It finally happened: The 2010s came to an end, and with it, a plethora of literary trends. The decade began with the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, kicking off a multi-year infatuation in young adult literature with dystopian stories. Soon after, in 2012, he was hit by another trendsetter, John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars,” which ushered in the best-selling but ultimately controversial genre of sick literature. With this decade also came the rise of e-readers like Kindle and Nook, audiobooks that could be accessed through apps, book-related subscription services like Book of the Month, and Hollywood’s relentless need to adapt new and old books. , proving all those wrong who predicted that this was the decade that would make books obsolete. luckily for me (and for the rest of the reading world), the books are better than ever. here are the top 10 books of the 2010s, unranked, for my own sanity, according to former crimson book exec.
“the goldfinch” by donna tartt
You are reading: Best books of the past decade
for anyone who hasn’t come across tartt yet, do yourself a favor and read the novel first. this 2013 release was adapted in 2019, but despite the star-studded cast and gorgeous aesthetic, the film received poor reviews from critics. The film’s main flaw is that it simply couldn’t do in two and a half hours what Tartt accomplishes in 780 pages. what feels superficial and undeserved in the film is expanded to its fullest potential in the novel. reading “the goldfinch” is a big task, but it is worth it. on the final page, it’s a harsh goodbye to the characters readers have watched grow and age.
“normal people” by sally rooney
After publishing just two novels, Rooney has been lauded as the “first great writer of the millennial generation” and “the Jane Austen of the precariat,” and for good reason. “normal people” manages to capture the tumultuous feelings, both in relationships and in the job market, that millennials tried to come to terms with this decade. the prose is so clean and readable that it’s almost as if you’re reading your own thoughts, and this is a book that both hurts to read and demands to be devoured in a day. it’s a beautiful train wreck and you can’t look away.
the broken earth trilogy of n. K. jemisin
“The Fifth Season” won the Hugo Award in 2016, but what makes this sci-fi trilogy stand out from the rest of this decade’s Hugo winners is that Jemisin is the first writer in history to win the hugo three years running, for each book in this series. This honor is not bestowed lightly: each novel in this trilogy is equally harrowing. jemisin succeeds in creating a world unrecognizable to us, and yet one that terrifyingly recalls the worst parts of our history. the trilogy is the perfect example of the power of fiction, wrapped up in a story unlike any other.
See Also: Robin McKinley – Book Series In Order
“pachinko” by min jin lee
“Pachinko” is easily one of the best historical fiction novels of the decade, and Lee devotes nearly 500 pages to detailing the life of a Korean family in 20th-century Japan. The novel spans decades and interrogates not only the families’ secret histories, but also the complicated relationship between Koreans and Japanese during the 20th century. lee handles complex subjects, from imperialism to racism to family pressures, with nuance and care, unraveling the complexities and presenting them to the reader without sounding didactic.
mohsin hamid’s “west exit”
although it’s a short and thin book, “exit west” packs a punch. The magical realism of portals in a nameless city that open to locations around the world may sound whimsical at first, but Hamid has carefully constructed a setting that poignantly accentuates the trials and tribulations of the refugees. the novel deals simultaneously with nothing in particular and with many humanitarian crises that occur in the world. To top it off, at the center of “exit west” is a romance that will leave readers’ hearts aching.
“less” than andrew sean greer
Most of the novels on this list deal with fairly serious topics, but “less” is the balm to heal all wounds. While Greer doesn’t shy away from concepts like loneliness and sadness, she has also managed to write arguably one of the funniest novels of the decade. In 2018, “Less” joined the small number of satirical novels that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. “less” is about getting older and being gay and writing and traveling and figuring things out even after you probably should know them by now, and by gosh, that’s funny.
“all the light we cannot see” by anthony doerr
See Also: Great Graphic Novels for 2nd and 3rd Graders | LibraryMom
There are many historical fiction novels set in World War II, but “All the Light We Cannot See” is certainly one of the best. centers on a blind French girl and a German boy with a knack for playing with radios. the novel revolves around the children, but doerr writes her young characters without oversimplifying anything, which is appropriate considering the atrocities the children must face. This is a novel that doesn’t hide the terrors of World War II, and yet at the center of it all is a nugget of hope: Even while the bad people live, the good ones are still out there.
“americanah” by chimamanda ngozi adichie
adichie challenges the idea that America is the land of promise and happiness for immigrants. Even when his main character, Ifemelu, a Nigerian native, moves to the United States, he gets an education, finds a job, and meets people he likes, he never seems entirely happy. But then again, after many years, Nigeria no longer feels like home to Ifemelu. adichie captures the tension between wanting to live in the united states for “a better life” and what it means to give up the people, the culture, and the feeling of home.
“an american marriage” by tayari jones
When Roy is wrongfully imprisoned for a rape he didn’t commit, things get tough for him and his newlywed wife, Heavenly. On the one hand, the story is perhaps one of the best (and most painful) explorations of love. on the other hand, this novel dives deep into the problems of mass incarceration of black people in the united states. “An American Marriage” is hard but necessary reading. Jones pulls back the curtain on America’s less-than-perfect justice system, and also, I’d say, middle-class marriage and neighborhood politics, and what he reveals isn’t pretty. but he sees that we must.
“the power” by councilwoman naomi
What if one day we woke up and all of a sudden women had a dangerous power, the ability to electrocute themselves and kill with a wave of their hand? “The Power” explores just that, imagining what would happen if women inherently had this kind of authority over men. The councilman doesn’t blurt out many answers: some women would be kind or fight for equality, some women would take revenge or take advantage of their newfound power. instead, he simply shows what could be developed. “power” is a compelling survey of gender roles and, more broadly, the ways in which humans wield power.
—writer caroline e. you can be reached at caroline.tew@thecrimson.com. follow her on twitter @caroline_tew
See Also: Free Guitar Pdf Ebooks