Best Books of the Millenium?
By Kristen on Nov 9, 2009 in Book Club Favorites, Future Classics...?, Literary News
The Millions blog recently decided to find out which books are the very best so far of this millenium. They created two lists — one with reader favorites and one with the favorites of “experts.” I double-starred (**) the titles I read (and loved) and single-starred (*) the titles I tried to read, but didn’t finish. Please feel free to recommend any of the other titles I haven’t read yet by leaving a comment!
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Panel
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Readers
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1
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*The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen |
1
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**The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz |
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2
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*The Known World by Edward P. Jones |
2
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>2666 by Roberto Bolaño |
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3
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Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell |
3
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>**Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides |
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4
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2666 by Roberto Bolaño |
4
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Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell |
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5
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Pastoralia by George Saunders |
5
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**The Road by Cormac McCarthy |
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6
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**The Road by Cormac McCarthy |
6
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**Atonement by Ian McEwan |
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7
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Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald |
7
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**The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon |
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8
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>**Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson |
8
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>*The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen |
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9
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> Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro |
9
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>**Gilead by Marilynne Robinson |
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10
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>**Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro |
10
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White Teeth by Zadie Smith |
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11
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**The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz |
11
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> Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami |
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12
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Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg |
12
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**The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini |
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13
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Mortals by Norman Rush |
13
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**Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro |
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14
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**Atonement by Ian McEwan |
14
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Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald |
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15
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Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis |
15
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Empire Falls by Richard Russo |
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16
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**Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides |
16
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Runaway by Alice Munro |
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17
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The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem |
17
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The Master by Colm Tóibín |
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18
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Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link |
18
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Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
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19
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American Genius, A Comedy by Lynne Tillman |
19
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**Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri |
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20
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**Gilead by Marilynne Robinson |
20
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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke |
So, what do you think? How many have you read already? Which ones are you hoping to read soon? Also, here is a link to the Millions ”honorable mentions.”
Welcome back!
The only one I’ve read besides the ones you have starred is Half of a Yellow Sun, and it was excellent. Thanks for this list!
Sarah at SmallWorld Reads | Nov 9, 2009 | Reply
Thank you for the recommendation, Sarah! I will request Sun from the library — I hadn’t even heard of it yet!?!
That might be a good follow-up question… which of the titles have you NOT heard of?
I would have to list eleven titles! You can bet I’ll be requesting them from the library at some point…
Kristen | Nov 9, 2009 | Reply