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Best Books of the Twenty-First Century

This list is generated from 130 "best of" book lists from a variety of great sources. An algorithm is used to create a master list based on how many lists a particular book appears on. Some lists count more than others. I generally trust "best of all time" lists voted by authors and experts over user-generated lists. On the lists that are actually ranked, the book that is 1st counts a lot more than the book that's 100th. If you're interested in the details about how the rankings are generated and which lists are the most important(in my eyes) please check out the list details page. How many have you read?
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Atonement (Ian McEwan)
Atonement
1
Ian McEwan
White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
White Teeth
2
Zadie Smith
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections
3
Jonathan Franzen
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Díaz)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
4
Junot Díaz
Austerlitz (W.G. Sebald)
Austerlitz
5
W.G. Sebald
2666 (Roberto Bolano)
2666
6
Roberto Bolano
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Road
7
Cormac McCarthy
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
8
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
9
Jeffrey Eugenides
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
10
Kazuo Ishiguro
The Sense of an Ending (Julian Barnes)
The Sense of an Ending
11
Julian Barnes
The Line of Beauty (Alan Hollinghurst)
The Line of Beauty
12
Alan Hollinghurst
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas
13
David Mitchell
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
14
Hilary Mantel
Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)
Gilead
15
Marilynne Robinson
The Known World (Edward P. Jones)
The Known World
16
Edward P. Jones
Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Half of a Yellow Sun
17
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A Visit From the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)
A Visit From the Goon Squad
18
Jennifer Egan
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief
19
Markus Zusak
NW (Zadie Smith)
NW
20
Zadie Smith
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
Life of Pi
21
Yann Martel
Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (Chris Ware)
Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth
22
Chris Ware
Suite Française (Irène Némirovsky)
Suite Française
23
Irène Némirovsky
The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)
The White Tiger
24
Aravind Adiga
The Human Stain (Philip Roth)
The Human Stain
25
Philip Roth
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
26
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood)
The Blind Assassin
27
Margaret Atwood
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
28
Gillian Flynn
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
The Namesake
29
Jhumpa Lahiri
Marilynne Robinson: Home
Marilynne Robinson: Home
30
The Kite Runner (Khalid Hosseini)
The Kite Runner
31
Khalid Hosseini
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
The Hunger Games
32
Suzanne Collins
The Inheritance of Loss (Kiran Desai)
The Inheritance of Loss
33
Kiran Desai
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Ben Fountain)
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
34
Ben Fountain
Small Island (Andrea Levy)
Small Island
35
Andrea Levy
The Feast of the Goat (Mario Vargas Llosa)
The Feast of the Goat
36
Mario Vargas Llosa
Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman)
Noughts and Crosses
37
Malorie Blackman
Outline (Rachel Cusk)
Outline
38
Rachel Cusk
Everything Is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer)
Everything Is Illuminated
39
Jonathan Safran Foer
Freedom (Jonathan Franzen)
Freedom
40
Jonathan Franzen
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