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The Many Uses (and Abuses) of Shame

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Its absence may be liberating or terrifying, relying on the place you sit. When he was president, Donald Trump was usually described as shameless, berating his opponents in essentially the most lurid phrases, gleefully signaling his imperviousness to decorous (and even democratic) opinion. His supporters nonetheless love him for this, excited by his willingness to say the entire obnoxious issues they was “allowed” to say however can’t anymore. You might name it reactionary shamelessness — a defiant refusal to just accept that the norms of the tradition have modified, and a nostalgia for a time when Trump’s supporters had been those doing the shaming. Over the past a number of a long time individuals who may need been on the receiving finish of such mockery have asserted their proper to not be shamed for his or her weight, for his or her gender, for his or her needs.

This assertion is a sort of shamelessness, too, however based on Cathy O’Neil’s new e-book, “The Disgrace Machine,” it’s of a special variety — not bitter and resentful however “wholesome and liberating.” O’Neil distinguishes between disgrace that “punches down” and disgrace that “punches up.” To punch down is to deride and shun individuals for issues that O’Neil says are largely formed by forces past their management; for her, these embrace habit, weight problems and poverty. To punch up is to carry the highly effective to account for his or her deeds — “police chiefs, governors, CEOs.”

Such distinctions are certain to be controversial — too categorical or doubtlessly condescending, portraying individuals as extra abject than they may see themselves to be. O’Neil’s earlier e-book, “Weapons of Math Destruction,” explored how algorithms encode and exacerbate inequality; the “disgrace machines” in her new e-book, which embrace the load loss and wellness industries, perform equally — fueling unhealthy feeling with a purpose to buoy income whereas sustaining an unfair established order.

However we shouldn’t ignore how disgrace has additionally been used as a pressure for constructive change, O’Neil says. She quotes what Frederick Douglass stated he hoped to do for America: to make use of “the general public exposition of the contaminating and degrading affect of Slavery” with a purpose to “disgrace her out of her adhesion to a system so abhorrent to Christianity and to her republican establishments.” At a time when slavery was nonetheless legally sanctioned, Douglass couldn’t enchantment to authorities authority, however he might enchantment to its ostensible beliefs.

“In some instances, shaming is all we’ve got,” Jennifer Jacquet, a professor of environmental research, writes in “Is Disgrace Vital?” (2015). Disgrace is highly effective and in addition wildly imprecise, that means it have to be deployed “shrewdly,” she says, with “scrupulous implementation.” Overzealous deployment can backfire, making the goal really feel victimized and much more remoted. “As with antibiotics, if shaming is abused, we would all find yourself as victims,” she writes.

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The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

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The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of
The New York Times Book Review.

Many of us find joy in looking back and taking stock of our reading lives, which is why we here at The New York Times Book Review decided to mark the first 25 years of this century with an ambitious project: to take a first swing at determining the most important, influential books of the era. In collaboration with the Upshot, we sent a survey to hundreds of literary luminaries, asking them to name the 10 best books published since Jan. 1, 2000.

Stephen King took part. So did Bonnie Garmus, Claudia Rankine, James Patterson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Elin Hilderbrand, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Roxane Gay, Marlon James, Sarah MacLean, Min Jin Lee, Jonathan Lethem and Jenna Bush Hager, to name just a few.

As we publish the list over the course of this week, we hope you’ll discover a book you’ve always meant to read, or encounter a beloved favorite you’d like to pick up again. Above all, we hope you’re as inspired and dazzled as we are by the breadth of subjects, voices, opinions, experiences and imagination represented here.

Be first to see what’s new. Every day this week, the Book Review will unveil 20 more books on our Best Books of the 21st Century list. You can get notified when they’re up — and hear about book reviews, news and features each week — when you receive the Book Review’s newsletter. Sign up here.

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Stephen King, Sarah Jessica Parker and More Share Their Top Books of the 21st Century

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Stephen King, Sarah Jessica Parker and More Share Their Top Books of the 21st Century

Stephen King

Stephen King has written more than 60 books, many of which have been adapted for film and television. His latest is the story collection YOU LIKE IT DARKER.

“Atonement,” by Ian McEwan “Christine Falls,” by Benjamin Black “The Goldfinch,” by Donna Tartt “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn “No Country for Old Men,” by Cormac McCarthy “Oryx and Crake,” by Margaret Atwood “The Paying Guests,” by Sarah Waters “The Plot Against America,” by Philip Roth “The Sympathizer,” by Viet Thanh Nguyen “Under the Dome,” by Stephen King

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Min Jin Lee

Min Jin Lee has written two novels: FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES and PACHINKO, which was one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2017.

“All the Light We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” by Katherine Boo “Brooklyn,” by Colm Tóibín “The Buddha in the Attic,” by Julie Otsuka “Educated,” by Tara Westover “Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond “Gilead,” by Marilynne Robinson “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones “Nickel and Dimed,” by Barbara Ehrenreich “Redeployment,” by Phil Klay

Karl Ove Knausgaard

Karl Ove Knausgaard is a Norwegian writer and essayist best known for MY STRUGGLE, a series of six autobiographical novels.

“2666,” by Roberto Bolaño “The Argonauts,” by Maggie Nelson “The Days of Abandonment,” by Elena Ferrante “The Flame Alphabet,” by Ben Marcus “The Kingdom,” by Emmanuel Carrère “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro “Small Things Like These,” by Claire Keegan “Storm Still,” by Peter Handke “Train Dreams,” by Denis Johnson “Voices from Chernobyl,” by Svetlana Alexievich

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1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Bonnie Garmus

Bonnie Garmus is the author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, which was named Barnes & Noble’s book of the year in 2022.

“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates “Demon Copperhead,” by Barbara Kingsolver “Educated,” by Tara Westover “Genome,” by Matt Ridley “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” by J.K. Rowling “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” by Dave Eggers “Henry David Thoreau,” by Laura Dassow Walls “Pobby and Dingan,” by Ben Rice “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead “The Worst Hard Time,” by Timothy Egan

Nana Kwame Adjei‑Brenyah

Nana Kwame Adjei‑Brenyah’s debut novel, CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS, was one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2023.

“Drinking Coffee Elsewhere: Stories,” by ZZ Packer “Ghost Of,” by Diana Khoi Nguyen “Greenwood,” by Michael Christie “Look,” by Solmaz Sharif “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee “Pastoralia,” by George Saunders “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward “Stories of Your Life and Others,” by Ted Chiang “Tenth of December,” by George Saunders “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

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Junot Díaz

Junot Díaz is an author whose books include THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

“Americanah,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” by Katherine Boo “Brother, I’m Dying,” by Edwidge Danticat “Kingdom Animalia,” by Aracelis Girmay “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones “Out,” by Natsuo Kirino “The Savage Detectives,” by Roberto Bolaño “Say Her Name,” by Francisco Goldman “Stories of Your Life and Others,” by Ted Chiang “Tuff,” by Paul Beatty

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker is an Emmy-winning actress and the founder of Zando’s literary imprint, SJP Lit.

“An American Marriage,” by Tayari Jones “The Bee Sting,” by Paul Murray “A Burning,” by Megha Majumdar “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena,” by Anthony Marra “The Corrections,” by Jonathan Franzen “The Goldfinch,” by Donna Tartt “A History of Burning,” by Janika Oza “The Nickel Boys,” by Colson Whitehead “Say Nothing,” by Patrick Radden Keefe “Wave,” by Sonali Deraniyagala

James Patterson

James Patterson has written more than 200 books across various genres, including collaborations with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton. His latest books include CONFESSIONS OF THE DEAD, which he wrote with J.D. Barker, and TIGER, TIGER.

“11/22/63,” by Stephen King “The Book Thief,” by Markus Zusak “Educated,” by Tara Westover “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” by Stieg Larsson “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” by J.K. Rowling “Kitchen Confidential,” by Anthony Bourdain “Life,” by Keith Richards with James Fox “Mystic River,” by Dennis Lehane “Seabiscuit,” by Laura Hillenbrand

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Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand, often referred to as the queen of beach reads, recently announced that SWAN SONG, released in June, would be the last of her Nantucket summer novels.

“Alice & Oliver,” by Charles Bock “American Wife,” by Curtis Sittenfeld “Dirt Music,” by Tim Winton “Euphoria,” by Lily King “Every Last One,” by Anna Quindlen “Fates and Furies,” by Lauren Groff “Hamnet,” by Maggie O’Farrell “Luster,” by Raven Leilani “May We Be Forgiven,” by A.M. Homes “The Night Circus,” by Erin Morgenstern

Annette Gordon‑Reed

Annette Gordon-Reed is a professor at Harvard University whose 2008 history, THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO, won both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award…

… and she also included it on her ballot, telling us,
“I couldn’t help it.”

“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates “The Emperor of All Maladies,” by Siddhartha Mukherjee “Gilead,” by Marilynne Robinson “The Hemingses of Monticello,” by Annette Gordon-Reed “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot “The Metaphysical Club,” by Louis Menand “The Plot Against America,” by Philip Roth “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel

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1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Rebecca Roanhorse

Rebecca Roanhorse is a Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist whose works include BLACK SUN and TRAIL OF LIGHTNING.

“Ancillary Justice,” by Ann Leckie “Exhalation,” by Ted Chiang “The Fifth Season,” by N.K. Jemisin “The Ministry for the Future,” by Kim Stanley Robinson “The Only Good Indians,” by Stephen Graham Jones “The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories,” by Ken Liu “Ring Shout,” by P. Djèlí Clark “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich “The Saint of Bright Doors,” by Vajra Chandrasekera “Selected Stories,” by Theodore Sturgeon

Marlon James

Marlon James is the author of five novels, including A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS, which won the 2015 Booker Prize.

“2666,” by Roberto Bolaño “As Meat Loves Salt,” by Maria McCann “Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond “The Fifth Season,” by N.K. Jemisin “The Good Lord Bird,” by James McBride “The Line of Beauty,” by Alan Hollinghurst “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee “Skippy Dies,” by Paul Murray “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel “The World Is What It Is,” by Patrick French

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Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay is an editor, essayist and author whose best-selling nonfiction includes BAD FEMINIST and HUNGER. She is also a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times.

“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” by Michael Chabon “The Brutal Language of Love,” by Alicia Erian “Girl, Woman, Other,” by Bernardine Evaristo “Heavy,” by Kiese Laymon “Her Body and Other Parties,” by Carmen Maria Machado “NW,” by Zadie Smith “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee “Room,” by Emma Donoghue “Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward “State of Wonder,” by Ann Patchett

Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem is a writer best known for his 1999 novel MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN.

“Aurora,” by Kim Stanley Robinson “Dear Cyborgs,” by Eugene Lim “The Employees,” by Olga Ravn “Erasure,” by Percival Everett “Hawthorn & Child,” by Keith Ridgway “Houses of Ravicka,” by Renee Gladman “How the Dead Dream,” by Lydia Millet “The Last Samurai,” by Helen DeWitt “Pity the Beast,” by Robin McLean “Trance,” by Christopher Sorrentino

Sarah MacLean

Sarah MacLean is an award-winning romance writer whose most recent novel is KNOCKOUT.

“After Hours on Milagro Street,” by Angelina M. Lopez “Again the Magic,” by Lisa Kleypas “Bet Me,” by Jennifer Crusie “Circe,” by Madeline Miller “Dark Needs at Night’s Edge,” by Kresley Cole “Forbidden,” by Beverly Jenkins “Georgie, All Along,” by Kate Clayborn “Hana Khan Carries On,” by Uzma Jalaluddin “A Heart of Blood and Ashes,” by Milla Vane “Ravishing the Heiress,” by Sherry Thomas

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Ed Yong

Ed Yong is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist and the author of AN IMMENSE WORLD and I CONTAIN MULTITUDES.

“Bel Canto,” by Ann Patchett “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama,” by Nathan Thrall “Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid “H Is for Hawk,” by Helen Macdonald “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot “Saving Time,” by Jenny Odell “The Swimmers,” by Julie Otsuka “This Is How You Lose the Time War,” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone “Trust,” by Hernan Diaz

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Thomas Chatterton Williams

Thomas Chatterton Williams, a staff writer at The Atlantic, is the author of LOSING MY COOL and SELF-PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE.

“All Aunt Hagar’s Children,” by Edward P. Jones “Biography of X,” by Catherine Lacey “Eat the Document,” by Dana Spiotta “Ideas of Heaven: A Ring of Stories,” by Joan Silber “Malcolm X,” by Manning Marable “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich “Runaway,” by Alice Munro “Stay True,” by Hua Hsu “Veronica,” by Mary Gaitskill “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson

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Paul Tremblay

Paul Tremblay is an award-winning horror novelist whose latest book is HORROR MOVIE.

“2666,” by Roberto Bolaño “House of Leaves,” by Mark Z. Danielewski “Lady Joker, Vol. 1,” by Kaoru Takamura “The Maniac,” by Benjamín Labatut “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro “No Country for Old Men,” by Cormac McCarthy “The Only Good Indians,” by Stephen Graham Jones “Our Share of Night,” by Mariana Enriquez “Treasure Island!!!,” by Sara Levine “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead

Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is best known for comic novels like HIGH FIDELITY and ABOUT A BOY.

“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” by Michael Chabon “Austerity Britain,” by David Kynaston “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” by Ben Fountain “Empire Falls,” by Richard Russo “Gilead,” by Marilynne Robinson “Olive Kitteridge,” by Elizabeth Strout “On Beauty,” by Zadie Smith “Pictures at a Revolution,” by Mark Harris “Random Family,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc “Say Nothing,” by Patrick Radden Keefe

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Scott Turow

Scott Turow is an attorney and writer best known for legal thrillers like PRESUMED INNOCENT and THE BURDEN OF PROOF.

“Bel Canto,” by Ann Patchett “Dreamland,” by Sam Quinones “The Good Lord Bird,” by James McBride “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante. Translated by Ann Goldstein. “On Tyranny,” by Timothy Snyder “The Orphan Master’s Son,” by Adam Johnson “The Story of a New Name,” by Elena Ferrante. Translated by Ann Goldstein “The Story of the Lost Child,” by Elena Ferrante. Translated by Ann Goldstein “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman “Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” by Elena Ferrante. Translated by Ann Goldstein

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1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Daniel Alarcón

Daniel Alarcón is a novelist (LOST CITY RADIO) and contributing writer at The New Yorker whose long-running Spanish-language podcast, Radio Ambulante, is distributed by NPR.

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Díaz “Citizen,” by Claudia Rankine “Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones “Lincoln in the Bardo,” by George Saunders “My Brilliant Friend,” by Elena Ferrante. Translated by Ann Goldstein. “NW,” by Zadie Smith “Random Family,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc “The Savage Detectives,” by Roberto Bolaño “Say Nothing,” by Patrick Radden Keefe

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is a poet and professor of English at the University of Oklahoma. Her debut novel, THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DU BOIS, was one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2021.

“Brother, I’m Dying,” by Edwidge Danticat “Built from the Fire,” by Victor Luckerson “Feminism Is For Everybody,” by bell hooks “Gathering Blossoms,” by Alice Walker “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones “A Mercy,” by Toni Morrison “The Source of Self-Regard,” by Toni Morrison “Stamped from the Beginning,” by Ibram X. Kendi “Ties that Bind,” by Tiya Miles “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson

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Lucy Sante

Lucy Sante is a writer whose last book, I HEARD HER CALL MY NAME, is a memoir of her gender transition.

“Anniversaries,” by Uwe Johnson. Translated by Damion Searls “Feral City,” by Jeremiah Moss “The Friend,” by Sigrid Nunez “It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track,” by Ian Penman “Jacket Weather,” by Mike DeCapite “The Mars Room,” by Rachel Kushner “Same Bed Different Dreams,” by Ed Park “The Savage Detectives,” by Roberto Bolaño “Stay True,” by Hua Hsu “Voices from Chernobyl,” by Svetlana Alexievich

Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart has written five novels, one of which, ABSURDISTAN, was named one of The Times’s 10 Best Books of 2006.

“Bangkok Wakes to Rain,” by Pitchaya Sudbanthad “The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel,” by Amy Hempel “Educated,” by Tara Westover “Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid “The Master,” by Colm Tóibín “Netherland,” by Joseph O’Neill “Outline,” by Rachel Cusk “Postwar,” by Tony Judt “Veronica,” by Mary Gaitskill “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson

Anand Giridharadas

Anand Giridharadas is a writer and former foreign correspondent whose books include THE PERSUADERS and WINNERS TAKE ALL.

“The Argonauts,” by Maggie Nelson “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” by Katherine Boo “Dark Money,” by Jane Mayer “Far From the Tree,” by Andrew Solomon “A Little Life,” by Hanya Yanagihara “Maximum City,” by Suketu Mehta “My Struggle: Book 2,” by Karl Ove Knausgaard “One of Us,” by Asne Seierstad “Random Family,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc “The Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion

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Jessamine Chan

Jessamine Chan’s debut novel, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS, was named by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of 2022.

“Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah “Cinema Love,” by Jiaming Tang “Easy Beauty,” by Chloé Cooper Jones “Invisible Child,” by Andrea Elliott “Kairos,” by Jenny Erpenbeck “Matrix,” by Lauren Groff “Minor Feelings,” by Cathy Park Hong “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro “Pure Colour,” by Sheila Heti “Torn Apart,” by Dorothy Roberts

Michael Robbins

Michael Robbins is the author of several poetry collections, including WALKMAN and THE SECOND SEX.

“Alien vs. Predator,” by Michael Robbins “Communal Luxury,” by Kristin Ross “Cruel Optimism,” by Lauren Berlant “Fossil Capital,” by Andreas Malm “Keats’s Odes,” by Anahid Nersessian “Lila,” by Marilynne Robinson “Planet of Slums,” by Mike Davis “Poemland,” by Chelsey Minnis “Stolen Life,” by Fred Moten “Veronica,” by Mary Gaitskill

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Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu is a genre-spanning writer whose books include RED WIDOW and THE HUNGER.

“Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell,” by Susanna Clarke “Lincoln in the Bardo,” by George Saunders “The Little Friend,” by Donna Tartt “The Little Stranger,” by Sarah Waters “Never Let Me Go,” by Kazuo Ishiguro “The Only Good Indians,” by Stephen Graham Jones “The Swimmers,” by Julie Otsuka “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” by Audrey Niffenegger “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel

Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott is the Edgar-winning author of 11 novels, including DARE ME, THE TURNOUT and BEWARE THE WOMAN.

“Blonde,” by Joyce Carol Oates “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn “Life After Life,” by Kate Atkinson “A Little Life,” by Hanya Yanagihara “Lost Girls,” by Robert Kolker “My Sister, the Serial Killer,” by Oyinkan Braithwaite “Nemesis,” by Philip Roth “Random Family,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc “Winter’s Bone,” by Daniel Woodrell “The Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion

Joshua Ferris

Joshua Ferris has written five novels, including THEN WE CAME TO THE END, which won the 2008 PEN/Hemingway Award.

“The Corrections,” by Jonathan Franzen “The Gathering,” by Anne Enright “Gilead,” by Marilynne Robinson “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones “No Country for Old Men,” by Cormac McCarthy “No One Is Talking About This,” by Patricia Lockwood “NW,” by Zadie Smith “The Savage Detectives,” by Roberto Bolaño “Tinkers,” by Paul Harding “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel

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Ann Napolitano

Ann Napolitano is a novelist whose last book, HELLO BEAUTIFUL, was the 100th pick of Oprah’s Book Club.

“Americanah,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Díaz “Cloud Atlas,” by David Mitchell “Demon Copperhead,” by Barbara Kingsolver “Far From the Tree,” by Andrew Solomon “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi “The Master,” by Colm Tóibín “Station Eleven,” by Emily St. John Mandel “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead “Wolf Hall,” by Hilary Mantel

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

John Irving

John Irving is the author of THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, among other novels.

“The Absolutist,” by John Boyne “Burma Sahib,” by Paul Theroux “Cutting for Stone,” by Abraham Verghese “Last Night,” by James Salter “The Nix,” by Nathan Hill “Peeling the Onion,” by Günter Grass “A Saint from Texas,” by Edmund White “Shadow Country,” by Peter Matthiessen “Warlight,” by Michael Ondaatje “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?,” by Jeanette Winterson

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Tiya Miles

Tiya Miles is a professor of history at Harvard University whose books include ALL THAT SHE CARRIED, which won the 2021 National Book Award for nonfiction, and the just-published NIGHT FLYER.

“Frederick Douglass,” by David W. Blight “The Hemingses of Monticello,” by Annette Gordon-Reed “Less,” by Andrew Sean Greer “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” by Michael Pollan “People Love Dead Jews,” by Dara Horn “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich “Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward “The Swerve,” by Stephen Greenblatt “The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead

1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Jami Attenberg

Jami Attenberg is a writer whose new novel, A REASON TO SEE YOU AGAIN, comes out in September.

“Bright Dead Things,” by Ada Limón “The Corrections,” by Jonathan Franzen “Fun Home,” by Alison Bechdel “Grief Is For People,” by Sloane Crosley “Heavy,” by Kiese Laymon “How to Write an Autobiographical Novel,” by Alexander Chee “Just Kids,” by Patti Smith “Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee “There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé,” by Morgan Parker “True Biz,” by Sara Novic

Stephen L. Carter

Stephen L. Carter, a professor at Yale Law School, has written critically acclaimed nonfiction as well as six novels, including THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK.

“Bourgeois Dignity,” by Deirdre McCloskey “Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid “The Fabric of Civilization,” by Virginia Postrel “The Human Stain,” by Philip Roth “Inventing The Enemy,” by Umberto Eco “March,” by Geraldine Brooks “The Overstory,” by Richard Powers “Silence,” by Jane Brox “That All Shall Be Saved,” by David Bentley Hart “What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky,” by Lesley Nneka Arimah

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1 of these, so far, appears on the 100 Best list.
(This page will update throughout the
week.)

Sarah Schulman

Sarah Schulman is a novelist, playwright and nonfiction writer whose most recent book is LET THE RECORD SHOW.

“Citizen,” by Claudia Rankine “The Freezer Door,” by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore “Memorial Drive,” by Natasha Trethewey “Minor Detail,” by Adania Shibli “The Rediscovery of America,” by Ned Blackhawk “They Were Her Property,” by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers “Vanguard,” by Martha S. Jones “The Viral Underclass,” by Steven W. Thrasher “We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I,” by Raja Shehadeh “The Women’s House of Detention,” by Hugh Ryan

Elizabeth Hand

Elizabeth Hand is the author of 20 novels, most recently A HAUNTING ON THE HILL.

“The Enchanted,” by Rene Denfeld “Henry Darger,” by John M. MacGregor “Ill Will,” by Dan Chaon “James Tiptree Jr.,” by Julie Phillips “Just Kids,” by Patti Smith “The Little Stranger,” by Sarah Waters “Magic for Beginners,” by Kelly Link “Night of the Living Rez,” by Morgan Talty “The Old Ways,” by Robert Macfarlane “Pattern Recognition,” by William Gibson

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Dion Graham

Dion Graham is an actor whose award-winning audiobook narrations include Jonathan Eig’s KING and Colson Whitehead’s CROOK MANIFESTO.

“American War,” by Omar El Akkad “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” by Marlon James “Chasing Me to My Grave,” by Winfred Rembert “The Dark Forest,” by Cixin Liu “Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” by Dave Eggers “His Name Is George Floyd,” by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa “King: A Life,” by Jonathan Eig “Washington Black,” by Esi Edugyan

Jeremy Denk

Jeremy Denk is a classical pianist and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.” His memoir, EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE, was published in 2022.

“Austerlitz,” by W.G. Sebald “Consider the Lobster,” by David Foster Wallace “Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi,” by Geoff Dyer “A Little Devil in America,” by Hanif Abdurraqib “Luster,” by Raven Leilani “The Possessed,” by Elif Batuman “Random Family,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc “The Rest Is Noise,” by Alex Ross “Runaway,” by Alice Munro “Sound Within Sound,” by Kate Molleson

Morgan Jerkins

Morgan Jerkins is a journalist, editor and the author of several books, including THIS WILL BE MY UNDOING.

“Barracoon,” by Zora Neale Hurston “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage,” by Haruki Murakami “Erasure,” by Percival Everett “The Future Is History,” by Masha Gessen “Girl, Woman, Other,” by Bernardine Evaristo “How to Say Babylon,” by Safiya Sinclair “In the Dream House,” by Carmen Maria Machado “Looking for Lorraine,” by Imani Perry “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward

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Michael Roth

Michael Roth is the president of Wesleyan University.

“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” by Michael Chabon “The Argonauts,” by Maggie Nelson “In Love,” by Amy Bloom “Lose Your Mother,” by Saidiya Hartman “Lost Children Archive,” by Valeria Luiselli “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” by Ocean Vuong “Septology,” by Jon Fosse. Translated by Damion Searls “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman “The Topeka School,” by Ben Lerner “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” by Jennifer Egan

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday is the author of 12 books, including RIGHT THING, RIGHT NOW and THE DAILY STOIC, and co-owns a bookstore in Bastrop, Texas.

“Caste,” by Isabel Wilkerson “The Choice,” by Edith Eger “Deep Work,” by Cal Newport “How the Word Is Passed,” by Clint Smith “Mastery,” by Robert Greene “The River of Doubt,” by Candice Millard “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed,” by Jon Ronson “The Tiger,” by John Vaillant “Tunnel 29,” by Helena Merriman

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Euro 2024 day 23: England's 'cheat code' water bottle and can the Dutch go all the way?

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Euro 2024 day 23: England's 'cheat code' water bottle and can the Dutch go all the way?

The semi-finals line-up for Euro 2024 is complete.

With France and Spain having assured themselves of places in the last four yesterday, England and the Netherlands followed them with victories today.

Both quarter-finals were tight and dramatic, in different ways. England once again looked laboured and devoid of imagination for much of their meeting with Switzerland, only to squeeze through thanks to Bukayo Saka’s brilliant individual goal — which cancelled out Breel Embolo’s opener — and then some heroics in the penalty shootout.

The Dutch, meanwhile, came from behind against Turkey to reach their first European Championship semi-final in 20 years, setting up a meeting with England in Dortmund on Wednesday.

Our writers dissect the major talking points.

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England’s penalty secret? It’s all about the bottle

There didn’t seem to be much in it at first.

Cole Palmer had just scored England’s first penalty in their shootout with Switzerland and Manuel Akanji was sauntering forward to make his response. Jordan Pickford, the England goalkeeper, began to trot over too, before suddenly doubling back.

Pickford had forgotten something — his water bottle, which was rather oddly wrapped in a towel. Having picked it up, he moved back to his goal and placed the bottle, still wearing its towel, next to the side netting.

Having made Akanji wait a bit longer by moving forward to inspect the penalty spot, Pickford settled back on his goal line. Akanji had a short run-up and struck the ball with his right foot, but Pickford was one step ahead. He plunged to his left, parried the penalty away and England had an advantage they were never to relinquish.

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Good fortune? Not so much. This was actually a triumph of subterfuge for England and their team of analysts who had studied the penalties of all Switzerland’s players, noted where they tended to place them and printed out their findings for Pickford to stick on his water bottle.

The analysis was captured by a photographer at the ground but Pickford was taking no chances in the moments before Akanji’s penalty — hence his decision to wrap the bottle in that towel.

And England’s backroom staff had clearly done their homework well. They had deciphered that Akanji was likely to shoot to his right, so the best way for Pickford to play the percentages was to dive left — which he duly did.


Pickford’s water bottle with the instruction for Akanji’s penalty (we have circled it here)

Having got it right first time, it was surprising Pickford did not follow his bottle’s advice on all the penalties.

Fabian Schar took their second one but rather than pretending to dive right before actually diving to his left — as his bottle instructed — Pickford did the reverse, faking left and jumping right. Schar’s penalty unfolded as the bottle had predicted, to his right, where the net was vacant.

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Pickford did follow his bottle for the final two Swiss penalties: Xherdan Shaqiri struck his to the right, but it was too well placed and his shot just evaded Pickford’s fingertips.

The only penalty where the bottle was proved wrong was for Zeki Amdouni on the fourth kick. Pickford held his ground and dived low to his left, as he had been briefed, but Amdouni outwitted him by going to his right.

Thankfully for England, that one save was enough. And if their semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday also goes the distance, do not be surprised to see Pickford’s bottle and towel make another appearance.

Andrew Fifield


Saka stars — but where is Kane?

When Saka starts well, England start well. He was their best player in the first half against Serbia in their opening match of Euro 2024, when he repeatedly had the beating of marker Andrija Zivkovic, and today he was again.

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It was no coincidence that the first half today was England’s best since they started the tournament nearly three weeks ago. Pushed high and wide in possession, in a formation that almost looked like a 3-4-3, Saka was up against left wing-back Michel Aebischer. And he easily had the beating of him.

So many times in the first half, Saka took advantage of the fact that England were getting the ball to him far faster than they had been against Slovakia in the previous round. Saka got into good positions, put crosses in and forced corners. The only frustration was that England were never able to turn any of those crosses into serious shots on goal.


Bukayo Saka was a star for England (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Striker Harry Kane, who was prone to dropping deep throughout the match, ending up playing in defence at points in the second half, was unable to get on the end of any of Saka’s deliveries. Kane was substituted in extra time after an accidental touchline collision with England’s manager, Gareth Southgate.

Without the ball, Saka had to run back and cover Ruben Vargas, but he did that diligently. And when England needed him most, Saka delivered with the crucial equaliser, just when his team looked completely out of ideas.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

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Can the Netherlands go all the way?

An unconvincing run, a manager who not many are convinced by, a couple of come-from-behind wins and a feeling that being in the good half of the draw is the only reason they are in the semi-finals… for England, read the Netherlands.

But here they are, in the final four of the Euros for the first time since 2004. So, how good are their prospects of winning just a second major tournament in their history?

Well, Turkey preyed on their weaknesses in today’s quarter-final, especially via set pieces and crosses, while Austria also took advantage of a badly organised defence when consigning them to third in the group stage. But the Dutch have got plenty going for them too.


The Netherlands celebrate beating Turkey (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Again like England, when they’re confident and in full flow, showing composure and intensity, they can be great to watch, as was the case when beating Romania 3-0 in the round of 16.

Tonight, they had to show resolve, spirit… and some tactical acumen from manager Ronald Koeman with his second-half changes.

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Three-goal Cody Gakpo is an obvious threat (who Turkey dealt with well until he crept in at the back post to take advantage of some dozy defending and help score the winner, via Mert Muldur’s own goal), while if Jerdy Schouten, Tijjani Reijnders and Xavi Simons are given time and space in midfield they can play — and then some.

Denzel Dumfries is always a pacy danger from full-back and then there’s big Wout Weghorst to throw into the mix off the bench for some aerial carnage.

England will have plenty to think about.

On current form, Wednesday’s semi-final in Dortmund looks too close to call.

Tim Spiers

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Guler departs… as a star

While a Barcelona teenager — Spain’s Lamine Yamal — has rightly been garnering attention throughout the tournament for his sparkling performances, one from their arch-rivals Real Madrid has emerged as someone equally thrilling.

Arda Guler of Turkey may not have played too often for Madrid last season, mostly owing to injury, but he ended his debut year at the Bernabeu in fabulous form (five goals in five games) and brought that momentum to Euro 2024.


Arda Guler has been a star at Euro 2024 (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)

His second assist of the tournament against the Netherlands today was a beauty. Turkey and Guler, after a slow start, had come into the game via a series of threatening set pieces which the Dutch struggled to cope with, and the opening goal was an extension of that.

Picking up a cleared corner on the right of the box, Guler was itching to try to work the ball onto his favoured left foot and whip it into the box.

With no angle to do that, the 19-year-old, who also hit the post with a free kick in the second half, reluctantly took a swish with his right… and delivered a picture-perfect outswinging cross that completely befuddled goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who resembled someone who had half-crossed a road only to recoil and hesitate when seeing a speeding motorbike careering their way.

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Verbruggen neither jumped to claim the ball nor reversed to his goal line. He was helpless. Step forward Samet Akaydin at the back post, only playing because of Merih Demiral’s suspension, and he planted an easy header into the net.

Guler’s tournament may be over now, but you sense that this is just the start of a glittering career, for club and country.

Tim Spiers

What’s next?

  • Spain vs France (Tuesday, 8pm BST; 3pm ET)
  • Netherlands vs England (Wednesday. 8pm BST; 3pm ET)

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

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