Gilbert Cruz

Well, the secret is that one does not. One relies on many other people. We decided to take advantage of the fact that we have access to thousands of authors who write reviews for us all the time and sort of lean on their expertise. These are all people that are extremely well-read. So we sent a survey out to 1,200 or so people. A lot of them were authors.

Well, the secret is that one does not. One relies on many other people. We decided to take advantage of the fact that we have access to thousands of authors who write reviews for us all the time and sort of lean on their expertise. These are all people that are extremely well-read. So we sent a survey out to 1,200 or so people. A lot of them were authors.

You know, Stephen King, Bonnie Garmis, Curtis Sittenfeld, R.L. Stine. Then we had editors in the publishing industry, people that own bookstores, librarians. famous people who read a lot of books, like Sarah Jessica Parker. We asked them what their 10 best books published in English since January 1st, 2000 were. We didn't define best for them at all.

You know, Stephen King, Bonnie Garmis, Curtis Sittenfeld, R.L. Stine. Then we had editors in the publishing industry, people that own bookstores, librarians. famous people who read a lot of books, like Sarah Jessica Parker. We asked them what their 10 best books published in English since January 1st, 2000 were. We didn't define best for them at all.

We got back their responses, we added them all up, and we published a list of 100, which is a lot of books, to be fair.

We got back their responses, we added them all up, and we published a list of 100, which is a lot of books, to be fair.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. My Brilliant Friend is a book in translation. It's translated by Anne Goldstein, and it's the first in a four-book series that we now refer to as the Neapolitan Quartet. The first book is about two young girls growing up in post-war Italy in the 1950s.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. My Brilliant Friend is a book in translation. It's translated by Anne Goldstein, and it's the first in a four-book series that we now refer to as the Neapolitan Quartet. The first book is about two young girls growing up in post-war Italy in the 1950s.

Well, so, I don't know if you can cast your mind back to the time when, like, Ferrante fever was sweeping the literary world.

Well, so, I don't know if you can cast your mind back to the time when, like, Ferrante fever was sweeping the literary world.

These books were coming out and people were obsessed with them. And I think something that is undeniable about these books for people who love them is that they capture... female friendship in a way that is truly unique in 21st century literature.

These books were coming out and people were obsessed with them. And I think something that is undeniable about these books for people who love them is that they capture... female friendship in a way that is truly unique in 21st century literature.

There is something sort of realistic about the way that these two young girls, and they grew up over the course of these four books, come together and pull apart and love each other and hate each other. It is, I think the first book takes a while to get into, but once you get into it, if you connect with it, you sort of just want to keep reading all four books.

There is something sort of realistic about the way that these two young girls, and they grew up over the course of these four books, come together and pull apart and love each other and hate each other. It is, I think the first book takes a while to get into, but once you get into it, if you connect with it, you sort of just want to keep reading all four books.

Absolutely. There's a book that came in at number six, 2666, by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. And it is one of these massive, slightly impenetrable literary works, partly having to do with the murder of hundreds of women in Mexico and partly to do with lots of other stuff. The fact that it came in so high was surprising to me.

Absolutely. There's a book that came in at number six, 2666, by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. And it is one of these massive, slightly impenetrable literary works, partly having to do with the murder of hundreds of women in Mexico and partly to do with lots of other stuff. The fact that it came in so high was surprising to me.

There was a book that came in at number eight called Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, which is a book about a young man in mid-century Europe, sort of lusciously and beautifully written novel. This book came out in 2001. It was one of the oldest books on the list. And I don't know that it's particularly well-known these days. I was surprised by how high it placed.

There was a book that came in at number eight called Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, which is a book about a young man in mid-century Europe, sort of lusciously and beautifully written novel. This book came out in 2001. It was one of the oldest books on the list. And I don't know that it's particularly well-known these days. I was surprised by how high it placed.

I would say flip that on its head and think about how much reading, how much wonderful, delightful reading is ahead of you. You can feel badly about this or you can say, oh my God, look at all these amazing books I want to read. I did not. I'm looking at my tally right now, which I'm 100% not going to tell you what the number is. And it's embarrassing.

I would say flip that on its head and think about how much reading, how much wonderful, delightful reading is ahead of you. You can feel badly about this or you can say, oh my God, look at all these amazing books I want to read. I did not. I'm looking at my tally right now, which I'm 100% not going to tell you what the number is. And it's embarrassing.