Something’s Missing: Our Additions to the NYT Top 100 Books of the 21st Century

If you’re anything like us, you’ve spent the past week analyzing, discussing, and rewriting the New York TimesTop 100 Books of the 21st Century list. Lots of folks have taken issue with books being left out. (So many so that the Times created a readers’ version of the list as well!) But we’re talking twenty-four years of books here — there will inevitably be some favorites that don’t make the cut. That said, in our wildest dreams, the Parnassus staff would have been consulted to add a handful of equally great titles to an already great list. Seeing as the Times has yet to give us a call, we’ve decided to make our own list of additions, accompanied by a few words we’d use to describe these honorable mentions.


Cat’s Additions

Circe By Madeline Miller Cover ImageCirce

By Madeline Miller

Introspective, feminist, and mythological”

Imagine Me Gone By Adam Haslett Cover ImageImagine Me Gone

By Adam Haslett

Heart-breaking, vivid, and thoughtful”

Katie’s Additions

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A new fantasy series set a thousand years before The City of Brass By Shannon Chakraborty Cover ImageThe Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

By Shannon Chakraborty

Heroic, adventurous, and transportive”

Something Wild & Wonderful By Anita Kelly Cover ImageSomething Wild & Wonderful

By Anita Kelly

“Tender, big-hearted, and revolutionary”

Mac’s Additions

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel By Ocean Vuong Cover ImageOn Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel

By Ocean Vuong

Reflective, American, and sobering”

Night Sky with Exit Wounds By Ocean Vuong Cover ImageNight Sky with Exit Wounds

By Ocean Vuong

Thoughtful, gay, and expansive”

Tara’s Additions

Before I Let Go (Skyland) By Kennedy Ryan Cover ImageBefore I Let Go

By Kennedy Ryan

Sexy, mature, and deeply romantic”

A Man Called Ove: A Novel By Fredrik Backman Cover ImageA Man Called Ove: A Novel

By Fredrik Backman

Hopeful, poignant, and weepy”

Rachel’s Additions

Beartown: A Novel (Beartown Series) By Fredrik Backman Cover ImageBeartown: A Novel

By Fredrik Backman

Gut-wrenching, intimate, and profound”

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution By R. F. Kuang Cover ImageBabel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution

By R. F. Kuang

Entirely original, thought provoking, and life altering”

RJ’s Additions

Nothing to See Here: A Novel By Kevin Wilson Cover ImageNothing to See Here: A Novel

By Kevin Wilson

Emotional, hilarious, and unique”

This Is How You Lose the Time War By Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone Cover ImageThis Is How You Lose the Time War

By Amal El-MohtarMax Gladstone

Poetic, sweeping, and transformative”

Rae Ann’s Additions

TThe Night Circus: A Novel By Erin Morgenstern Cover Imagehe Night Circus: A Novel

By Erin Morgenstern

“Transportive and fantastical”

Lindsay’s Additions

Life on Mars: Poems By Tracy K. Smith Cover ImageLife on Mars: Poems

By Tracy K. Smith

Space! Grief!! Bowie!!!”

Less (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): A Novel (The Arthur Less Books #1) By Andrew Sean Greer Cover ImageLess: A Novel

By Andrew Sean Greer

Oh happy gays!”

Chelsea’s Additions

Homegoing By Yaa Gyasi Cover ImageHomegoing

By Yaa Gyasi

Powerful, emotional, and well-crafted”

Aly’s Additions

Bunny: A Novel By Mona Awad Cover ImageBunny: A Novel

By Mona Awad

Dark, humorous, and weird”

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories By Kevin Wilson Cover ImageTunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories

By Kevin Wilson

Real, alluring, and tenacious”

Elyse’s Additions

The Dutch House: A Novel By Ann Patchett Cover ImageThe Dutch House: A Novel

By Ann Patchett

Beautifully layered and brilliantly written”

My Year Abroad: A Novel By Chang-rae Lee Cover ImageMy Year Abroad: A Novel

By Chang-rae Lee

Powerful, complex, and compelling”

Sarah’s Additions

The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini Cover ImageThe Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

“Affecting, perceptive, and stunning”

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption By Bryan Stevenson Cover ImageJust Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

By Bryan Stevenson

“Illuminating, infuriating, and hopeful”

Heath’s Additions

The Song of Achilles: A Novel By Madeline Miller Cover ImageThe Song of Achilles: A Novel

By Madeline Miller

Heartbreaking, transporting, and powerful”

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel By Susanna Clarke Cover ImageJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel

By Susanna Clarke

“Otherworldly, magic, and unforgettable”