The New York Times recently released The Best Books of the 21st Century. Authors, critics, book lovers, and more voted on these stories that range from thought-provoking nonfiction to award-winning literary fiction. Check to see if your favorite made the list!
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View the Complete New York Times List
Needless to say, when the New York Times released their list, the staff here at Borrow. Read. Repeat. were inspired to pick our own favorites. Check out our top picks from the New York Times list and our fave reads from 2024 . . . so far!
Elizabeth’s Picks:
The Husbands: A Novel by Holly Gramazio
The Husbands delights in asking: how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options? (“A bottomless champagne flute of a novel —The Washington Post).
The Known World: A Novel by Edward P. Jones
From Edward P. Jones comes one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory—winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Edward P. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.
Maureen’s Picks:
The God of the Woods: A Novel by Liz Moore
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.
A Brief History of Seven Killings: A Novel by Marlon James
A “thrilling, ambitious . . . intense” (Los Angeles Times) novel that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, from the author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
Rachel’s Picks:
Martyr!: A Novel by Kaveh Akbar
A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum.
The Vegetarian: A Novel by Han Kang
Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her.
Kate’s Picks:
Come and Get It: A Novel by Kiley Reid
From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.
Demon Copperhead: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver
From the acclaimed author of The Poisonwood Bible and The Bean Trees, a brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity.
Sharnell’s Picks:
Funny Story: A Novel by Emily Henry
A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mendel
An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
Miriam’s Picks:
Making Room: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging, and a Safe Place for LGBTQ Youth by Carl Siciliano
From a pioneering advocate for LGBTQ youth, a gripping, impassioned account of how an unhoused queer youth’s murder compelled him to create the nation’s largest housing program for homeless LGBTQ teens.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
One of the most acclaimed books of our time, this modern classic “has set a new standard for reporting on poverty” (Barbara Ehrenreich, The New York Times Book Review).
Jen R.’s Picks:
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg
From the author of The Power of Habit, a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work—and how we can all learn to be supercommunicators at work and in life.
Never Let Me Go: A Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day comes “a Gothic tour de force” (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist—a moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic.
Valeria’s Picks:
Catalina: A Novel by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom.
The Friend: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez
The New York Times bestselling story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog.
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