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

Vulture's Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon

What if you could start a canon from scratch? New York magazine's Vulture thought it might be fun to speculate (very prematurely) on what a canon of the 21st century might look like right now. A couple of months ago, they reached out to dozens of critics and authors — well-established voices (Michiko Kakutani, Luc Sante), more radical thinkers (Eileen Myles), younger reviewers for outlets like n+1, and some of their best-read contributors, too. They asked each of them to name several books that belong among the most important 100 works of fiction, memoir, poetry, and essays since 2000 and tallied the results. The purpose was not to build a fixed library but to take a blurry selfie of a cultural moment.
Read More
566 users · 5,510 views
 
from vulture.com · made by Jen Steerswell
avg. score: 9 of 107 (8%)
required scores: 1, 3, 5, 8, 14 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 3
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai
1
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections
2
Jonathan Franzen
Freedom (Jonathan Franzen)
Freedom
3
Jonathan Franzen
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
4
Kazuo Ishiguro
How Should a Person Be
How Should a Person Be
5
The Neapolitan Novels (Elena Ferrante)
The Neapolitan Novels
6
Elena Ferrante
The Argonauts (Maggie Nelson)
The Argonauts
7
Maggie Nelson
2666 (Roberto Bolaño)
2666
8
Roberto Bolaño
The Savage Detectives (Roberto Bolaño)
The Savage Detectives
9
Roberto Bolaño
The Sellout (Paul Beatty)
The Sellout
10
Paul Beatty
Outline (Rachel Cusk)
Outline
11
Rachel Cusk
Atonement (Ian McEwan)
Atonement
12
Ian McEwan
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
The Year of Magical Thinking
13
Joan Didion
Leaving the Atocha Station
Leaving the Atocha Station
14
The Flamethrowers (Rachel Kushner)
The Flamethrowers
15
Rachel Kushner
Erasure (Percival Everett)
Erasure
16
Percival Everett
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
17
Jeffrey Eugenides
Platform
Platform
18
Do Everything in the Dark (Gary Indiana)
Do Everything in the Dark
19
Gary Indiana
The Known World (Edward P. Jones)
The Known World
20
Edward P. Jones
The Plot Against America (Philip Roth)
The Plot Against America
21
Philip Roth
The Human Stain (Philip Roth)
The Human Stain
22
Philip Roth
The Line of Beauty (Alan Hollinghurst)
The Line of Beauty
23
Alan Hollinghurst
Veronica (Mary Gaitskill)
Veronica
24
Mary Gaitskill
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Road
25
Cormac McCarthy
Ooga Booga
Ooga Booga
26
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Díaz)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
27
Junot Díaz
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
28
Hilary Mantel
The Possessed (Elif Batuman)
The Possessed
29
Elif Batuman
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (Aimee Bender)
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
30
Aimee Bender
Mr Fox (Helen Oyeyemi)
Mr Fox
31
Helen Oyeyemi
Lives Other Than My Own (Emmanuel Carrere)
Lives Other Than My Own
32
Emmanuel Carrere
The Kingdom (Emmanuel Carrere)
The Kingdom
33
Emmanuel Carrere
Zone One (Colson Whitehead)
Zone One
34
Colson Whitehead
Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor
35
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
36
Gillian Flynn
NW (Zadie Smith)
NW
37
Zadie Smith
White Girls (Hilton Als)
White Girls
38
Hilton Als
My Struggle (Karl Ove Knausgaard)
My Struggle
39
Karl Ove Knausgaard
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
The Goldfinch
40
Donna Tartt
Page 1 of 3
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'Vulture's Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon'
Vulture's 100+ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
Vulture's 100+ Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
1,480
108
The New Canon: The 21 Books From the 21st Century Every Man Should Read
The New Canon: The 21 Books From the 21st Century Every Man Should Read
320
21
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
Vulture's Best Books of the Century (For Now)
Vulture's Best Books of the Century (For Now)
360
107
The Canon Part 5: The 19th Century
The Canon Part 5: The 19th Century
911
264
The Canon Part 4: The 18th Century
The Canon Part 4: The 18th Century
696
49
The Canon Part 3: 11th Through the 17th Century
The Canon Part 3: 11th Through the 17th Century
564
81
The Canon Part 2: First Through the 10th Century
The Canon Part 2: First Through the 10th Century
477
34
Books With Canon and Non-Canon OT3 (Submissions List)
Books With Canon and Non-Canon OT3 (Submissions List)
56
16
A Lifetime's Reading: Years 16-20 (Premature Termination)
A Lifetime's Reading: Years 16-20 (Premature Termination)
124
15
100 Best Books of the 21st Century
100 Best Books of the 21st Century
52,409
100
Goodreads' Top 100 Books From the 21st Century (So Far)
Goodreads' Top 100 Books From the 21st Century (So Far)
10,153
100
The Greatest Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
The Greatest Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
8,777
240
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)
4,896
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
The Most Important Novels of the 21st Century (At Least According to "Goodreads")
The Most Important Novels of the 21st Century (At Least According to "Goodreads")
3,778
100
21st Century Books
21st Century Books
2,671
200
A 21st Century Reading List
A 21st Century Reading List
2,352
150
100 21st Century Novels
100 21st Century Novels
2,347
100
100 21st-Century Novels to Love
100 21st-Century Novels to Love
2,257
100
Best Books of the 21st Century
Best Books of the 21st Century
2,246
33
150 Most Popular Books Published in the 21st Century Read by SDM Listman
150 Most Popular Books Published in the 21st Century Read by SDM Listman
1,927
150
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
A Random List of Books From the 20th and 21st Century
A Random List of Books From the 20th and 21st Century
1,666
100
Solid 21st Century Reading List
Solid 21st Century Reading List
1,641
100
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
50 Best Contemporary Novels From the 21st Century That You Should Read
50 Best Contemporary Novels From the 21st Century That You Should Read
1,387
50
Goodreads: Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century
Goodreads: Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century
1,386
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