The Greatest Contemporary Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
12187 When Dimple Met Rishi Sandhya Menon 2017 American English
12186 The Rest Of Our Lives Benjamin Markovits 2025 American English
12183 Mothers And Sons Adam Haslett 2025 American English
12193 Necessary Fiction Eloghosa Osunde 2025 Nigerian English
12192 People Like Us Jason Mott 2025 American English
12200 The House on Via Gemito Domenico Starnone 2000 Italian Italian
12200 The Solitude Of Prime Numbers Paolo Giordano 2008 Italian Italian
12207 Playworld Adam Ross 2025 Unknown English
12213 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman 2017 British English
12214 Good Dirt Charmaine Wilkerson 2025 Unknown English
12222 The Three Lives Of Cate Kay Kate Fagan 2025 Unknown English
12230 Vulture Phoebe Greenwood 2025 Unknown English
12236 I Deliver Parcels In Beijing Hu Anyan 2023 Chinese English
12242 Wreck Catherine Newman 2025 American English
12258 Lantern Slides Edna O'Brien 1990 Irish English
12250 Election Tom Perrotta 1998 American English
12250 Beautiful People Simon Doonan 2005 British English
12287 Where Are You Really From Elaine Hsieh Chou 2025 American English
12288 The Librarians Sherry Thomas 2025 American English
12295 The Payback Kashana Cauley 2025 American English
12306 The Seers Sulaiman Addonia 2024 British English
12303 In Covid's Wake Stephen Macedo, Frances Lee 2025 American English
12310 Twist Colum McCann 2025 Irish English
12314 The Names Florence Knapp 2025 Unknown English
12321 Will There Ever Be Another You Patricia Lockwood 2025 American English
12379 Black Cake Charmaine Wilkerson 2022 American English
12324 Your Name Here Helen DeWitt, Ilya Gridneff 2025 American English
12378 Service John Tottenham 2025 Unknown English
12390 Television Lauren Rothery 2025 Unknown English
12394 State Champ Hilary Plum 2025 American English
12396 The Time Of The Novel Lara Mimosa Montes 2025 Unknown English
12403 The Road To Tender Hearts Annie Hartnett 2025 Unknown English
12411 Tidelines Sarah Sasson 2024 Unknown English
12419 Ripeness Sarah Moss 2025 British English
12421 Herculine Grace Byron 2025 Unknown English
12440 Liquid Mariam Rahmani 2025 Unknown English
12445 When The Moon Hits Your Eye John Scalzi 2025 Unknown English
12447 Julie Chan Is Dead Liann Zhang 2025 Unknown English
12448 Three Days In June Anne Tyler 2025 Unknown English
12454 Among Friends Hal Ebbott 2025 Unknown English
12457 So Far Gone Jess Walter 2025 Unknown English
12460 This Book Will Bury Me Ashley Winstead 2025 Unknown English
12463 El Dorado Drive Megan Abbott 2025 Unknown English
12464 Something Rotten Andrew Lipstein 2025 Unknown English
12465 Kakigori Summer Emily Itami 2025 Unknown English
12466 Immaculate Conception Ling Ling Huang 2025 Unknown English
12467 I See You've Called In Dead John Kenney 2025 Unknown English
12468 The Note Alafair Burke 2025 American English
12472 Helen Of Troy, 1993 Maria Zoccola 2025 Unknown English
12476 Blood In The Water Tiffany D. Jackson 2025 Unknown English
12501 Come As You Are Emily Nagoski 2015 American English
12495 This Mournable Body Tsitsi Dangarembga 2018 Zimbabwean English
12497 Loved One Aisha Muharrar 2025 Unknown English
12499 Girl Dinner Olivie Blake 2025 American English
12506 Universality Natasha Brown 2025 British English
12507 The City Changes Its Face Eimear McBride 2025 Irish English
12508 The Survivor Wants To Die At The End Adam Silvera 2025 American English
12514 Yoruba Girl Dancing Simi Bedford 1991 British English
12555 Where You're Planted Melanie Sweeney 2025 Unknown English
12559 Courtroom Drama Neely Tubati Alexander 2025 Unknown English
12560 The Stalker Paula Bomer 2025 American English
12572 Happy Land Dolen Perkins-Valdez 2025 American English
12570 A Language Of Limbs Dylin Hardcastle 2024 Unknown English
12580 Never Thought I'd End Up Here Ann Liang 2025 Unknown English
12585 Kirby's Lessons For Falling Laura Gao 2025 American English
12600 The Winter Warriors Olivier Norek 2024 French French
12609 After Life Gayle Forman 2025 American English
12610 If You Love It, Let It Kill You Hannah Pittard 2025 American English
12611 Too Soon Betty Shamieh 2025 American English
12617 Sounds Like Love Ashley Poston 2025 American English
12623 People Of Means Nancy Johnson 2025 Unknown English
12624 The Island Of Last Things Emma Sloley 2025 Unknown English
12630 The Impossible Fortune Richard Osman 2025 British English
12634 A New New Me Helen Oyeyemi 2025 British English
12635 Casanova 20 Davey Davis Unknown English
12638 Once Upon A Time In Dollywood Ashley Jordan 2025 American English
12639 Animal Instinct Amy Shearn 2025 American English
12656 Record Of A Night Too Brief Kawakami Hiromi Japanese Japanese
12686 Friends To Lovers Sally Blakely 2025 Unknown English
12687 Fireblooms Alexandra Villasante 2025 American English
12692 Wanting Claire Jia Unknown English
12709 Time Loops & Meet Cutes Jackie Lau 2025 Unknown English
12711 The Compound Aisling Rawle 2025 Unknown English
12715 The Princess And The P.I. Nikki Payne 2025 Canadian English
12740 Like A Love Story Abdi Nazemian 2019 American English
12755 Maidenhair Mikhail Shishkin 2005 Russian Russian
12754 Great Disasters Grady Chambers Unknown English
12758 All The Other Mothers Hate Me Sarah Harman 2025 Unknown English
12759 The Other Wife Jackie Thomas-Kennedy Unknown English
12772 The Consequences Of Love Sulaiman Addonia 2008 British English
12789 The Last Guy On Earth Sarina Bowen 2025 American English
12796 At Last Marisa Silver 2025 American English
12809 Disappoint Me Nicola Dinan 2025 Unknown English
12803 Gilded Rage Jacob Silverman 2025 American English
12814 Theft Abdulrazak Gurnah 2025 British English
12816 Bad Bad Girl Gish Jen 2025 American English
12813 Intemperance Sonora Jha 2025 British English
12833 Fortunate Lives Robb Forman Dew 1992 American English
12829 Bat Eater And Other Names For Cora Zeng Kylie Lee Baker 2025 Unknown English
12832 Every Step She Takes Alison Cochrun 2025 American English
12865 The Extreme Self Douglas Coupland, Shumon Basar, Hans Ulrich Obrist 2021 Multiple English
12861 The Doorman Chris Pavone 2025 American English
12888 The Intruder Freida McFadden 2025 Unknown English
12890 Pan Michael Clune 2025 American English
12885 Our Beautiful Boys Sameer Pandya 2025 Unknown English
12887 Long Distance Ayşegül Savas 2025 British English
12898 Are You Happy? Lori Ostlund 2025 American English
12899 Make Your Way Home Carrie R. Moore 2025 Unknown English
12900 Nova Scotia House Charlie Porter 2025 Unknown English
12901 The Sunflower Boys Sam Wachman 2025 Unknown English
12908 The Nimbus Robert P. Baird 2025 Unknown English
12909 Sleep Honor Jones 2025 Unknown English
12906 Cécé Emmelie Prophète 2025 Haitian French
12921 Ordinary People Don't Carry Machine Guns Artem Chapeye 2025 Ukrainian English
12928 The Satisfaction Café Kathy Wang 2025 Unknown English
12930 Some Bright Nowhere Ann Packer 2025 American English
12931 Tartufo Kira Jane Buxton 2025 Unknown English
12933 Now Jazz Now Neneh Cherry, Thurston Moore, Joe McPhee, Byron Coley, Mats Gustafsson American Unknown
12940 The Names Andrew Knapp 2025 Unknown English
12944 Show Don't Tell Curtis Sittenfeld 2025 Unknown English