“These are the 100 best books of the 21st century, as voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, and critics.” So sayeth The New York Times. Alas, I’ve read but a few of them. Still, I will mention the ones for which I have… some relationship beyond seeing the author interviewed on CBS Saturday Morning, such as #76 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022).
#88 The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis (2010)
Around 2012, Lydia Davis spoke at the Albany Public Library, and I picked up this book. A few years later, the Friends and Foundation named her a Literary Legend, and I got to speak with her a half dozen times. “If her work has become a byword for short (nay, microdose) fiction, this collection proves why it is also hard to shake; a conflagration of odd little umami bombs — sometimes several pages, sometimes no more than a sentence — whose casual, almost careless wordsmithery defies their deadpan resonance.”
#69 The New Jim Crow by (2010)
Not only did I read it, I reviewed it. It’s an important book.
#48 Persepolis by (2003)
I took the graphic novel to a work conference but left it in my hotel room. They shipped it back to me, but it cost me more than buying the book again. It’s here waiting to be read. However, I did watch the movie on a flight from Paris to New York City in May 2023 and liked it.
#36 Between the World and Me by (2015)
In 2016, I wrote that I SHOULD read the book, and subsequently, I did but failed to review it. I found it moving.
A Family Tragicomic
#35 Fun Home by (2006)
I did not read the graphic novel, even though ADD said I should, and he’s usually correct. And I probably will. However, I did a touring company production of the musical in 2017 at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, and I own the Original Cast Album. Here’s the performance from the Tony Awards in 2015
#26 Atonement by (2002)
I saw the movie adaptation in 2008, which I did not love.
#20 Erasure by 2001
I saw the movie adaptation in January 2024, and I LOVED it! However, they changed the title to American Fiction.
#16 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by (2000)
Someone lent this to me years ago, and I got to about page 59 before stopping, and I no longer remember why. It’s still sitting on my shelf, next to Persepolis. Yes, 2000 is in the 20th century; I didn’t make the list.
#7 The Underground Railroad by (2016)
It’s been on my Amazon list since 2021.
#2 The Warmth of Other Suns by (2010)
My wife has read and thoroughly enjoyed this 600-page book in the past few years. It’s about the Great Migration of Black Americans from the South to the North and West from 1915 to 1970.
The Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library is having its Literary Legends Gala 2021 on Saturday, October 16 from 6 to 8 pm. It will be held at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library, 517 Western Avenue. The first six annual galas were in person. The one in 2020 was, no surprise, virtual. This year’s event will be a hybrid because that’s what 2021 looks like.