Snotty Literati’s Best of the Decade

As crazy as it might be, we will try to identify the Best Books of the Decade.  

So many books are published every year. This “canon” has been promulgated throughout history. It is, thankfully, morphing to include more diversity. In truth, we all miss reading plenty fabulous books. Today, we ask—humbly, cautiously, hesitantly—what books should readers not miss. Before we go for it, we need to admit that we might miss awesome books. However, these are the books that we hope you don’t miss . . .

To make these lists, the books have to stand some test of time. We continue to think about them in some way or another.

Best Fiction of the Decade

Lara’s Picks

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2. News of the World by Paulette Jiles
3. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
4. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
5. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
6. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
7. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
8. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
9. There There by Tommy Orange
10. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

Jennifer’s Picks (Um, I thought and thought—and I had to do more than ten.)

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
4. The Neopolitian Quartet by Elena Ferrante (I’m immediately cheating, but I really can’t distinguish one from the other anyway; they totally blend and run into one another.)
5. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
6. Busy Monsters by William Giraldi
7. The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
8. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
9. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
10. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
11. Home by Marilynne Robinson
12. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
13. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Best Nonfiction (Non-Memoir) of the Decade

Now, we are not big readers of nonfiction. However, if you are like us mega-fiction readers, you might like the nonfiction we like.

Jennifer’s Picks

1. We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2. American Audacity by William Giraldi
3. Them: Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal by Ben Sasse
4. Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris – pub this decade despite being older
5. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Lara’s Picks

1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
2. The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care by T.R. Reid
3. Columbine by Dave Cullen
4. Unbroken by Laura Hillendbrand
5. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Best Memoirs of the Decade

We love us a good memoir. Whether by a celebrity or regular person, it’s always interesting to learn someone’s story, their world, in their own words.

Lara’s Picks

1. Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
2. Dear America: Notes of An Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
3. March Books 1-3 by Representative John Lewis (a must-read trio of graphic memoirs)
4. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Strapani (another graphic memoir)
5. The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
6. Becoming by Michelle Obama
7. A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas
8. Educated by Tara Westover
9. One More Theory About Happiness by Paul Guest

 Jennifer’s Picks

1. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
2. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
3. The Recovering by Leslie Jamison (I love The Empathy Exams and Make It Scream, Make It Burn too)
4. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
5. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
6. Calypso by David Sedaris
7. Just Kids by Patti Smith
8. Educated by Tara Westover

Best Young Adult Books of the Decade

We are hit or miss when it comes to YA. We aren’t super into vampires and dystopia, but we have a cult classic on our lists. We lean more to the more literary, realistic, character-driven YA. If you do too, there’s a lot to pick from here!

Jennifer’s Picks (I’m not a huge fan of YA, so listen to Lara.)

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (ended in 2010)
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (I’m listing this twice; I, personally, wouldn’t call it YA—but most people do.)

 Lara’s Picks (clearly, I read way more YA than Jennifer does):

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
2. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
3. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
4. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
5. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
6. If Jack’s In Love by Stephen Wetta
7. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Best Short Story Collections of the Decade

Short stories often get the short end of the stick. Here are some worth your time.

Lara’s Picks

1. Boys and Girls Like You and Me by Aryn Kyle
2. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
3. The Freak Chronicles by Jennifer Spiegel (yep, the same one I write with)
4. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
5. Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny

Jennifer’s Picks (Isn’t Lara nice?)

1. Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie
2. The Other Language by Francesca Marciano
3. One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

(I’ve read many, many others that are good – but I’m deliberately being picky, so our readers don’t miss these.)

Best Audiobooks of the Decade

The science is out! Audiobooks are as much reading as reading is reading. But the narrator(s) can make or break your listening experience. Here’s our list of surefire bets!

Jennifer’s Picks (I think I like audiobooks narrated by the author best – just to hear how they read their own prose. I still listen to other narrators.)

1. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
2. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
3. The Recovering by Leslie Jamison (I love The Empathy Exams and Make It Scream, Make It Burn too)
4. Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
5. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
6. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
7. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
8. Calypso by David Sedaris
9. Theft By Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by David Sedaris – pub this decade despite being older
10. Just Kids by Patti Smith

Lara’s Picks

1. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (narrated by the author)
2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (narrated by the author)
3. The Nix by Nathan Hill
4. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
6. The Power by Naomi Alderman
7. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
8. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
9. Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache Series 1 – 14.
10. The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell

If you have made it this far, we are grateful and surprised. You have enough to read or listen to for the next decade. If you read any of the above (or have already done so), let us know what you think in the comments.

Until next time… Happy reading, Snotties!

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