The New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century - Wikipedia

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The New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century is a ranked list of the 100 best books published in the English language since January 1, 2000.

The list was compiled by a team of critics and editors at The New York Times and, with the input of 503 writers and academics, assessed the books based on their impact, originality, and lasting influence. The selection includes novels, memoirs, history books, and other nonfiction works from various genres, representing well-known and emerging authors.^[1]

The following are a few of the individuals who contributed to the list.

Authors (fiction)

Authors (non-fiction)

Journalists and critics

Other professions

The highest-ranked book on the list was the Elena Ferrante novel My Brilliant Friend published in 2012. Authors Ferrante, Jesmyn Ward, and George Saunders each had three books on the list, the most of any author. The following authors were listed twice: Roberto Bolaño, Edward P. Jones, Denis Johnson, Alice Munro, Hilary Mantel, Zadie Smith and Philip Roth.^[2]

The list was criticized as biased towards English-language books, particularly those published by American authors.^[3] Nigerian academic Ainehi Edoro criticized the lack of literature by African authors and the predominance of American literature on the list and called the list "an act of cultural erasure".^[4] The list was also criticized for its lack of genres such as graphic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and children's literature.^[5] Indian publication Scroll.in wrote of the list "How much, and for how long, is America going to obsess over reading and dissecting itself? Why do reading lists emerging from the West claim authority on culture with such hyperbole?"^[6]