The 30 Best Books of the Last 30 Years

The journey to reading every amazing book ever written is endless. But you get to enjoy amazing novels on this journey. That is why we will be looking at the 30 best books of the last years. Keep reading to find out what books made this list.

While scrolling on the internet, we came across a list of the 30 best fiction books and after reading the list, we knew we had to share it with our readers. No list is ever going to get it right but that isn’t always important. More than anything else, we want to come across new books to add to our reading list.

And what better way to do that than reading a list of the 30 best books of the past 30 years! These lists always provide newer books that we may have overlooked or never gotten around to read. You can check out the full list below!

The 30 Best Books of the Last 30 Years

• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• Milkman by Anna Burns
• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
• Underworld by Don DeLillo
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• American Pastoral by Philip Roth
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
• A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
• The Sellout by Paul Beatty
• The Overstory by Richard Powers
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
• James by Percival Everett
• 2666 by Roberto Bolaño

The Hunger Games

When you talk about one of the best books of the past 30 years, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has to be mentioned. Without this novel, the dystopian genre wouldn’t have been as popular as it was in the late 2000s. Once upon a time, all you would see in bookstores was dystopian novels. 

As the trend came and went, this novel stood the test of time and the series is still going strong today with prequels. Collins is an incredible storyteller and that is ultimately why this series saw the success that it did. 

16-year-old Katniss Everdeen can’t stand by and watch her younger sister be chosen for the latest Hunger Games to represent District 12. Instead, she volunteers in her place in the life-and-death games for the sole purpose of entertaining for the aristocrats. 

Katniss isn’t the only one from District 12 participating in the games. Peeta Mellark is also selected for the games and in the press conference. 

In the games, Katniss has to face other teenagers of Panem in a contained setting. Only one person can win the games but the rules are changed here and there to make things interesting.

As Katniss tries to survive the games, she realizes that she and everyone else are pawns. But she won’t go along with their games without striking back.

Demon Copperhead

One of the best books I read in 2025 was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It was also the recipient of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize along with Trust by Hernan Diaz and won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. With these two prestigious accolades, I knew I had to read this novel.

The story follows Damon Fields, better known as Demon, and his single mother. They live in a trailer home in Lee, County, located in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Demon’s life is difficult takes a turn for the worse when his mom starts dating a guy who abuses Demon. 

Things go from bad to worse and Demon tries to make the best of his situation as he tries to survive and overcome his situation. The novel is a retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens in the 21^st century and is a must read for anyone that enjoyed the classic novel.

The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and also ended up being named of the 30 best books of the year by The New York Times. The Vietnam War is one that is often ignored and forgotten but it has shaped the lives of millions of people. And they have story to tell. 

The novel is set in 1975 and the following years and takes place in Vietnam and Los Angeles. The protagonist is unnamed and is a half-Vietnamese, half-French undercover communist agent. He was sent to the United States as a kid to be educated and has a firm understanding of both American and Vietnamese values. 

Throughout the book, the unnamed protagonist tells us his story and being a double agent, trying to survive in the U.S in the 1970’s. His job requires him to be close to the General and report to his bosses even after the fall of Saigon. 

It is a story about identity, love, survival, and what it means to live thousands of miles away from home follows and is a breath of fresh air as written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American professor. Novels like these are why the Pulitzer Prize Award was created and why I love reading the winners and nominations.

James

There are so many amazing novels to choose from and I am glad that James by Percival Everett made the list. This novel is perfect and deserved to win the National Book Award for Fiction and the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

While there was some controversy surrounding the Pulitzer Prize award, I am glad that it did end up winning it. After seeing this novel everywhere, I knew I had to read it no matter what. And still it surpassed all of my expectations. If this novel didn’t make the list, then I would have been furious.

James is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and gives James the voice he always deserved. Everett tells us of James’ story and from his point of view and it is an amazing and well written novel.

James is a slave in Hannibal, Missouri and tries to take care of all the slaves at the plantation. But one day, James discovers that he is going to be sold soon and separated from his family. He has no plans to go along with this and instead runs away. But he is discovered by Huckleberry Finn who is also planning to run away.

If you had to read one book that was released in 2024, then this is the one I recommend. There are a bunch of others I would recommend after but James is just that good for me to put it anywhere but first on my list.

Conclusion

After reading the list, we have to say that it is a great list. Some novels that are on this list are beloved by critics more than readers and that is fine. These novels are always tricky because they are well-written but fail to interest some readers.

And then there are other novels such as Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and James by Percival Everett that we feel like everyone has to read. James was released in 2024 but it feels like that it will go down as a classic. And Pachinko is an incredible novel that resonates with millions of readers.

While there are some novels that we would have added (such as The Gentleman in Moscow), we know it is impossible to remember every novel and even then, choosing what makes one novel better than another is always arbitrary.

Don’t let that stop you from finding amazing novels to read from this list by the Los Angeles Times. Our lists will always keep you updated with must read novels and you’ll always have multiple books to choose. What did you think of this list and how many of these novels have you read? Let us know in the comments below!

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