I suppose when I say ‘modern’ I mean anything from the mid 20th century to the present day.

At some point in years to come, certain books will stand the test of time and continue to be commonly read, held above other novels as the best this century had to offer. What makes a book a classic? My guess would be the impact it has had and the overall quality of its writing. But it’s probably quite subjective!

One book that springs to mind is Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It’s just unlike anything else I’ve read, with some beautiful visions of the American landscape contrasted with brutal depictions of the worst humanity has to offer.

  • eightpix@lemmy.world
    42·
    3 天前

    From the past 10 years, in reverse order (from my Goodreads)

    • The Passenger + Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

    • Ducks by Kate Beaton

    • The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow

    • Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

    • On Tyrrany by Timothy Snyder

    • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

    • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

    Edit: a few more from the past 50 years.

    • The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

    • Two Thousand Seasons by Ayi Kwei Armah

    • The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

    • The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

    • Post War by Tony Judt

    • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

    • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

    • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

    • Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey