Room by Emma DonoghueGone Girl by Gillian FlynnLife After Life by Kate AtkinsonThe Goldfinch by Donna TarttThe Son by Philipp Meyer
Best Books of the Decade: 2010s
7,687 books — 14,200 voters
Water for Elephants by Sara GruenA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe Road by Cormac McCarthyEmpire Falls by Richard RussoWe Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Best Books of the Decade: 2000s
7,187 books — 28,368 voters

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtShe’s Come Undone by Wally LambNaked by David SedarisThe Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan BoyleThe Ice Storm by Rick Moody
Best Books of the Decade: 1990s
3,129 books — 3,678 voters
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingThe Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. AuelThe Accidental Tourist by Anne TylerStill Life with Woodpecker by Tom RobbinsDinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
Best Books of the Decade: 1980s
2,258 books — 2,432 voters

The Shining by Stephen  KingThe Thorn Birds by Colleen McCulloughThe World According to Garp by John IrvingGo Ask Alice by Beatrice SparksBreakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Best Books of the Decade: 1970s
1,955 books — 1,880 voters
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'EngleRamona the Pest by Beverly ClearyHarriet the Spy by Louise FitzhughThe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Best Books of the Decade: 1960s
1,360 books — 1,778 voters

Gone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellThe Stand by Stephen  KingSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.Life of Pi by Yann MartelTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Books That Everyone Should Read At Least Once
31,696 books — 120,654 voters