If there’s anything readers like more than a Top Reads list, it’s complaining about a Top Reads list. Earlier this summer, the New York Times published “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” Remember that? Of course you do. Reddit basically blew up that day.

We all had definite feelings about said list. Namely, that it didn’t include genre fiction and books of poetry, the latter an egregious omission imo. It did include several of my favorites: Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage (gutting), Helen MacDonald’s H is For Hawk (gorgeous), Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Interpreter of Maladies (instructive in the very best way), Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (what’s a synonym for gutting?), Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto (magnificent), Elizabeth’s Strout’s Olive Kitteridge (sleepy in the best way), Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead (transcendent), and Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch (masterful and also long).

Only a couple have I discussed here at Rust Belt Girl: Robinson’s Gilead (cue the car-sobbing) and the novel that came in at No. 1 on the NYT list: Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. None of the books on the list that I’ve read could be described as Rust Belt books, so I protest! But not really.

The wonderful thing about Top Reads lists is that we avid readers read them, get mad, and then the maddening lists beget more lists. Which is great. After we got mad at the NYT, they featured another story, “Readers Respond to the ‘Best Books of the 21st Century,’” chock full of the books that should have been on the first list. I saw Best Books lists featuring Appalachian Reads and reading roundups galore. All this leads me to believe that there are never enough lists, the lists are never long enough, and yet they are also ALWAYS incomplete. There’s room for my book and there’s room for your book on those lists. So get to it, writers!

Really, my blog is my ever-changing (let’s say “curated,” cuz that sounds fancy) list. I’d love to know what your favorite book from my list is. (How about from your list?) And then Goodreads is my dump—everything goes there, unless I really hated it, in which case I probably DNF’ed anyway. Are we connected out there at the dump?

Recent (ly read) books that stunned this Rust Belt Girl but aren’t necessarily Rust Belt books are basically the books I keep thinking about and talking about: A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast by Dorthe Nors (let’s all read more essays in translation!); Sonata: A Memoir by Andrea Avery (lyrical, musical, and propulsive); The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylvainen (interestingly atmospheric); The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio by Jade Dillinger and Akron’s own David Giffels (so that’s what New Wave was all about!?); and Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (gutting x 12—what exactly is wrong with me?).

You see, once you get started list-making, it never stops.

Looking for a review or an author review–or even a little writerly advice (I try to take myself)? See my categories above. And find me on Goodreads, where I try to at least rank what I’ve read. Let’s be friends there and on FB and at all the places!

17 thoughts on “Take that New York Times: My not-list of the best books of vague parameters according to me”

  3. I’m currently struggling through Wolf Hall – not because it isn’t brilliant, it is. But because it demands close attention, it’s long, and I keep getting interrupted. (Loved the mini series!)

    Imo, A Little Life should be further up the list. Talk about gutting!
    I friended you on Goodreads. I’m not real active there but I like to see what my friends are reading. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much for being here, Charlotte! I haven’t tried Wolf Hall yet. Those “doorstoppers” are daunting. I did love a story collection by Mantel, but that’s as far as I got. I remember seeing A Little Life out in the world–maybe around the time I was listening to Shuggie Bain (great one to do on audio for the accents, imo). What makes us love those harrowing ones? OK, now that’s on my list. And thanks for finding me on Goodreads. I’m not out there a whole lot, either. But I do like to have a central location to chart everything I read. Otherwise I’ll forget half of them! My guess is we have similar tastes… To books!

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      1. Rebecca, if you start Wolf Hall, let me know. I want to point you to a Substack that has a reading guide for it that’s brilliant. (Free) It’s really helping me – for instance, I was a little confused until I read there that Cromwell refers to himself as “he” instead of me or I. It’s a really good resource for the book.

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  4. You seem to go for gut-wrenching tales, Rebecca.😩 I’ve read so many delightful books this century, some written long ago, some current. I’ve never tried ranking them, so I wouldn’t complain about anyone who gives it a shot.😊

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    1. Hi, Eilene! Ugh, I know. After a doozy of a depressing book, I always say: “I’ll try a light one next time.” Somehow I fail at that! I would love to find more funny novels; clearly I’m not looking in the right places. And ranking feels impossible, right? Some books feel right for the mood I’m in or the place in my life–they just hit right. But a year prior or later they might not work so well for me. I love that books seem to find their readers at just the right moment. I hope your writing–and reading–is going well this summer!

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  5. I could write an endless list but books/ authors that spring to mind immediately include:

    Abeng by Michelle Cliff

    Diving into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich

    The Crow Road by Iain Banks

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  6. This one’s a toughie, but I love that first line, everyone loves to dump on a curated list. This is especially true of music ~ I mean, Taylor Swift being considered the 8th best rock guitarist of the last two decades? C’mon.

    I think the closest I’ve come to a list is ‘the most influential books’, and I enjoy reading other people’s lists. They really do say much about the person (or publication!), and I can’t help but wonder if folks write down what books sound or look good vs what they really enjoy reading!

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    1. List-making is super tough, I get it. But I’m still laughing at that Swift stat. No shade on her, but she’s not exactly Prince or Eric Clapton. I do think a lot of lists are just meant to rile us up. I guess my lists say I like really depressing novels. I always love your book features out at your blog–you could do something fun (and funny) with a list, I bet. Happy reading and writing, my friend!

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  8. I read Demon Copperhead recently and even wrote a research paper on it. My college professors are still reviewing it. It is a pretty gut-wrenching book. I’m sure you’ve already read it though. I remember you mentioning it in one of your earlier posts. If you want something postmodern and funny for a change, you should try Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park or even the Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (it isn’t a postmodern novel but it’s funny in a weird way). Another recommendation is the bittersweet Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar.

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