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The New York Times' 10 Best Books Through Time

Each fall, the editors of the Times Book Review select the best fiction and nonfiction titles of the year. Our editors read, nominate, discuss, and debate the merits of each year's books, working together to land upon our list. The practice of editors sharing their picks of the year dates nearly back to the beginning of the Book Review in October 1896. But over the years, that list has taken many different names and forms. Now, we call this list the "Ten Best Books" and have done so since 2004. We hope you'll enjoy, and perhaps find inspiration in, the Best Books of years past.
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Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)
Gilead
1
Marilynne Robinson
The Master
The Master
2
The Plot Against America (Philip Roth)
The Plot Against America
3
Philip Roth
Runaway (Alice Munro)
Runaway
4
Alice Munro
Snow (Orhan Pamuk)
Snow
5
Orhan Pamuk
War Trash
War Trash
6
Alexander Hamilton (Ron Chernow)
Alexander Hamilton
7
Ron Chernow
Chronicles Volume One (Bob Dylan)
Chronicles Volume One
8
Bob Dylan
Washington's Crossing (David Hackett Fischer)
Washington's Crossing
9
David Hackett Fischer
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (Stephen Greenblatt)
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare
10
Stephen Greenblatt
Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)
Kafka on the Shore
11
Haruki Murakami
On Beauty (Zadie Smith)
On Beauty
12
Zadie Smith
Prep (Curtis Sittenfeld)
Prep
13
Curtis Sittenfeld
Saturday (Ian McEwan)
Saturday
14
Ian McEwan
Veronica (Mary Gaitskill)
Veronica
15
Mary Gaitskill
The Assassins' Gate (George Packer)
The Assassins' Gate
16
George Packer
De Kooning: An American Master (Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan)
De Kooning: An American Master
17
Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan
Lost Painting (Jonathan Harr)
Lost Painting
18
Jonathan Harr
Postwar (Tony Judt)
Postwar
19
Tony Judt
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
The Year of Magical Thinking
20
Joan Didion
Absurdistan (Gary Shteyngart)
Absurdistan
21
Gary Shteyngart
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
22
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
23
The Lay of the Land (Richard Ford)
The Lay of the Land
24
Richard Ford
Special Topics in Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl)
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
25
Marisha Pessl
Falling Through the Earth (Danielle Trussoni)
Falling Through the Earth
26
Danielle Trussoni
The Looming Tower
The Looming Tower
27
Mayflower (Nathaniel Philbrick)
Mayflower
28
Nathaniel Philbrick
The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan)
The Omnivore's Dilemma
29
Michael Pollan
The Places in Between
The Places in Between
30
Man Gone Down (Michael Thomas)
Man Gone Down
31
Michael Thomas
Out Stealing Horses (Per Petterson)
Out Stealing Horses
32
Per Petterson
The Savage Detectives (Roberto Bolaño)
The Savage Detectives
33
Roberto Bolaño
Then We Came to the End
Then We Came to the End
34
Tree of Smoke (Denis Johnson)
Tree of Smoke
35
Denis Johnson
Imperial Life in the Emerald City (Rajiv Chandrasekaran)
Imperial Life in the Emerald City
36
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Little Heathens (Mildred Armstrong Kalish)
Little Heathens
37
Mildred Armstrong Kalish
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Jeffrey Toobin)
The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
38
Jeffrey Toobin
The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh (Linda Colley)
The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh
39
Linda Colley
The Rest Is Noise
The Rest Is Noise
40
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