Best Books of the 21st Century

We are only in the early part of the 21st century, but there are already a lot of amazing books to read. Whether you’re interested in a thriller or a memoir, self-help or YA lit, this list will help you find great books to enjoy! 

Popular Fiction

Thrillers

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Mystery

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Family

Room by Emma Donoghue

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Fantasy/Horror

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 

Suspense

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Joyland by Stephen King 

Time Travel

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffennegger

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Romance

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 

Literary Fiction

Dystopia

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Fantasy

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Identity

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Magic Realism

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Comic Books

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon 

Crime

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

History

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Family

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Mystery

Suspense

Atonement by Ian McEwan

The Traitor’s Emblem by Juan Gomez-Jurado

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Literary

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley 

Baseball

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach 

Discover a New Culture

Civil Rights

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Epistolary

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows 

Japan

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Historical

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Romance

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Fantasy

Epic

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Vampires

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Magic

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Video Games

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

Historical

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Literary

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Romance

Matched by Ally Condie

Fiction for Kids

Teen Literature

Historical

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 

Thriller

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Fantasy

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Relationships

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Vampires

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Vampire Academy by Richelle Meed

Children’s Literature

Coming of Age

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Thriller

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Peril

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End by Lemony Snicket 

Fantasy

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman 

Young Adults

Historical

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Humor

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Nonfiction

Memoirs

Family

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Humor

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Medical

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander 

Current Events

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Self-Fulfillment

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Food

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

Business

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Blink by Malcom Gladwell

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt

Biography

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Grammar

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

History

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

U.S. Government

The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic by Mark R. Levin 

Humor

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 

Inspiration

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch 

Nutrition

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Self-Help

Relationships

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Inspirational

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown

Business

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Good to Great by Jim Collins

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg


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