Recs if you like A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories...
NYT Top 100 Books of the 21st Century
In order from #1 (My Brilliant Friend) to 100 (Tree of Smoke)
autofiction: hyperreflection as an art form
Introspective books by people who observe a lot, ponder a lot, feel a lot, and write about it. Creative memoir, self-indulgent navel-gazing, or "wan little husks" (as Joyce Carol Oates once put it)... whatever you personally think about autofiction, including whether or not it really is a genre, this somewhat experimental form of writing most definitely gives both writers and readers a chance to engage in narratives in a different way.
Weird Women of the Late 20th Century (1945-2001)
Lives of outsiders rendered in sharp prose style. Descendants of Shelley, the Brontes, and Woolf; forebears to 'Weird Girl Lit'. Title refers to the authors, the subjects of the work may not always be women. Focused on novels published between WW2 and 9/11, with a few memoirs and short story collections.
A long list of short story collections
NYT’s The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
A list published in 2024 by the New York Times, as voted on by 503 novelists, poets, critics, and other book lovers—with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review
100 Best of the 21st Century
according to the New York Times
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
I tried to find the latest version (2026).
40 Books Chosen by Elena Ferrante
Elena Ferrante, the bestselling pseudonymous Italian author behind My Brilliant Friend, has named her favourite 40 books by female authors around the world.
Amazing Autofiction
The best of autofiction - all the humor, drama, and introspection!
New York Times Best Books of the 21st Century
The list of the 100 best books of the 21st century from the New York Times
Bedtime Reads & Listens
Great audiobooks and physical books to listen/read before bed. Mostly stories, some childhood favorites and some essays. These are good stories (not boring!) but told in nice short snippets that are good to listen to before bed.
elena ferrante's top 40 books by women authors
NYT top 100 Books of the 21st century
A goal to read the 100 books rated in the 21st century (so far) as published by the New York times in 2024, list in order from 100-1 but you can find the original list on the NYT website.
