The NYT's half-baked best books attempt

And my own top ten

Here are MY credentials for speaking on this (I can read)

On Friday afternoon, as work was starting to wind down for the week, my phone began to light up with a series of text messages. Typically, a barrage of messages that all come at the same time originate from a single group chat, or, at least a single circle. I couldn’t pinpoint how my senders were connected until I opened the messages and realized: readers! Every last one of 'em. They were all sending me the link to the New York Times’ Best Books of the 21st Century List.

I thought I’d write about the list on Friday for my paid letter, but as I began to scan the list and exchange thoughts back and forth with friends, I became increasingly confused. How did they choose these books?

At face value, it’s obvious. Here’s what the NYT says:

In collaboration with the Upshot, we sent a survey to hundreds of literary luminaries, asking them to name the 10 best books published since Jan. 1, 2000.

And where’s what “Upshot” is, and what their “criteria” was:

In collaboration with the Upshot — the department at The Times focused on data and analytical journalism — the Book Review sent a survey to hundreds of novelists, nonfiction writers, academics, book editors, journalists, critics, publishers, poets, translators, booksellers, librarians and other literary luminaries, asking them to pick their 10 best books of the 21st century.

We let them each define “best” in their own way. For some, this simply meant “favorite.” For others, it meant books that would endure for generations.

The only rules: Any book chosen had to be published in the United States, in English, on or after Jan. 1, 2000. (Yes, translations counted!)

After casting their ballots, respondents were given the option to answer a series of prompts where they chose their preferred book between two randomly selected titles. We combined data from these prompts with the vote tallies to create the list of the top 100 books.

PROBLEM #1: THE DATA

Okay, so, there’s one rule, and there’s no clear definition of “best?” I’m not the Census Bureau, but I’ve sent and reviewed a few surveys in my professional career. And I can’t imagine any analyst (or layman with a Typeform account, comme moi) worth their salt would consider a survey where the results are so broadly defined as valuable, or even usable. And don’t even get me started on the last part. What does that mean? Were the randomly selected books from other authors’ lists, or truly randomly selected? Could a book on no one’s list make it into the Top 100? The answer appears to be yes, which is insane. Imagine conducting a survey at your job and then presenting data that no one offered up as results. (Also, books that multiple people nominated were excluded). Sam Altman is rubbing his fingers together like Dr. Evil right now. What in fresh AI hell is this?!

PROBLEM #2: THE VAGUENESS

What I would’ve preferred: 100 Culture-Defining Books. Books that have shaped society, spawned broader cultural movements, and sparked conversation outside of the incestuous literary industry where writers blindly blurb their friends, and certain authors are considered untouchable for their ‘prestige’ (until, of course, they fall). Also, Upshot claims that they interviewed “hundreds” of literary luminaries across the industry. So why did only 48 people make the selection list, almost all of whom are authors? Could we have at least seen a blurb featuring the names of the excluded, to determine whether we might agree with their taste, though the Times may not have?

PROBLEM #3: THE SELECTION COMMITTEE

Perhaps seeing the list of respondents in its entirety would assuage my concerns here, but. BUT. WHY IS THE MAJORITY OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE OVER SIXTY YEARS OLD? I thought we were talking about the 21st Century, the century in which Gen Z is poised to take over the world. The generations that came before them seem to both revere and fear them. And we’re not going to request their opinions on the books that have defined their generations? That aside, my cursory review of the committee’s ages (I tried to click all of them, but got frustrated when I hit my fifth 67-year-old and gave up), I only saw one Millennial (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, who is 33 and whose book I loved). I don’t mean any disrespect to Boomers or Gen X, but how could we not pull in some more Millennial and (any) Gen Z authority on the books that defined the era we grew up in? Even if we’re judging by “best” books, as in, ones we loved as opposed to those that had clear cultural impact, I think we deserve a bit more say.

ONTO THE PICKS…

Okay, the list is deeply flawed. But still, I love a list (we all love a list, non?). So, let’s review it. I’m only going to reference the books I’ve read, and I’m not going to link anything because then I’d have to copy and paste a million links, sorry.

Station Eleven. I read this in college and I still have no idea what the hype was about. Was not for moi.

Detransition Baby. I liked it, didn’t love. But I do see why this made the list; it was ambitious, creative and important.

The Story of the Lost Child. Elena Ferrante, yes, I’ve read it, and obviously loved it, the Neopolitan Novels are arguably my favorite books of all time. However: Days of Abandonment (haven’t read, not one of the Neopolitan Novels, but also by Ferrante) and My Brilliant Friend (the first Neopolitan Novel) are also on the list, and I’m not sure how I feel about including multiple works by the same author (Jessmyn Ward and George Saunders, who I haven’t read, also made the list multiple times) on a single list.

An American Marriage. Very glad this made the list. I read it all the way back in 2017 while visiting my sister in Australia and got a second-degree sunburn on Bondi Beach, so my memories of the plot are marred by that experience, but I do remember loving it.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I really enjoyed Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It’s an extremely charming novel, and the creative, modern premise and Zevin’s ability to get legions of readers to fall in love with a book about gaming and childhood illness is no small feat. It’s not one of my favorite books of all time, but I believe its spot is warranted.

Olive Kitteridge. DNF, I just know this was chosen by someone born in 1960. (I just looked it up. It was Nick Hornby. B. 1957). I would love someone to explain the hype behind this novel to me because I do not get it.

Demon Copperhead. Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.

Nickel and Dimed. Nightingale girls know…I might need to give this one another chance. (Can’t say I gave it my all when it was assigned for 8th grade summer reading).

Trust. So polarizing, but I really liked it, and, as with Tomorrow x3, I think it deserves a spot on the list for the incredibly clever storytelling (it’s hard to write one book. To write a book within a book within a book within a journal is another feat entirely).

The Goldfinch. They probably wanted to include The Secret History, but couldn’t because it came out in 1992. The Goldfinch was overrated, but The Secret History was not.

Small Things Like These. I loved it, but it’s a novella. Again, we need criteria here! My criteria would likely be 1) is it era-defining? 2) did it spark conversation? 3) was it beautifully written? 4) was it ambitious, impressive, and well-organized in scale or scope of plot? (Demon, Trust, Tomorrow)? STLT only delivers on #3 (though it should have delivered on #2, but no one wants to talk about Ireland in the 1990s yet…), so I’m not sure if it would’ve made my list.

A Visit from the Goon Squad. Yes. In fact, this mention has me compelled to give it a re-read.

White Teeth. Didn’t really like White Teeth, but I loved Swing Time, Intimations, and The Wife of Willesden…I’m going to read On Beauty.

Americanah. Yes.

Say Nothing. Did I like it? Yes. Best Books of the 21st Century? I don’t think so. I haven’t read Empire of Pain yet, but imagine how much more impactful it would be to have that on here. The Troubles are over. The Opioid Crisis is not. If NYT is going to be arbitrary in their awards process, they should at least do so in a way that serves the greater good.

Persepolis. Read it in French, didn’t like, saw the movie (I forget which language, which is crazy given how far I’ve fallen from fluency), didn’t like. Do not need to read in English. Graphic novels are not my medium (unless we’re talkin’ Betty & Veronica).

The Sellout. DNF, should I give it another try?

The Year of Magical Thinking. Far from my favorite Didion (controversially, love Play It As It Lays), though I know it’s far outside of the date range. I did NOT like South and West, but maybe I’ll try again. Haven’t read Let Me Tell You What I Mean.

Never Let Me Go. Yes. I love Kazuo Ishiguro. The Remains of the Day is too old for this list, but is a better book.

My Brilliant Friend. Yes, obviously.

ON TO MY WANT TO READS FROM THE LIST

Since I almost always read fiction, but know I have some non-fiction lovers in the house, * indicates non-fiction

Wolf Hall (insane I haven’t)

The Corrections (loved Purity)

The Underground Railroad

Austerlitz

The Brief & Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (I loved Drown, his story collection)

Pachinko (Free Food For Millionaires is so, so good)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Lincoln in the Bardo

Evicted*

Behind the Beautiful Forevers*

The Overstory (just because it seems to be the most polarizing book of all time, and I need to know what’s up)

Atonement

Cloud Atlas (I feel like I’m the only person who read The Bone Clocks and Slade House, but I loved both)

Sing Unburied, Sing

The Line of Beauty

Salvage the Bones

Between the World and Me*

A Brief History of Seven Killings (I brought this on a vacation to Spain once and didn’t even crack it open, then forgot it at my grandparents house, if that counts as trying)

Postwar* (had never heard of, and this looks GOOD)

Life After Life (you know when you have a book you’ve wanted to read for years, but just…haven’t? That’s me with this book since college, when Barnes & Noble still existed on 86th & Lex. I used to go “almost buy it” like once a week)

Train Dreams

Heavy*

Veronica

The Great Believers (really enjoyed I Have Some Questions for You)

The Plot Against America

Secondhand Time*

Pulphead*

The Sympathizer

The Days of Abandonment

On Beauty

Bel Canto

THE GLARING OMISSIONS (ACCORDING TO ME, AND OTHERS)

Harry Potters 4-7

Especially since multiple people on the list chose it. First of all: if you’re choosing what you posit is an objective best books list, you need to be able to cast aspersions aside and separate the art from the artist (plus, a friend of mine pointed out that Alice Munro made the list, though she also noted it may have gone to press before this story broke). Harry Potter was both enjoyable AND culture-defining, and, again, selected by multiple people on the list. How did this happen?

Fates and Furies

Multiple people (myself included) are shocked this didn’t make the list.

A Little Life

Probably because of the article linked above, also some people noted they were happy this one didn’t make this list, so who knows!

Anything Jhumpa Lahiri

Shamefully, I have not read any Jhumpa Lahiri, but more than one person suggested her. The Namesake and Unaccustomed Earth, alongside a number of her other books, came out in the 2000s. Interpreter of Maladies (1999) juuuust missed the list.

A Gentleman in Moscow

I was texting a friend about this and we agreed this book doesn’t deserve the hate it gets. People are so snobby about it! I loved it.

Song of Ice and Fire Series

I’m not a fantasy reader, but we also know how I feel about Game of Thrones. Some of this series came out in the 90s and prior, but a lot of it didn’t, and I agree it’s a huge omission given the cultural relevance George RR Martin sparked.

Shuggie Bain

I haven’t read it, but I want to.

Homegoing

Transcendent Kingdom is one of my favorite books of all time, I haven’t read Homegoing one but I will.

The Nix

Literally, wtf?

Anything Meg Wolitzer

I mean, really?

Sally Rooney

Again, in terms of cultural relevance, a surprising omission.

Sapiens

Surprised by this as well, even though it’s boring.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Another iconic book with a fascinating backstory (published posthumously), and a work in translation (from Swedish). As many people rightly noted, there wasn’t enough representation for works in translation.

The Dinner

I added this, even though I didn’t put it in my top 10. A work in translation (from Dutch) featuring a cast of morally questionable characters and a deeply unreliable narrator. Absorbing.

The Perfect Nanny

Another one I added…and then didn’t put on my list below (I LOVE WAY MORE THAN 10 BOOKS, SORRY). A deeply jarring book in translation (from French) about a nanny who kills her two charges and the aftermath. I know it sounds horrible, and it is, but it’s a spare, sharp book that goes DEEP on a ton of cultural questions without wasting a single word.

ON TO MY OWN PERSONAL TOP 10

Yes, I’m cheating by separating fiction & non-fiction. My fiction faves change A LOT, so this is just a picture of what they look like today. I NEEEED more non-fiction recs (I know, Erik Larson and Walter Isaacson, I will, but…not quite yet)

FICTION

1. Fates and Furies

2. The Nix

3. Transcendent Kingdom

4. My Brilliant Friend

5. The Marriage Portrait

6. The Mothers

7. The Interestings

8. Demon Copperhead

9. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

10. Normal People (a book that launched a million imitations, and a lot of pretension. Where’s the credit?)

NON-FICTION

1. Red Notice

2. A Promised Land

3. In Extremis

4. Killers of the Flower Moon

5. House of Glass

6. Hood Feminism

7. Humankind

8. Say Nothing (despite white I said—for non-fiction specific, would not be on my all-time list)

9. I Will Teach You To Be Rich (NO ONE LAUGH, this changed the way I think about money, and EVERY young person should read it)

10. Everything I Know About Love (again, every young person should read this—if you’re obsessed with your friends, you’re going to love it)

Thoughts? Feelings? Questions? Concerns? Your own personal top 10? I NEED TO KNOW IT ALL!