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25 Books to Read Before You Die: 21st Century

It's hard for us to believe that information technology'due south been 17 years since we kickoff toasted the new millennium. In January 2001, a gallon of gas toll $ane.46. Facebook was three years from launching. 9/11 hadn't happened. Huge political and cultural shifts were only months away… and some of the all-time books we've ever read were waiting in the wings. This year, for our fifth annual 25 Books to Read Before You Dice list, we've selected novels, poetry, brusque stories, and nonfiction that speak to cardinal concerns of 21st-century life: among them, race, heredity, identity, war, and the vanishing wild. From double agents to Hurricane Katrina to intergalactic travel, these 25 vastly different books create a stunning portrait of the dislocation, perseverance, and hope at the eye of life in 21st-century America.

The Blazing World
past Siri Hustvedt

Siri Hustvedt spans 2 worlds in her writing, with her gorgeous, lyrical, oft dreamlike fiction, and her nonfiction writing on science, art, and culture. The Blazing World is a novel, merely an unusual one — a tour de strength about a larger-than-life female artist ("Harry") whose three great works used "masks" — male artists who claimed the works as their ain. Through journal excerpts, interviews, and critical essays from the art world, and remembrances from Harry's children, friends, and lovers, information technology warmly and thoroughly depicts an intelligent, fierce life well lived, and tackles feminism, creativity, and definitions of identity. It is Hustvedt'due south virtually masterful and timely piece of work withal.
— Jill O.

The Volume of Foreign New Things
past Michel Faber

An emotionally atmospheric achievement, I felt as though the author was holding my manus through the entire book, leading me like a kid to an unknown destination. And once it was over, I was amazed to discover that the overall message of the book is nigh love. Not morality, nor doom, nor any other lesson well-nigh books get out you with once they've pulled you into the fray. Non only do all (ALL) of the characters come up across equally totally believable, merely even more then, there is a hopefulness which, despite how fragile and volatile the situations are, threads its way seamlessly through to the very cease.
— Aubrey West.

Cloud Atlas
past David Mitchell

A Russian nesting doll of a novel, each of the six interlocking stories in Cloud Atlas contains oblique references to the ones that directly precede and follow it. Add to that a unique chronological structure that moves forrad and and so backward in time and Mitchell's virtuosic handling of an array of narrative styles — including historical fiction, thriller, comedy, and sci-fi — and you accept a novel that not only reads brilliantly, but is complex, wild, and wondrous. I've read and loved most of Mitchell's work, but Deject Atlas is one of those magical books that shimmers in your heed long after reading it; and so few books come shut to the excitement, mystery, and challenge it offers.
— Rhianna W.

Invisible Human being, Got the Whole Earth Watching
by Mychal Denzel Smith

Against patriarchy, homophobia, misogyny, the mental health stigma, and Obama's politics of race, Smith turns an incisive eye to issues that are often disregarded inside his ain community — calling out movements that seek solidarity while excluding the well-nigh caught and vulnerable. There's an enviable fervor and zeal to Smith'south writing, nevertheless, at times, he seems to vacillate between recognizing the power of his own critical thinking and doubting in his power to excel in conveying information technology (which combine to corking outcome in revealing a very man duality). Invisible Homo, Got the Whole World Watching is unabashed and unequivocal, and Mychal Denzel Smith's a keen observer of both himself and the earth effectually him.
— Jeremy One thousand.

The Empathy Exams
by Leslie Jamison

Jamison is a remarkable essayist, keen-eyed, observant, and astute. The opening piece centers on her stint as a medical actor and expands into a thoughtful rumination on what exactly empathy is. From prison house, to the world's toughest marathon, heartbreak, and James Agee, these essays are filled with a liveliness and intellectual vigor that make for a mesmerizing read.
— Mary Jo South.

The Lost Urban center of Z
past David Grann

The Lost City of Z is the perfect book to read when you lot're antsy for some armchair adventuring. This clever tale is both the story of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer who traveled to the Amazon in 1925 and never returned, and Grann, equally he retraces Fawcett'southward steps in an try to acquire what happened to him. Just information technology's and so much more than that — it's also about the Western tradition of exploration and exploitation, the punishing Amazonian environment, the lure of the unknown... and did I mention the punishing surroundings? Because, actually, the most important lesson I learned from this book is that pretty much every living matter in the Amazon is constantly trying to kill you. This book is a fast, lighthearted read, rollicking fun and educational in equal measure. It'southward similar living out an Indiana Jones fantasy, only you go to feel it from the rubber of your habitation. Because, did I mention the punishing environment...?
— Leah C.

Citizen
by Claudia Rankine

Claudia Rankine's Denizen: An American Lyric is a momentous achievement in modern poetry, but also in American civilization. To create this portrait of racism and microaggressions in 21st-century life, Rankine employs a prism of subjects, lenses, and perspectives in gorgeous linguistic communication and innovative poetic style (the book includes visual imagery, prose pieces, and quotes from the media). Citizen is necessary, absorbing, and startling, and it is one of the nigh important books of verse in the last decade.
— Jill O.

The Faraway Nearby
by Rebecca Solnit

In The Faraway Nearby, Rebecca Solnit weaves seemingly disparate topics, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to the birdman cult on Easter Island, with elements of her own life: her female parent's advancing Alzheimer'south, the collapse of a long-term relationship, a brush with cancer. The result is a volume that is as fluid and dizzying as a dream, and just equally revealing. Solnit is a master at cartoon connections in surprising ways, and in The Faraway Nearby, she marries the personal with the universal to create a fascinating read.
— Renee P.

Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson

If I could be Book Arbiter, I would brand this moving memoir required reading for the unabridged nation. Stevenson recounts his early career as a young attorney working on multiple death row cases, first for the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee and later as founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. From a purely narrative point of view, Just Mercy is incommunicable to put down. In alternating chapters, Stevenson weaves multiple stories with ane extended and tragic one — that of Walter McMillian, an African American human being wrongly accused and convicted of killing a white woman, despite clear and compelling evidence to the reverse. The upshot is shattering. This is one of the most heartbreaking and inspiring books I have e'er read, and an excellent introduction to the issues of racial inequity in our criminal justice system.
— Lori M.

Honored Guest
by Joy Williams

A Pulitzer-nominated author revered among literary circles, Joy Williams is all the same frequently overlooked by readers. Her third story collection, Honored Guest, is a magnificent showcase of her trenchant wit and staggering imagination, tempered by her minimalist sensibility. While the stories pivot effectually heavy topics — particularly coming to terms with a real or metaphorical expiry — they're wildly entertaining and unpredictable. The characters are oft unruly and erratic and seem to have retreated into their own worlds, simply barely connecting with others yet painfully enlightened of their estrangement. You'll discover yourself astonished, disarmed, and, at times, baffled by these tales, just every story resonates, begging to be reread.
— Renee P.

I Loved You More than
by Tom Spanbauer

Ben loves Hank, Ben loves Ruth, Hank loves Ruth. Merely I Loved You More than is far more a multifaceted dear triangle. Information technology's an engaging, oftentimes darkly funny, always heartbreaking exploration of the nature of human emotion, told in Tom Spanbauer's brilliantly item vocalism. No one is ameliorate than Spanbauer at exposing the hidden pain inside us. In I Loved Y'all More, he reaches fifty-fifty deeper, probing the terror of death, love, AIDS, cancer, propinquity, and the complex business of existence a man in the world..
— Gigi Fifty.

The Invented Function
by Rodrigo Fresán

From the 16 epigraphs that open Rodrigo Fresán's astonishingly ambitious novel through its 550 pages of how-the-hell-could-a-mere-mortal-perhaps-compose-something-this-magnificent, The Invented Function spans the scope of our hypertechnical age, sending up and taking down and then much of our contemporary globe. Fresán masterfully weaves and so many pop culture threads (most notably F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pink Floyd, and Kubrick'due south 2001: A Space Odyssey) into his metafictional foray that it quite most exposes the thin line between reality and fiction to be an engulfing chasm. With its acerbic humor, acrimonious critique, vivacious storytelling, and ridiculously imaginative plot, The Invented Office is a roaring good fourth dimension.
— Jeremy G.

Far From the Tree
by Andrew Solomon

Far From the Tree is the kind of book that fundamentally alters the manner you lot see the world and your place within it. Each affiliate centers on a dissimilar horizontal identity, such every bit dwarfism, autism, and deafness. Solomon interviewed hundreds of people, assembling a staggering corporeality of information and narrative, but information technology is his ability to synthesize and summarize that elevates Far From the Tree into something extraordinary.
— Mary Jo South.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
past Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell'southward mentorship turned rivalry over the use of magic lies at the center of this unparalleled tale, in which the foibles of humans, our human relationship to the fantastic, and the lengths and limits of faith and science are told in measured wit. This book is and so deserving of the many awards it has received and of its devoted and various fan base of operations, for inside Clarke'south intricately constructed world of magical realism is a treasured nucleus crafted of caution, passion, intellect, and madness; Susanna Clarke has written 1 of the not bad fantasy literature crossover works of our time.
— Lucinda G.

Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders

George Saunders definitely couldn't let his start novel be ordinary, not run-of-the-mill, non average. In fact, Lincoln in the Bardo is one of the most unusual novels I've ever read: the format, the plot, and the characters are all completely unique. Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Ceremonious War, mourns the death of his son Willie, and sneaks abroad in the nighttime to spend a few more than solitary minutes with his boy. In the cemetery, Willie is caught in the "Bardo" — the space betwixt transitions — waiting for whatever comes next. Tapping the myriad other cemetery dwellers equally a sort of Greek Chorus, Saunders holds forth on life, death, and everything in betwixt. His tranquillity accept on parental mourning is heartbreaking, and Lincoln'southward grief is gorgeously depicted. Throughout the novel are excerpts from original source materials — some existent, some fiction — the identification of which is function of the fun of this wholly original story.
— Dianah H.

Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood

This book just gets creepier and more prescient by the yr. Alternating between a recognizable globe of biological manipulation and moral equivalency and a postindustrial landscape, Oryx and Crake is a riveting love triangle and a visionary retelling of the fall of man. This is Atwood at her accented all-time: sardonic, scientifically fluent, and terrifyingly feasible. I've read information technology five times, never been bored, and always been astounded by how close it hits to home and how voraciously I tear through it.
— Rhianna W.

March: Volume One
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

This incredible memoir is a masterful example of what the graphic novel format can accomplish. The emotive art and engaging storytelling work paw-in-hand to immerse the reader in Congressman John Lewis's early life and activism, and the frame narrative of President Obama'south 2009 inauguration pulls the struggles, efforts, and hopes of the ceremonious rights move into the modern day. March is an essential reminder that this history is far from ancient, and as Lewis himself said, "The responsibility is ours lone to build a ameliorate club and a more peaceful world."
— Madeline S.

A Brusque History of Most Everything
by Bill Bryson

Before writing this book, Bill Bryson was definitely not a science vitrify. His interest was quashed by the dry out textbooks of his youth. Thankfully, equally an adult, his famous curiosity took over and he realized that science need not be boring or abstruse. A Short History of Nearly Everything, an insanely ambitious science volume written for the layperson past a layperson, is the outcome of this realization, and it's immensely informative and as lively and engaging every bit Bryson'south best travel tales. The book traces the miracle of life as we know information technology, weaving in everything from chemistry to astronomy to paleontology, and relying on experts for guidance. So much more than a summation of Bryson's research, A Short History tells a story, and information technology's as epic and profound every bit they come up. If yous've ever wished you could recapture your babyhood wonder with the natural and concrete earth, this book is the platonic starting point.
— Renee P.

The Sympathizer
by Viet Thanh Nguyen

While the Vietnamese "sympathizer" of the story is a communist agent, he is also a man who truly sympathizes, and therefore, a human securely torn. This makes for a powerful, many-layered work, bitter in its criticism of America'due south involvement in Vietnam without being didactic. It's as well a book that crosses genres and tones: a literary spy story, both suspenseful and intellectual, all the same in one memorable sequence, a hilarious satirical set piece. Non an easy volume to describe or categorize, but a profound knockout to read. The catastrophe stunned me in a way few books do.
— Lori M.

Relieve the Bones
by Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward could probably write the marketing copy for Windex and it would read every bit a lyrical, historically rich paean to the dignity of window cleanser in the face of persistently aggressive grime. Her talent is that vast, her writing that compassionate and attuned to its subjects, its roots equally in the present day and the tropes of Greek mythology. Salvage the Basic takes place in the barbarous days before and after Hurricane Katrina, and tells the story of Esch, a significant teen, and her brothers. If Salvage simply related the terror and aftermath of Katrina, it would be enough; if the novel dove into the intelligence and hopelessness of an impoverished, spurned girl, it would be plenty. But information technology does both, with Ward'south corking center for the realities of life and history in the Deep South and her limitless capacity to elevate the ordinary into poesy.
— Rhianna W.

War Is a Force That Gives Us Pregnant
by Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges is one of our most incisive, trenchant thinkers and writers. In his at present-classic first book, State of war Is a Forcefulness That Gives United states of america Meaning, the former state of war correspondent (and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) offers an unflinching portrait of armed conflict's seductive — and ultimately destructive — allure to soldier and society alike. Blending history, reportage, philosophy, personal accounts, and literary allusions, Hedges makes a compelling case for the narcotic-like rush (and subsequent addiction) war offers nations and their citizenries. State of war Is a Force That Gives U.s. Meaning assuredly debunks the many myths that enable and celebrate state of war, painting a sobering pic of its pernicious and pervasive consequences.
— Jeremy Thousand.

Wolf Hall
by Hilary Mantel

In this masterpiece (and its every bit fantabulous sequel, Bring Up the Bodies), Hilary Mantel accomplishes the unthinkable: she breathes new life into the story of Henry Eight. I understand your skepticism — I didn't call up information technology was possible either! — simply somehow, magically, she has done only that. Everything almost Wolf Hall is meticulous, from the research to the language to the characterization, and while this level of detail can often feel forced or overly structured, to me the writing felt natural and fifty-fifty a bit wild in its audacity and confidence. This isn't a casual reading feel — the book is long and you experience compelled to take it seriously, drawing it out in order to pay attention to and savor every word — but yous will come away from it moved and profoundly changed.
— Leah C.

The Omnivore's Dilemma
past Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan's earnest examination of modernistic eating habits made waves upon its release in 2006 and is largely responsible for pushing the local nutrient movement into the mainstream. The Omnivore's Dilemma uses the seemingly straightforward question of "What should we take for dinner?" as an impetus to explore how ridiculously complex our food system has become. What Pollan reveals through his adventures, every bit he explores three food chains from offset to terminate, is center-opening. Pollan is a skilled author, and he pulls you in with his candid storytelling and dedication to the claiming he set for himself in the book. It's not an overstatement to say that The Omnivore's Dilemma will alter the style you view food; information technology may as well change the way y'all consume.
— Renee P.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union
by Michael Chabon

Leave it to Michael Chabon to take the Jews directly from WWII and plunk them into what could best be described as Yiddish noir — set in Alaska. In this wacky tale, Jews were temporarily relocated to Sitka, Alaska, where they created a new world for themselves following the 1948 collapse of Israel. Now, sixty years later, their enclave is about to revert to Alaskan command. Into this setup, which is equal parts absurd and poignant, Chabon introduces a broken-downward cop, a murder mystery, a chess playing junkie, and a criminal gang of Hasidim. All combined, The Yiddish Policemen'due south Marriage is fiercely imaginative, roaringly entertaining, and surprisingly profound.
— Gigi Fifty.

The Echo Maker
by Richard Powers

Richard Powers is a national treasure. All of his books are phenomenal; he writes, in dazzling, poetic language, well-nigh subjects ranging from virtual reality to classical music, corporate capitalism to the genetic code. His novels explore sweeping, global concerns, merely their essential questions oftentimes come up down to what it ways to be human, to live in concert with each other in our larger earth. The Echo Maker has a fascinating setup (a man wakes upwards after a mysterious accident with Capgras syndrome, which makes him believe his loved ones take been replaced by actors) which delivers completely, weaving an engrossing, enlightening, and tender mystery out of strands of ecology, neurology, and the very nature of identity. If you haven't yet read this extraordinary author, The Echo Maker is the ideal place to begin.
— Jill O.

Also by Powell's Staff

• 25 Books to Read Earlier You Die
• 25 Women to Read Before You Die
• 25 Books to Read Before You Die: World Edition
• 25 Memoirs to Read Before Y'all Die

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