The 10 best books from the past 25 years
This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Books
from the website:
The list of our 10 most-loved books published since 2000 spans the literary, experimental and translated as well as true crime, science fiction and memoir genres. Some will make you cry, others will make you laugh – the best will have you doing both. Choosing only 10 books from 25 years means there are notable absences, but the list offers a sketch of the books that have shaped us and our world since the start of the millennium. Our writers, critics and editors were asked to consider their personal favourites – the books that will always have a place on their shelves – as well as quality, influence and legacy.
This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 261 | Austerlitz | W. G. Sebald | 2001 | German | German | |
| 3277 | Blankets | Craig Thompson | 2003 | American | English | |
| 3505 | Joe Cinque's Consolation | Helen Garner | 2004 | Australian | English | |
| 267 | Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | 2005 | British | English | |
| 419 | A Visit From The Goon Squad | Jennifer Egan | 2010 | American | English | |
| 407 | My Brilliant Friend | Elena Ferrante | 2012 | American | Italian | |
| 5021 | Conversations With Friends | Sally Rooney | 2017 | Irish | English | |
| 11041 | Hit So Hard | Patty Schemel | 2017 | Unknown | English | |
| 2213 | My Year of Rest and Relaxation | Ottessa Moshfegh | 2018 | American | English | |
| 5346 | Praiseworthy | Alexis Wright | 2024 | Australian | English |