiness Falls
28
Angie Kim
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
29
J.K. Rowling
The Hollow Places (T. Kingfisher)
The Hollow Places
30
T. Kingfisher
Honey Girl (Morgan Rogers)
Honey Girl
31
Morgan Rogers
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
The Hunger Games
32
Suzanne Collins
Hurricane Child (Kacen Callender)
Hurricane Child
33
Kacen Callender
If We Were Villains (M.L. Rio)
If We Were Villains
34
M.L. Rio
I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Iain Reid)
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
35
Iain Reid
In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado)
In the Dream House
36
Carmen Maria Machado
Into the Drowning Deep (Mira Grant)
Into the Drowning Deep
37
Mira Grant
The Jasmine Throne (Tasha Suri)
The Jasmine Throne
38
Tasha Suri
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
39
Susanna Clarke
Kaikeyi (Vaishnavi Patel)
Kaikeyi
40
Vaishnavi Patel
Page 1 of 3
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to '100 Best Books of the 21st Century (Non Pretentious Version)'
Todd's 110 Favorite Non-Fiction Books of the 21st Century
Todd's 110 Favorite Non-Fiction Books of the 21st Century
307
110
The Non-Pretentious List of Five Star Books
The Non-Pretentious List of Five Star Books
2,956
100
21 Books of 21 Numbers for the 21st Year of the 21st Century
21 Books of 21 Numbers for the 21st Year of the 21st Century
335
21
100 Best Books of the 21st Century
100 Best Books of the 21st Century
52,411
100
The NY Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
The NY Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
5,290
100
The Guardian's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
The Guardian's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
4,897
100
The Bibliophile's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Response to the NYT
The Bibliophile's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: A Response to the NYT
4,314
100
Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
4,203
100
Best Books of the 21st Century
Best Books of the 21st Century
2,246
33
The 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
The 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
1,805
50
Vulture's 100+ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
Vulture's 100+ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
1,481
108
Readers Pick - 100 Best Books of 21st Century (2024)- A Response to the New York Times
Readers Pick - 100 Best Books of 21st Century (2024)- A Response to the New York Times
1,498
100
Goodreads: Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century
Goodreads: Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century
1,386
100
210 Best Books of the 21st Century
210 Best Books of the 21st Century
1,217
210
Top 100 Best Mystery Books of the 21st Century
Top 100 Best Mystery Books of the 21st Century
1,052
100
Paste Magazine's the 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
Paste Magazine's the 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
1,006
50
Illumicrate's 100 Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Books of the 21st Century
Illumicrate's 100 Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Books of the 21st Century
1,009
100
The New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
The New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
815
100
Bookstagram's 102 Best Books of the 21st Century (U.S.)
Bookstagram's 102 Best Books of the 21st Century (U.S.)
736
102
The Strand Bookstore's Best Books of the 21st Century (2024)
The Strand Bookstore's Best Books of the 21st Century (2024)
656
65
Yet Another Best Books of the 21st Century
Yet Another Best Books of the 21st Century
543
108
Maybe Not the NY Times Best, but MH's Favorite Books of 21st Century
Maybe Not the NY Times Best, but MH's Favorite Books of 21st Century
570
100
21st Century Short List Best Books
21st Century Short List Best Books
497
37
Nett's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: Another Response to the NYT
Nett's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: Another Response to the NYT
494
100
100 Best Books of the 21st Century NYT
100 Best Books of the 21st Century NYT
466
100
Another Best Books of the 21st Century List
Another Best Books of the 21st Century List
375
100
Juniper's Best Books of the 21st Century - Not Exactly Well Read, but Who Cares?
Juniper's Best Books of the 21st Century - Not Exactly Well Read, but Who Cares?
391
100
Best Books of 21st Century
Best Books of 21st Century
324
118
New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
336
100
The NYT Readers Best Books of the 21st Century
The NYT Readers Best Books of the 21st Century
317
100
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN