List time! You know I love a good response to a published list and Powell’s the wonderful bookstore in Portland and creator of the Indiespensible book subscription service, created a list of the 25 books that you need to read before you die. It’s a great list, of which I’ve only read like three books. But it inspired me to look over some of the old book posts I’ve done and my Goodreads account, and try and nail down the books from the same time period that I have really loved. I even challenged myself to only include 25 books, meaning that if I put a whole series down, then I’d have to count those books individually. I also didn’t include any book series that began before 2001 (so no Harry Potter). Here are my choices for books you deserve to read.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Captive Prince Trilogy by C.S. Pacat
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
Did You Ever Have a Family? by Bill Clegg
Hero by Perry Moore
Homegoing by Yaa Gayasi
Incognegro by Matt Johnson
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching by Mychal Denzel Smith
The Last Werewolf by Glenn Duncan
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
On Earth as It is in Heaven by Davide Enia
The Privileges by Jonathan Dee
Redeployment by Phil Klay
Serena by Ron Rash
Sharp Teeth by Toby Marlow
Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
World War Z by Max Brooks
Zorro by Isabelle Allende