Sunday Special: The 100 Best Books of the Century (So Far)

hi everyone it's Sabrina we're taking a. break from our usual weekend routine to. bring you something special today it's. summer it's be reading time maybe you. need a book to take a break from the. news anyway our wonderful colleagues at. the New York Times book review recently. compiled a list of the 100 best books of. the 21st century so far to be clear this. is not a list of bestsellers or just. literary Award winners I mean there's. some of those but to make their list.

they surveyed more than 500 novelists. poets critics editors and readers it's a. very cool project and it's a super. interesting list it's gotten a huge. response and so today we're sending you. the episode of their podcast it's an. episode about this list and what's on it. you should also know that Beyond this. episode The New York Times book reviews. podcast comes out regularly they have. fascinating conversations.

all the time including with some of the. phenomenal writers on this recent list. so sign up for their show wherever you. listen to. us okay here they. [Music]. are I'm Gilbert Cruz editor of the New. York Times book review and this is the. book review podcast on this week's. episode I'm very excited to finally talk. about a project that we've been working. on for much of 202 24 and which is.

finally out there in the world the 100. best books of the 21st century so far if. you're listening to this show if you're. listening to a podcast about books I. have to think you've already seen part. or all of it joining me this week are. three editors who have been deep in the. weeds with me on this since January Tina. Jordan hello hi J Monica T welcome back. hi Gilbert and Scott heler this is your. first time on the show it is I'm now I'm.

excited to be here thanks I'm excited to. have all of you on so I'm hoping we can. have a free flowing discussion about. this effort about some of the books on. the list books that didn't make the list. there's a lot to dig into here and I. want to start by asking someone else. who's not me Tina why did we do this why. did we do this because we looked around. and we it was almost the quarter Century. Mark we're book nerds who like to C oriz.

and make lists and we thought what are. the best books of the 21st century so. far and we started to argue about it we. started to talk ourselves about the. things we'd read since January 1st 2000. that we loved and then we thought hey. maybe there's something here but let's. put this out to a lot of people because. normally we would have just done this. inhouse we would have pulled the editors. we have pulled the critics our wonderful. critics and that would have been it but. this seemed like an opportunity do.

something bigger given that we ask all. these writers all the time to write for. us to review books to appear in our. Pages we figured we could actually use. their voices towards something massive. and this thing is massive Scott is. someone who's still relatively new to. the desk as new as I am you've only been. here about two years what was the most. surprising thing to you about this. effort this project what ended up being. most surprising actually was how many. people were willing to share their B.

we bent over backwards to let people. know this was Anonymous and don't worry. we're not going to reveal who you pick. who you left off and yet so many people. were willing to come forward with what. they selected and I think that's one of. the best things about it in fact the. aggregated list is wonderful and there's. plenty to argue about but when you go. get in and dig into what Stephen King. put on his list in fact he put himself. on his list which I think people have. gotten a kick out of but many others. came forward and I think that makes for.

sort of wonderful reading in and of. itself and also you get to see a lot of. quirky choices that maybe many people. didn't vote for but that individuals are. passionate about and I really enjoyed. that Scott I think you're right I think. seeing some of the ballots possibly is. is more entertaining to some of our. readers than seeing the list itself I. have to say in our earliest discussions. about this project one of the things. that was an inspiration certainly for me. was the Sight and Sound list for those. of you who don't know Sight and Sound is.

a British film journal and ever since. 1952 or 1962 every 10 years they've. taken a poll of critics and then it. turned into a poll of critics and film. directors and they asked them to put. their top films of all time and every 10. years it's a big deal when this list. runs particularly over the past couple. decades because not only do they run the. list but they run the ballots. of the most famous critics and the most. famous directors you can see what gal. deloro and Barry Jenkins and I don't.

know if Steven Spielberg participated. but you can imagine all the people whose. list are on there and just get a real. sense of their taste and then the other. thing that is interesting about this. list is that it changes over time so. Citizen Cane was the top movie for many. decades and then vertigo was a top movie. and now there's a French movie Jean dman. other French words I cannot pronounce. that is the top movie I'm not saying. we're going to do this every 10 years. but it certainly is an inspiration to to. try to capture a moment in time and.

whatever else you want to say about this. list it is a snapshot of this moment in. time there probably books on here if you. took this poll at the end of this year. would not be on here if you had taken it. earlier they would not be on here this. is what people in the spring of 2024. that we pulled thought were the 100 best. books so let's talk about some of these. books I'd love to start with our number. one book which I don't know was were. people surprised was anyone in this room. at least surpris that my brilliant.

Friend by Elena fante was according to. our 503 respondents the number one book. of the 21st century I was surprised okay. but maybe I shouldn't have been because. as a reminder to our. listeners we asked our respondents to. choose what they thought were the 10. best books of the century so far but we. didn't Define best for them and people. clearly defined it in different ways. they defined it as the book they loved.

that they pass along to people they. defined it. as the books they thought would still be. around Generations from now but it. really seems to me that a lot of the. people who took our poll were just like. voting for the books that had struck. them right the books they could not get. out of their heads absolutely and I. think we're all going to touch on what. books fell into our own personal. categories of books we couldn't get out. of our head but talk a little bit more.

about fante thankfully luckily we have a. fon expert on here apparently there's. several Fon experts on the desk but we. have one who is in studio who wrote a. wonderful article that that published in. conjunction with this project looking at. all the theories about who Elena fante. is Elena fante is an author who uses an. alias we don't really know who the. author is there are theories and. suspicions but first Jam i' I'd love for. you to talk about just the book and. maybe the neopol Court as a whole two of.

them appeared on this list there is of. course some irony of being a being an. expert on somebody that we don't even. know who it is but I will lean into that. with pride so Tina I I actually agree. with you that I was surprised to see my. brilliant friend first I do think it's a. nice representation of a couple things. obviously this whole quartet touched. people really deeply but also I think. we're all still coming out of fante. fever do you remember those years where.

it was everybody was reading these books. like it was an actual event when she had. a new book coming out when the HBO. adaptations were on so I liked that this. top pick represents a couple different. ways of looking at what best really. means in case you are one of the people. who has not been infected with fante. fever my brilliant friend is the first. in a series of four books that is now. known as the Neapolitan quartet it.

follows a lifelong friendship between. two girls who are growing up in Naples. they're poor they're both fiercely. intelligent they're both preternaturally. smart and preter naturally attached to. each other from the time that they're. young girls they are doubles of one. another and it's a very charged. relationship there's jealousy there's. rivalry but it's. also built on a type of love that you. only I think can really Foster when.

you're at that age and you attach on a. friend like that I think I read this. pretty much the first when it came out. in English so I followed the course of. all these novels as they were arriving. and something that a lot of people were. responding to myself included was that. it was one of the first times we had. seen the complexities of a female. friendship so substantively discussed. there was so much recognition in it and. it was a pleasure and I think too.

so the series if you stick with it and I. think you should because personally my. favorite is not the first one and I'm. not going to tell you what my favorite. is but that's an incentive to continue. with the series we're going to get this. out of you maybe I'm a locked box man. anyway so you see the women grow up you. see them throughout their entire lives. and you see how their lives intersect. with the history of Italy with Naples. with all sexism and communism and labor. movements and she does it very. delicately and I guess is the last. Easter egg since I am the in studio.

foron expert I would not say I am an. expert outside of this studio is that a. couple years ago I wanted to write a. piece about fante's English translator. an Goldstein who really helped Elevate. fante's profile outside of Italy and I. talked to a bunch of people who had who. knew fante because of course she was. really well loved in Italy before the. Neapolitan quartet so I talked with a. lot of other translators people who know.

a lot about Italian literature people. who had actually audition to to. translate fante into English and and. lost out to Anne and they said as much. as I love fante in Italian I think an. makes them even better in. English Scott have you read any of the. front book i' I've read the first one. and now I'm going to have to admit that. I haven't continued with it so we're in. the same boat in the same boat yeah I. have to say I I I was completely Charmed. I love the two of them I love the.

fierceness of their friendship and I. don't read series typically so that may. be why I didn't continue but that's. that's my footall I'm struck by. something you said which is these books. were a cultural moment and fante fever. was a thing and it was and I was. completely consumed by it but a lot of. other books that we saw as cultural. moments since 2000 aren't on this list.

so what sets it apart what made this one. pop like there's a lot of good books. that people were seeing carrying. everywhere whether it's SE biscuit or. Gone Girl and I will fight you about. Gone Girl it is a really good book um. that are not on this list I Love Gone. Girl to be clear I don't love it I don't. love it enough to maybe vote for it but. I love it so that's a great question and. I have some hypotheses I don't have a. definitive answer one thing I will will. say is that I think people over the.

course of his series and I understand. that there are people like you Scott who. just don't you know life is short why. are you going to stick with four books. for what it's worth fante herself. considers all four of these books one. long novel that are basically serialized. like Dickens I don't know if you've if. you've invested a thousand pages with. these two people they're going to stick. with you maybe more than uh a woman who. the title will tell you is gone it's. hard it's harder to be closer with kind. of person if she's absent that's my.

theory is that how like TV creators like. no this is actually an 11-hour. movie which is not at all annoying when. they say that I mean also everybody who. doesn't want to visit Italy in one way. or another right true although postwar. Naval that is true that is true I don't. want to go in the meat. factory don't want to so what were you. surprised at Tina that was not on this. list since you brought it up what. cultural moments no Gone Girl no prep by. Curtis sittenfeld no Sea Biscuit by.

Laura hillenbrand I didn't really expect. to see Kevin Quan on there but that book. was huge I just I feel like the books. that were when we were seeing people. carry around books not that we do. anymore like so few of those ended up on. the list let me ask this question then. not to mess with the conceit of our own. list but we talked about how everyone. defined best in a different way is this. did people overemphasize the the the.

over literary the ones that they think. are fancy are the ones they should pick. as opposed to gang girl which I put on. my list all of us in this room took the. poll we're not going to share our. results with you we're not going to. share our ballots but I put gang girl on. my list I think gong girl is a great. book that is extremely well written that. most people loved at the time and I. think will continue to be read I agree. with you I do think people aired towards. what they considered to be great mhm I.

think there's less fun reading on this. list than I thought there would be but. what is a fun book on this list who. wants to pick a fun book on this list. pastoralia by George Saunders okay this. is coming in at a cool 85 but I was. delighted we want to have story. collections on here pastoralia is. hysterical if you only read one thing in. it read sea Oak which is one of my. favorite short stories of all time so. George Saunders had three books on here.

there there are only three authors that. had three books on here George Saunders. with two story Collections and his novel. Lincoln in the BAU fante had two of her. Neapolitan quartet and then the days of. Abandonment and Jasmine Ward had her. Memoir and two novels just to hang one. more beat on George Saunders why is he. good I'm not saying he's not are we. doing 11-hour series on George Saunders. cuz I can f sure if I want okay in. Pastor Al you see his really bizarre.

Bonkers laugh out loud funny he's a very. emotional writer he doesn't stray away. from things that seem difficult he takes. on some big stuff I mean Lincoln and the. BTO is one of the better books about. grief that I've read in a long time and. longtime listeners of this podcast know. I love grief books although not the Joan. didan that's on here but we can get to. that later and I think he's able to. render these what can often feel like. oppressive overwhelming human.

experiences into things that are very. manageable like deceptively simple so. I'm delighted he's on here Scott I think. one thing we should remember is that we. went to and got answers from a lot of. writers who teach in universities and. probably many many many fiction writers. are graduates of MFA programs and George. Saunders is an incredibly influential. figure in that world and I bet a lot of. I'm I don't think this shape the answers.

but plenty of his students are among the. most important writers of of this. generation and are on this list in fact. so I think he's at the center of taste. making in some ways and I I think you. know I know what Tina and I and all of. us had discussed as we were trying to. put together a wish list of who would. actually vote is going Beyond only sort. of experts in literary fiction and that. I think is I think ultimately I I think. it's literary fiction writers who ended.

up answering the survey probably more. than any others and that's why the list. reflected their taste I would say I. don't know about that you don't think so. okay well to be clear I think we asked. more literary fiction writers than genre. writers for sure there are quite a few. genre writers and they still went fancy. to use Gilbert's term. yeah you can see on our on the ballot. that Scott referred to the page where. you can see a bunch of writers Bots you. have Rebecca Ron horse you have Sarah.

mlen some of these writers who really. you know write within a genre and focus. their their picks probably very. deliberately on genre books because they. had a sense perhaps that those types of. books would be underrepresented on the. list and they were we have one sci-fi. fantasy one prominent sci-fi fantasy. book on here which is the fifth season. by enk jamson it certainly would have. been great to to have seen more I agree. and that's what makes looking at their. ballot so.

fabulous we'll be right. [Music]. [Music]. back welcome back this is the book. review podcast and I'm Gilbert Cruz I'm. joined this week by three of my fellow. editors of the book review Tina Jordan. jum katib and Scott heler to talk about.

our 100 books of the 21st century. project jimana just mentioned how much. she loves George Saunders the short. stories of George Saunders are there any. other books on this list that Scott or. Tina you found particularly uh. pleasurable if by pleasurable you mean. laugh out loud funny I'm going to. nominate Allison beckel's fun home. that's is that a laugh out loud okay. maybe I have a morbid sense of humor. this is a graphic Memoir yes her family.

lived in a funeral home she's just funny. you know how some writers you just. whatever it is that they strike that. cord in you I've never laughed so hard. okay Scott all right I would say going. to the list number 16 The Amazing. Adventures of cavalier and Clay Michael. shun's book about the history of the. comic book industry is a complete. Delight it captures the making of. culture it captures immigrant experience.

and it it's just rich and Vivid it's a. long book it's one of those big fat. books that you lose yourself into in and. I felt like it could have gone on I. would I completely loved it and then. actually the one right after that on the. list is the sellout by Paul baty which. is a pretty impressive pretty bold. satire about race and racism and there's. no question you'll smile and you laugh. at both and the sellout appeared on our. critic list from earlier this year of.

the funniest books since Catch 22 is. that correct yes it did yeah the only. crossover in fact I'm I think that might. be well listeners if you haven't checked. out that list please do find it we do. more than list here but that. is that's a great one as. well one question that I've gotten a. couple texts about shout out my friend. Lenor is the break between fiction and. non-fiction we decided to do both. categories in one list as opposed to.

doing two lists I think it was our. estimation that maybe we had one shot at. this and we could not we would collapse. if we actually had to do this effort. twice there are I believe 26 non-fiction. books on here so just over a quarter of. the books are non-fiction what stood out. to any of you in terms of the types of. non-fiction books that are poll. respondents. picked what stood out to me actually was. the wide range we don't have that many. of them like you said it's a.

quarter I think in real life that. probably it may not exactly miror Book. Sales but fiction does greatly outsell. non-fiction but of the non-fiction that. appears we have massive biographies like. Caro's last volume of LBJ we've got. histories we've got Memoirs we've got. investigative reporting we even have. True Crime like it's really a broad. range yes we have the Frederick Douglas. biography we have the Robert Carol.

fourth volume in his LBJ series say. nothing investigative is that. investigative true crime or is that yeah. a a beloved book that that placed very. high on the list we have several Memoirs. also H is for Hawk H is for Hawk N ER. know the ones that are on here I feel. like I feel like the right ones random. family the Adrian nicoa Blanc book that. came out in 2001 2003 2003 it was on my. list I was very happy to see it here.

yeah I sort of feared that some of those. early century books to to be honest. would get lost and they didn't that book. clearly has resonated with anyone who's. read it I thought no one is still going. to be thinking about this book but me. and I so then when I saw it on the list. I was happy what else is from 2003 is a. fiction that's in the top 10 the the. Known World by Edward p Jones also 2003. as is the corrections from 2001 which is. a book that look I know jonan friends.

has not probably has never heard of a. podcast and he's not certainly not. listening to this one I was so curious. as to where this book would play sudden. list because as the whole controversy of. when it came out and this feeling that. it started the century it came out a. year after Cavalier and Clay I believe. and would people remember it and I will. tell you they did because number five is. as they say nothing to sniff it and we. had gone into this whole process a. little bit worried that people would. only be thinking about more recent books.

but in fact for the most part the last. few years aren't really well represented. here at all no although I think the ones. and I'd love to hear other people's. opinions on this because there is. there's a slight recency by you'll see I. wonder if demon Copperhead trust. tomorrow and tomorrow there might be one. or two others from the past two years if. we took this in a year if those would be. if those would still be on all great. books to be clear I'm not suggesting.

that any of them are Nots I'm just. curious as to what are the books from. the past few years that have stuck in. people's minds and clearly two of those. books are pullit Prize winners one of. them is one of the biggest bestsellers. of the past couple years and they have. lasted true my point was you're talking. about five books here and we went into. this thinking oh no what if most of the. books on the list are from the last. seven or eight years and that just did. not happen. shimana you were going to talk about the.

Nobel winner yeah I was going to talk. about septology because that to me and I. say that as a fan of the half of one of. the seven books of that this book. encompasses I wonder if he hadn't. received the Nobel last year if it would. be as high on the list as it would be. although I'm delighted to see it one. thing I was worried about because these. are the things that keep me up at night. is what kind of intern interational. representation we would see what kind of.

translated literature we would see you. mentioned the years by aner no I'm going. to quibble with you about whether that's. non-fiction but that's a whole other. podcast what's what just give me a. little taste of the I say this as. somebody who is so deep in the a no. weeds that fine but she coined her own. sociological term for her literary. project it's it's not quite. autobiography and it's not quite fiction. but out in the middle somewhere they.

meet I'm dealing in Blunt categories. here fiction and we have non sorry. Nuance is not so good for this is we do. not deal with new on on this podcast. this guy who says Around the Horn like. we're on ESPN I forgot I forgot I'm on. the horn okay forget it it is. non-fiction okay so in addition to the. French writers and of course bologan is. on here which was exciting to me we even. had Tova dson who wrote The Copenhagen. Trilogy which is a book that has stuck. with me and a lot of my friends kind of.

came as a total shock out of left field. we named it as one of our 10 best a. couple years ago so it's just it's nice. to see a really good representation from. across the world prepis the vegetarian. it's good I'm sleeping better. okay so one thing that I was maybe not. surprised to see given the what some. interpret as the state of the world over. the past couple couple decades was. several dystopian novels on here they're.

ones that are incredibly dark like KC. McCarthy's the road which is about a. father and a son on the road they're in. a burned out postnuclear War America and. they're trying to survive and they're. cannibals and it's just Grim even though. he tries to leave you with a flicker of. Hope at the end so you have something. like that there was station 11 by Emily. St John Mandel this is a book that. became very popular during the early.

days of the pandemic because it was. about a superflu that took out most of. the world head into amazing HBO. adaptation but this unlike the road is a. book that leaves you feeling a little. bit hopeful a big part of the book is. about a troop of actors sort of walking. around one of the Great Lakes bringing. the last flickers of civilization. Shakespeare to all the groups of people. that they run into and while again most. people the world died and they're very. sad parts of the book it's also about.

the Persistence of art how we use art to. remind ourselves that we're human how we. use art to remind ourselves that in the. darkest of times there is Beauty in the. world station 11 is just a great book. and then there is Never Let Me Go which. I think I characterize it recently as. the quietest dystopian novel that might. ever exist most of it is about a bunch. of kids at an English boarding school. I'm not going to ruin what what the book. is actually about but once you discover.

what is actually happening to the kids. in this boarding school where they're. living their little quotidian lives and. just running having little arguments and. sniping at each other it becomes. crushingly sad I don't know the 20th. Cent 21st century has it been so sad. that we care about dystopian novels. whatever dystopia for summer no this is. part of the firmament of most good. literature it's never that far Out Of. Reach for the good writers am I do I.

think I don't know do we need some benzo. collectively maybe I'm not a doctor I. don't know Scott what do you think I I. actually would have thought that there. would be more Bleak stuff on the list in. fact. sorry I really did I did I I thought the. road would be higher in fact I don't. know how you judge whether a book How. high it's ranked is how miserable people. feel about the world a direct connection. SC yeah there is okay and I I had a. conversation with the critics and we.

talked about whether this list and how. this list speaks to the shadow of 9/11. and what the 21st century has been about. and I think the agreement was that it. felt like people were picking books that. took them away from the state of the. world more than took them closer to and. I kind of agree with that actually in. terms of directly stuff that's directly. connected to the political situation we. have the looming Tower the Lawrence. Wright book was very specifically about. 911 and its aftermath but it's really.

only around the edges and in many ways. not even around the edges there's quite. a number of historical novels on this. list which of course are in still maybe. about contemporary America and all in. all sorts of ways especially novels that. are about race and slavery inevitably. are still about now they're not just. about then but there's something about. this fa facet of the 21st century that I. find found there to be not as much as I. expected I do agree with that especially.

because for the first half of the time. period we're talking about it was also. what consumed the young adult literary. landscape right like like Hunger Games. hung games all those books that's all. there was the other thing I was really. interested going in and and I'm still. trying to figure out is these are this. is a list of books that were all. produced in the digital first era for. the most part and do we feel like these.

are books that like live in the shadow. of the internet that that are are made. by and for people who are don't have the. attention spans to read and are actually. as we all are listening to books and not. just reading books which is increasingly. part of the way people are consuming I. was interested in getting into that with. the critics and I think the critics had. some interesting answers but I'm curious. what people here think first of all. Scott I think listening to a book is. reading a. thank you okay I hear you one thing you.

mentioned does remind me just how. popular historical fiction and. historical fiction I feel like is. possibly on the edge of being too broad. a category at this point if we're real. if the 80s are starting to be historical. fiction but how popular historical. fiction is as a category as a genre and. how well represented it is on our list. from Wolf Hall to the known world to the. Underground Railroad to to Pachinko to. Lincoln and the BAU I mean those.

arguably are all pieces of historical. fiction and I think if you go down the. list of a 100 here you probably have 40%. or something like that I agree with you. so you know actually Scott your point. about to what extent the internet has. influence this list maybe it's that it. drove people in the other direction like. at the same time when we're talking. about the tech boom and barreling. towards Relentless progress at what cost. people are being driven to historical. fiction as a means of Escape that I. could think that I'm willing to stand.

behind that we have a. theory look it also makes big fat novels. more pleasurable to be sinking into an. old-fashioned narrative and there's many. of them on this list I think is a a. pleasure of this moment uh because we're. receiving information in bits and. fragments so much and to sustain a a. real story is a pleasure so as wew draw. to a close here I'm curious I'd love to.

go around again and just ask each of you. to stump for a book that did not appear. on the list but you are particularly. passionate about Scott we were talking. about funny before and one of the. funniest books that was on the other. list and I wish was on this one is then. we came to the End by Joshua Ferris. which I think is one of the absolute. funniest workplace comedies ever. and wherever you work you're going to. laugh as then you may cry a little bit. too but I think that's one that I I. really do think uh I was on my ballot.

and I wish was on on made it onto the. full list and the other one that was on. my ballot and that's just singular and. there's not that many of us who would. have gone for it but I had been the. theater editor for a long time and the. best theater books that have come out. during this period are these two books. of Steven Sim's lyrics called finishing. the hat and look I made a hat. and the more people are embracing s time. the more people are going to start. looking back at the books and realized. that that he's an amazing writer.

Lyricist and an amazing critic of his. own work and you're introduced to his. thought processes as he wrote some of. the greatest songs in Theater history. and they're incredible books Scott I. love those books there's the one's sort. of a bright pink cover one's a bright. blue cover that's right he annotates his. lyrics There's photos from the original. Productions those are absolutely. wonderful a good gift for anyone or for.

yourself thank you jumana so I love Dana. spata colleague of George Saunders um I. voted for one of her books I think she's. just incredible book to book to book I. would have liked to see eat the document. on here this is from. 2006 it is about sort of 1970s activists. there's a Bob Dylan reference I love her. I wish I'd seen her but Dana you're on.

my list Tina what would you have liked. to have seen on here I would have loved. to have seen a novel called the paying. guests by Sarah Waters which I think is. probably my favorite book of the century. so far good pick good pick it's set in. Britain in the. 1920s when things were Grim post-war. years when things were especially Grim. that's a Tina special yeah right young. woman and her mother are taking in a.

lodger to help them make in meet and the. lodger they take in her name is Lillian. she and the daughter Francis fall in. love but it's set against the backdrop. of a murder which I can't get into but. there are individual scenes of such. power in this book that I'll never get. out of my head there's one scene where. someone is being given a shave with a. straight Razer and you're certain it's. going to end in that person's death and.

you're reading and you're just sweating. because the tension is dialed so high I. don't know if you experienced it like. that jamana but I just highs and lows. but just an incredible story makes me. happy I don't shave my face. yeah it's making me think of Sweeney. Todd it should right Gilbert did you. have one no every book I put on my list. ended up on here so really yeah no I'm. just kidding. no I mentioned Gone Girl I think Gone.

Girl is one that should be on there I I. put I put onw writing by Stephen King. which actually I thought would would. have appeared on this list but but but. see I think that the reason Stephen King. isn't on this list is that he has so. many great books I think he got a lot of. votes but when you write a book a year. the votes are going to get split Yeah we. actually should end by talking about a. series that none of the books appeared. on this list people were a little bit. surprised and I think is because there. are so many of them fronte has four.

books that's a lot of books but there's. someone else that has seven six six I. think you're thinking what am I talking. about you're talking about our great. disgorger Carl overa canel scard six my. struggle books six my struggles not a. one appeared on our list and I think. it's not because people don't like them. but because people just voted for. different ones but then again look at. how many series books we do have on the. list I would just like to point out that. fanti has two Hillary mantel has two.

from her Series so you're saying if he. had bundled all of them together. youology God I don't know that would. have been listeners you can't see what. I'm doing but the book would have been. this F I don't think Bing exists I just. don't think it I think it definitely. affected him I think it definitely. affected Stephen King but I think in. other cases people who loved all the. books look two of four foron two of. three for Hillary mantel shout out to. Scott Tero who put all four of the.

Neapolitan quartet on his ballot it was. amazing to see I never would have. guessed that of all the people on there. he would have been the one but you like. what you like he loves all the legal. drama in the Neapolitan quartet there's. no rule of law in Naples maybe that's. what he likes it has been pleasure to. talk about this project with all three. of you it's been a pleasure to work on. it over the past many months with all of. you and I genuinely look forward to. never speaking about it again so thank. you. for joining me this week on the book.

review podcast jumana thanks for having. me I had fun I don't know about you. Scott you did it first time I did it. I'll be funnier next time you'll. definitely be back Tina thank you again. thanks for having me please don't start. another big project anytime soon okay. okay I guess I will promise on here. listeners please do if for some reason. you haven't check out our list of the. 100 books of the 21st century so far as. was voted on by. 503 writers and other literary.

luminaries you can find that on. nytimes.com please do let us know what. you think of the list happy. reading that was my conversation with. Scott heler jum ctib and Tina Jordan my. fellow editors at the book review about. our 100 books of the 21st century. project as I said I hope you've had an. opportunity to read it to experience it. to check which books you've read which.

books you want to read you've taken our. opportunity to share your 10 there's a. lot to do there as always it's still. true I'm Gilbert Cruz editor of the. times book review thanks for listening. [Music].