Five Favorite 21st Century Novels

[warren99]

What are your five favorite 21st century novels read so far:

Mine (not necessarily in order) are the following:

Atonement, Ian McEwan
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
The Road, Cormac McCarthy

 

[LeafErikson]

Year of wonders - Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

My name is red - Orhan Pamuk (came out in 1998 but yeah)

The weight of ink - Rachel Kadish

Stories of your Life - Ted Chiang (a novella but I like breaking rules)

 

[warren]

I eagerly await anything by Ann Hillerman so, her last five novels.

 

[brooklynpiper]

Netanyahus
Corrections
Tree of Smoke
Train Dreams
Knausgaard My Struggle

Off the top of my head

 

[LeafErikson]

I eagerly await anything by Ann Hillerman so, her last five novels.

That’s kind’ve where I’m at with Geraldine Brooks but the ending of her last novel was a bit too preachy for me. I’ll be sure to check out Ann Hillerman thanks Warren

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Everything from Vince Flynn... I'm a sucker for the Mitch Rapp series.

Wool series by Hugh Howey - Wool, Shift, Dust

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline ...As usual, the book is way better than the shit movie they put out. I read this when it 1st came out and was giving the contest go for the DeLorean he was giving away. I couldn't make it past the 2nd challenge which was a stupid Facebook game.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh

Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

 

[warren99]

Netanyahus
Corrections
Tree of Smoke
Train Dreams
Knausgaard My Struggle

Off the top of my head

Did you finish all six volumes of My Struggle?

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh

Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

I wondered why people were leaving laughing emojis to my post then I noticed the title for the thread said "21st century novels". Oops!

I think "A Farewell to Arms " was written in the 1920's so it's only 80 years shy of the 21st century. Close but no cigar, which is unfortunate considering this is a smoking forum.

I haven't read any 21st century novels so I obviously can't make a top 5 list. These days I mainly read true crime books and biographies.


I'll be quiet now

 

[brooklynpiper]

Did you finish all six volumes of My Struggle?

Not yet! Lol, I’ve read the first two so far but plan on reading the third soon.

When I posted I only meant the first one.

An extra thought: I really think part of why it’s a good rec despite being six volumes is that each volume (so far) is very self-contained and satisfying. They end with something more like off-ramps than cliffhangers. What keeps me coming back to them is not the need to find out what happens but the quality of the writing.

 

[Streeper541]

I assume by novels you mean fiction... If so, my top five (in no particular order) of the 21st century are:

Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey

Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan

11/22/63 - Stephen King

Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

 

[PA Piper Mike]

I assume by novels you mean fiction... If so, my top five (in no particular order) of the 21st century are:

Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey

Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan

11/22/63 - Stephen King

Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

11/22/63 (still need to watch the series), Angels & Demons, and The DaVinci Code were fun reads! Forgot about those.

Digital Fortress and Deception Point were also solid Dan Brown (non-Robert Langdon) books.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

This is a tough question. Most novels I love were published (well) before 2000. And what novels I like after that date tend to blur novel with memoir/essay. But given some leeway, I’d say:

A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz (categorized as memoir)

Some of the post -2000 graphic novels of Jiro Tanaguchi. “A distant neighborhood “ especially

Solenoid by Cărtărescu.

Yoga by Carrère

And for fun a mystery by Donna Leon, or Michael Connelly
Or maybe Larry Block?

 

[doccaliban]

What are your five favorite 21st century novels read so far:

Mine (not necessarily in order) are the following:

Atonement, Ian McEwan
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
The Road, Cormac McCarthy

I had no idea that The Road was not pre-21st!
I'll lump the entire 9-book Expanse series into my #1 of 5 slot in answer to your question. I'll have to actually remember the other things I've read in order to fill out the last 4!

 

[Streeper541]

I had no idea that The Road was not pre-21st!
I'll lump the entire 9-book Expanse series into my #1 of 5 slot in answer to your question. I'll have to actually remember the other things I've read in order to fill out the last 4!

The Expanse novels (and series) are phenomenal.

 

[doccaliban]

The Expanse novels (and series) are phenomenal.

I have read and listened to the books... quite a number of times. I've watched the show through twice.

 

[serpentx]

JG Ballard - Super-Cannes
Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union
David Foster Wallace - The Pale King
Umberto Eco - The Prague Cemetery
Thomas Pynchon - Inherent Vice

 

[LeafErikson]

I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how many legit answers the OP is getting. I figured there’d be way more “older books are more better because classics were written when people could write good 70 years ago so I only read old books and people aren’t good at being creative anymore.”

 

[warren99]

I had no idea that The Road was not pre-21st!
I'll lump the entire 9-book Expanse series into my #1 of 5 slot in answer to your question. I'll have to actually remember the other things I've read in order to fill out the last 4!

The Road was published in ‘06. It won the Pulitzer in ‘07.

 

[sablebrush52]

I’m a sucker for a well written mystery, so anything written by Lawrence Block, for starters.