Books of the Decade

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

The Guardian, 52 Books

The 50 books that defined the decade(2000)

This list was originally published in 2009 and was added to this site over 12 years ago.

View: List Grid Table

Cover of 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith

White Teeth

No Logo

Cover of 'The Tipping Point' by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell

Cover of 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' by Dave Eggers

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Cover of 'The Amber Spyglass' by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass

Cover of 'How to Be a Domestic Goddess' by Nigella Lawson

How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Cover of 'Experience' by Martin Amis

Experience

Cover of 'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen

The Corrections

Jonathan Franzen

Cover of 'Atonement' by Ian McEwan

Atonement

Cover of 'Austerlitz' by W. G. Sebald

Austerlitz

Cover of 'A Life's Work' by Rachel Cusk

A Life's Work

Cover of 'Nickel And Dimed' by Barbara Ehrenreich

Nickel And Dimed

Barbara Ehrenreich

Cover of 'London Orbital' by Iain Sinclair

London Orbital

Cover of 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters

Fingersmith

Cover of 'Persepolis' by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi

Cover of 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code

Cover of 'Landing Light' by Don Paterson

Landing Light

Cover of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Cover of 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

Cover of 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' by Lynne Truss

Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Cover of 'The 9/11 Commission Report' by 9/11 Commission

The 9/11 Commission Report

9/11 Commission

Cover of 'Small Island' by Andrea Levy

Small Island

Cover of 'The Line of Beauty' by Alan Hollinghurst

The Line of Beauty

Alan Hollinghurst

Cover of 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas

Cover of 'Being Jordan' by Katie Price

Being Jordan

Cover of 'Earth' by Richard Fortey

Earth

Cover of 'Freakonomics' by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Freakonomics

Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Cover of 'Untold Stories' by Alan Bennett

Untold Stories

Cover of 'The Year of Magical Thinking' by Joan Didion

The Year of Magical Thinking

Cover of 'Postwar' by Tony Judt

Postwar

Cover of 'Saturday' by Ian McEwan

Saturday

Cover of 'The God Delusion' by Richard Dawkins

The God Delusion

Richard Dawkins

Cover of 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

Cover of 'The Looming Tower' by Lawrence Wright

The Looming Tower

Lawrence Wright

Cover of 'The Weather Makers' by Tim Flannery

The Weather Makers

Cover of 'The Revenge of Gaia' by James Lovelock

The Revenge of Gaia

Cover of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Cover of 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' by Kate Summerscale

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Kate Summerscale

Cover of 'The Blair Years' by Alastair Campbell

The Blair Years

Alastair Campbell

Cover of 'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Cover of 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' by Mohsin Hamid

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Cover of 'The Audacity of Hope' by Barack Obama

The Audacity of Hope

Cover of 'Change We Can Believe In' by Barack Obama

Change We Can Believe In

Cover of 'Dreams from My Father' by Barack Obama

Dreams from My Father

Cover of 'The Rest is Noise' by Alex Ross

The Rest is Noise

Cover of 'Netherland' by Joseph O'Neill

Netherland

Cover of 'The Forever War' by Dexter Filkins

The Forever War

Cover of 'Home' by Marilynne Robinson

Home

Marilynne Robinson

Cover of 'The Age Of Wonder' by Richard Holmes

The Age Of Wonder

Cover of 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall

Cover of '2666' by Roberto Bolaño

2666

Roberto Bolaño

Cover of 'Brooklyn' by Colm Toibin

Brooklyn