Comments on: The Books and Authors that Mattered in the 2000s

By: The Book Pilgrim | A Few Notes

The Book Pilgrim | A Few Notes — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:59:18 +0000

[...] First, an article I wrote for AltDaily offers my suggestions for the books and authors that made an impact in the oo’s – either as a cultural touchpoint, something that changed the publishing world, or just wonderful new voices and creative minds that emerged in the past ten years. You can read it here. [...]

By: Grant

Grant — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:59:58 +0000

I really like this list and its explanations and I’m in general agreement of the choices. Of the books I’ve read, I’ve found great value in each. Of those I haven’t read, I either saw the movie or now plan to buy a copy from Prince Books.

Looking back on the decade in books I see a remarkable common thread.
These books could broadly be put in one of two categories: either escapist fantasy (wizards, vampires, historical re-writes) or social reality (tipping points, burger-making, an explanation of why crime dropped in the 90s). Otherwise “uncategorizable,” there’s an argument to be made that David Sedaris walks a line between the two.

If I were to add two more authors to the list, the first would be Thomas Friedman for “The World is Flat” – he painted a picture in the early 2000s about what is continuing to unfold in the global economy. Second I think Dave Eggers deserves more than an honorable mention, but I also think his best work is still ahead of him. Perhaps he’ll make the cut in 2020.

By: langston

langston — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:59:20 +0000

I also think that the article provided a really accurate summary of the books that had the greatest commercial, critical and/or cultural impact during these first 10 years of our current millenium. I would just like to add that Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and On Beauty were two of the greatest novels released during the past 10 years and that she, perhaps, was worthy of more than an honorable mention. However, that’s just my opinion and certainly your list is easily defendable. Thanks for your insight Holly.

By: lostcheerio

lostcheerio — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:49:53 +0000

@Mary The list covers the books that mattered in the 200s, not the ones that will still matter in 2025. I think it’s absolutely fair to include Twilight and Dan Brown — ignoring the impact and influence of pop fiction is ridiculous.

@Holly I like that you included non-fiction. I think your list gives a better picture of the publishing scene in the 2000s than most of the more high-brow fiction lists.

Interesting that commercial juggernauts like Harry Potter and Twilight were both penned by women while all the books on the “serious literature” top ten are penned by men. My thoughts on the lack of female writers on the Publisher’s Weekly list: http://bit.ly/6Obbg2

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:18:29 +0000

Holly, forgive me, but I hope you are wrong (re: the books and authors that mattered in the 2000s). What a huge task, putting together a best-of list. I couldn’t do it, and I feel small criticizing your attempt. But as a writer and reader myself, I don’t believe we’ll be reading Twilight or Da Vinci or even Sedaris (though I like his work), in 2050, or, for that matter, 2025. I’m not sure we’ll remember these books, beyond their titles.

While I understand the angle of this story, I was disappointed to find so many runaway best-sellers on the list. The list seems off-mark, given AltDaily’s alternative positioning (and Prince’s indie status).

With so many “best of” lists floating around this time of year, I’m more interested in your views on ten overlooked books or ten great books from small presses or ten excellent contemporary poetry collections — books that might be more reliable indicators of substantive change, not only in the books we read but in the way we think.

Thanks for starting the conversation and for putting up with my little rant.

By: Twitted by AltDaily

Twitted by AltDaily — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:15:56 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by AltDaily [...]