The 25 best books of the 2000s
The 25 highest-ranked books first published in the 2000s in our ranking of 2,819, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 491 books of the 2000s in all. How we rank
- 1
The Book Thief92.3Must-Read ScoreThe Book Thief
It's a story about the power of words in a time when words were being used to destroy, and it's told with such warmth and strangeness that it stays with readers for life.
- 2
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer90.1Must-Read ScoreAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
It's a gripping portrait of a genius haunted by what he made, and of how America turned on him.
- 3
The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/1189.6Must-Read ScoreThe Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
It reads like a thriller, but it's careful, humane history that won the Pulitzer Prize.
- 4
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea89.6Must-Read ScoreNothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
It's the best book ever written about ordinary life in North Korea, because it focuses on people, not politics.
- 5
The Help89.0Must-Read ScoreThe Help
It's a hugely popular, emotional and often funny story about courage and friendship across the color line, with three distinct narrators readers love.
- 6Master of the Senate88.8Must-Read Score
Master of the Senate
It won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
- 7
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 194588.2Must-Read ScorePostwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
It's the masterpiece of modern European history, sharp, witty and enormously learned, and it makes sense of the continent we know today.
- 8
A Thousand Splendid Suns87.9Must-Read ScoreA Thousand Splendid Suns
It's an emotional, unforgettable story of friendship and endurance, with two heroines readers never forget.
- 9
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It's on the New York Times list of the century's best books and won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- 10
The Hunger Games87.0Must-Read ScoreThe Hunger Games
It's one of the best-selling books of all time and defined a whole era of young adult fiction.
- 11
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay86.7Must-Read ScoreThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
It's a big, generous, dazzling novel about art, escape, friendship and the America of the 1940s, and it won the Pulitzer Prize.
- 12
Half of a Yellow Sun86.6Must-Read ScoreHalf of a Yellow Sun
It won the Orange Prize and is on the Guardian's list of the best books of the century.
- 13
The Glass Castle86.3Must-Read ScoreThe Glass Castle
It's an astonishing story told without self-pity, full of love for parents who failed her again and again, and it's one of the most beloved memoirs of the century.
- 14
The Kite Runner86.1Must-Read ScoreThe Kite Runner
It's one of the best-selling novels of the century, about 31.5 million copies.
- 15
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood86.1Must-Read ScorePersepolis: The Story of a Childhood
It's a classic of the graphic-memoir form, funny and devastating, and it makes a huge historical upheaval intimate through a child's eyes.
- 16
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals85.2Must-Read ScoreThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
It was a National Book Critics Circle finalist and is on the Guardian's list of the best books of the century.
- 17The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo85.2Must-Read Score
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
It's one of the best-selling novels ever, with about 30 million copies sold, it spent 184 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists, and it's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the 21st century.
- 18The Name of the Wind84.9Must-Read Score
The Name of the Wind
It's one of the most beloved fantasy novels of the century.
- 19
"A Problem From Hell": America and the Age of Genocide84.2Must-Read Score"A Problem From Hell": America and the Age of Genocide
It won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.
- 20Night Watch84.1Must-Read Score
Night Watch
It's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the 21st century and the BBC's Big Read, and many fans call it the best of all the Discworld novels.
- 21
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression83.7Must-Read ScoreThe Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
It won the National Book Award and was a Pulitzer finalist.
- 22
Outliers: The Story of Success83.3Must-Read ScoreOutliers: The Story of Success
It spent months at #1 on the New York Times list and popularized the "10,000-hour rule." It's fast, entertaining and full of conversation-starting stories.
- 23
Slavery by Another Name83.2Must-Read ScoreSlavery by Another Name
It won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.
- 24
Moneyball82.9Must-Read ScoreMoneyball
It's on the Guardian's list of the best books of the century and became a film with Brad Pitt.
- 25
Ghost Wars82.8Must-Read ScoreGhost Wars
It won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.