What Are Your 10/10 Books?
These are mine...
I shared the 10 best books I read in 2024 and it was one of my most popular posts. Ever.
And then I reorganized my bookshelf earlier this year, and created categories for different shelves that correspond to how I think about certain books (i.e. “classics” “motherhood canon” “big ideas” etc.).
One of these categories was: 10/10. Meaning: perfect book, no notes, loved every word of every sentence of every page.
There are 36 books in this category—so much perfection! If you were to try to read them all (and I suggest you do), that would be three books per month. OR you could read one book per month, for three years.
Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my 36 10/10 books, with links to shop on my Bookshop.org account (which supports me and local bookstores!):
1. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Doesn’t everyone want to write a “novel” taking down their ex-husband that’s obviously based on their real life story?!
2. The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
A horror story about a happily married couple with four children whose life crumbles when their fifth child, Ben, is born.
3. The Chronology of Water: A Memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch
Only Yuknavitch could write something so brash and poetic at the same time.
4. The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
Read this novel and then go to Istanbul to see the IRL Museum of Innocence and see how Pamuk structured this incredible story.
5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
There’d be no Flea Bag without Dave Eggers. Eggers pioneered the genre of writing that breaks the fourth wall.
6. Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
This book has it all: alternative family structures, trans love and a hold-on-to-the-edge-of-your-seat story. I know I’m late to this party, but I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.
7. All Fours by
While we definitely need more writing about perimenopause and bodies and the mess and muck inside us all, Miranda July has a much more radical message: that the gift of truly being alive is about the little acts of rebellion we allow ourselves.
8 & 9. The Liar’s Club and Lit by Mary Karr
Mary Karr gives all of us with dysfunctional families permission to tell the rawest, most unapologetic versions of our stories.
10. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Blurring the line between journalism and literature, Capote brought all the tension, pacing and momentum of fiction into a book about a real-life murder.
11. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
I love this graphic memoir so much I went to see the play when it was on Broadway. And you know what? I couldn’t leave my seat for 15 minutes after it ended because I was crying so hard.
12. Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
A novel that reads like a memoir about a girl known as Bone who has to fend for herself in every way. This book catapulted Allison to fame.
13. The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
A braided narrative that weaves together Alex’s personal story with a murder investigation they studied in law school.
14. Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
Part memoir, part biography, part scientific mystery, this book blew me away with its intricacy and intellect.
15. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Five beautiful sisters living in upper-middle-class suburbia —all die by suicide. As told through the eyes of the neighborhood boys.
16. The Seas by Samantha Hunt
A dream-like, fable about a young girl who lives in a seaside town.
17. Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
This memoir in essays offers a coming of age story of trauma, forgiveness, queerness and race.
18. With or Without You by Domenica Ruta
A funny memoir about the misfit 90s? Sign me up.
19. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
A family with 12 children, six of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia. All I kept thinking was: how did Kolker manage to do all the meticulous research necessary to write this book?
20. How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti
So many books are now described as genre-defying novels, but this one truly is. You’ve got to just trust me.
21. Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning by Claire Dederer
I’m biased because I adore Claire Dederer, but even so, she proves that a memoir doesn’t have to follow any rules and can still be amazing.
22. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
Come for the mouthwatering food descriptions. Stay for the raw details of mother-daughter love.
23. Educated by Tara Westover
If I was to make a t-shirt with the first names of the most famous memoirists—Dani, Mary, Cheryl—I’d have to add Tara to the list. Educated is that good.
24. Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
This might be the only time I can think of where the TV series is as good as the book. Read it. Watch it. You won’t be sorry.
25. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
As the book opens, Jeannette sees her homeless mom digging through the garbage in NYC, as Jeannette’s taxi is taking her to a fancy party. This book is a masterclass in showing not telling.
26. Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell by Deborah Solomon
I love the artist Joseph Cornell’s work—and this book about his life made me adore him so much more.
27. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
Ottessa is known for writing unlikeable narrators and Eileen may be the most unlikeable of all. But that’s what kept me turning the pages.
28. We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge
The story of a family that moves into an ape research facility to teach an abandoned ape sign language.
29. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
No one has captured New York City restaurant life like Stephanie Danler.
30. Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene
When Jayson’s two-year-old daughter is hit by a brick and dies, him and his wife became every parent’s worst nightmare. Which makes this story of resilience and healing all the more remarkable.
31. The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman
Adelle Waldman captures the voice—and psyche—of the modern man.
32. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
A novel that weaves suicide and darkness into a story of beauty and light.
33. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is the Madonna of writers. She’s evolved through so many different styles and periods and her writing just keeps getting better.
34. The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith
A grief memoir that defined the genre.
35. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
This was the memoir that sparked a million hikes.
36. Problems by Jade Sharma
Autofiction at its finest.
That’s it for my list (although I’m sure I’m missing things!). I’d love to hear from you in the comments - which books are in your “10/10” list?
Ruthie
Ooh I need to come up with a list!
Ruthie, I have discovered SO MANY of these fabulous 📕 and writers through you—gratitude for consolidating in one list, so I can revisit!