The Greatest Contemporary Books of All Time
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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.
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Contemporary books are a genre that focuses on stories set in the present day, often exploring current social, cultural, and political issues. These books are typically written in a modern style and often feature relatable characters dealing with real-life situations. Contemporary books can cover a wide range of topics, from romance and family drama to coming-of-age stories and thrillers. The genre is constantly evolving to reflect the changing world we live in, making it a popular choice for readers who want to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and issues.
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Filter books by their publication year. Enter the earliest year (Start) and latest year (End) to find books published within that period. Leave either field empty to search from the beginning of time or up to the present day.
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1476. Baking Cakes In Kigali by Gaile Parkin
A white South African woman fleeing her past sets up a small cake shop in Kigali and, through baking and quiet hospitality, becomes entwined with a diverse circle of neighbors—Rwandan survivors of the 1994 genocide, people living with HIV/AIDS, and other displaced souls—learning to confront grief, guilt and cultural difference while discovering unexpected friendships, love and the slow, fragile work of healing in a country rebuilding itself.
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1477. Bodies And Souls by Nancy Thayer
In a placid New England town, complex relationships and secret lives simmer beneath the surface. Tragedy forces those private matters into daylight and exposes the town's underlying tensions. Business conflicts and sexual scandals compound the community's upheaval. The revelations reshape the social order and lay bare how closely intertwined personal and public lives have become.
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1478. Coming Home by Sue Gee
Spring 1947. Indian independence is imminent and the British flag will soon be lowered across India. Thousands who made their lives there as planters, civil servants, or in the Indian army prepare to return to England, including Will and Flo Sutherland, who fell in love at the end of the war. India has been the defining experience of their lives and they must find how to make a new life now.
The 17125th Greatest Book of All Time -
1479. Keeping Secrets by Sue Gee
Keeping Secrets is a book by Sue Gee. The brief description identifies the author as Gee, Sue and gives the title as Keeping Secrets. The supplied entry consists solely of that author credit and title, with no further bibliographic or contextual information. There are no additional details about plot, characters, setting, or publication in the description.
The 17125th Greatest Book of All Time -
1480. Cousins by Sally Vickers
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1481. Grandmothers by Sally Vickers
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1482. Twice by Mitch Albom
At eight, Alfie discovers he can undo any moment and live it again, but he must accept the consequences of his second attempt. He uses the gift to erase embarrassments, test risky near-death experiences, and shape his love life until he falls for Gianna, but he learns one caveat: once he undoes a love, that person can never love him again. Years later, an ailing Alfie is arrested after allegedly cheating at roulette, and a detective's interrogation gradually reveals his life and its outcome.
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1483. Schizoanalytic Cartographies by Félix Guattari
A series of theoretical essays and interviews develops a practice of mapping social and psychic territories that rejects Oedipal psychoanalysis in favor of a schizoanalytic approach emphasizing multiplicity, machinic assemblages, and lines of flight; it proposes concrete cartographies of desire and subjectivity that reveal how capitalism, institutions, and technological systems shape individual and collective experience while also pointing to transversal practices and micro-political resistances that open new forms of ethical and political becoming.
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1484. You've Found Oliver by Dustin Thao
A year after his best friend Sam died, Oliver still texts Sam's number and cannot stop, especially as the anniversary approaches. When he accidentally calls, someone else answers: Ben, an astronomy student in Seattle who has been reading Oliver's private messages after the number was reassigned. They meet and feel an undeniable spark, but Oliver discovers something strange that could keep them apart.
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1485. Tolk by Maja Lee Langvad
A Korean adoptee from Denmark travels repeatedly to South Korea over several years to meet her Korean family. She cannot speak Korean and the family cannot speak English, so she relies on a Danish-Korean interpreter who accompanies her. When the family discovers that the interpreter is also her girlfriend, tensions arise as she confronts questions of language, love, queerness, and belonging while seeking to recover family, culture, and her own voice.
The 17125th Greatest Book of All Time
Reading Statistics
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Download
If you're interested in downloading this list as a CSV file for use in a spreadsheet application, you can easily do so by clicking the button below. Please note that to ensure a manageable file size and faster download, the CSV will include details for only the first 500 books.
DownloadTo download this list as a CSV file, please log in to your account. Once logged in, you'll be able to download the data for use in spreadsheet applications.
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