Year-End Lists

A hand-curated, browsable index
of notable year-end lists.

2021
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Girlhood - Melissa Febos

Electric Lit Favorite Nonfiction Books of 2021

Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters

Electric Lit Favorite Novels of 2021

Assembly - Natasha Brown

Atlantic The 20 Best Books of 2021

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

Parade Magazine 40 Best Books of 2021

Happy Hour - Marlowe Granados

Passerby Best Books of 2021

Orwell's Roses - Rebecca Solnit

New Statesman Best Books of 2021

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Bethanne Patrick: Los Angeles Times The 5 Best Novels of 2021

Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keefe

Mary Ann Gwinn: Los Angeles Times The 5 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021

Afterparties - Anthony Veasna So

Mark Athitakis: Los Angeles Times The 5 Best Fiction Books of 2021

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

Barack Obama Favorite Books of 2021

A Little Devil in America - Hanif Abdurraqib

Thrillist The Best Books of 2021

On Freedom - Maggie Nelson

Jessica Ferri: Los Angeles Times The 5 Best Books of 2021

Infinite Country - Patricia Engel

Entertainment Weekly The 10 Best Books of 2021

Esquire The 50 Best Books of 2021

Second Place - Rachel Cusk

A.V. Club 15 Favorite Books of 2021

Matrix - Lauren Groff

Hillary Kelly: New York The Best Books of 2021

Crossroads - Jonathan Franzen

Lit Hub Our 48 Favorite Books of 2021

Maureen Corrigan: NPR 2021 Best Books

The Wrong End of the Telescope - Rabih Alameddine

BuzzFeed The Best Books Of 2021

Bewilderment - Richard Powers

St. Louis Post-Dispatch 20 Favorite New Books of 2021

Economist The Best Books of 2021

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

Library Journal Best Literary Fiction of 2021

Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead

Annabel Gutterman: Time The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021

The Burning Blue - Kevin Cook

USA Today The Best Books of 2021