New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2005 (fiction and nonfiction)

1.
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go 3.85 avg rating — 813,210 ratings
2.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) 4.58 avg rating — 3,563,369 ratings
3.
1776
1776 4.10 avg rating — 243,338 ratings
4.
Kafka on the Shore
Kafka on the Shore 4.12 avg rating — 528,225 ratings
5.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln 4.28 avg rating — 196,289 ratings
6.
On Beauty
On Beauty 3.78 avg rating — 89,025 ratings
7.
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men 4.17 avg rating — 233,386 ratings
8.
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed 3.93 avg rating — 73,872 ratings
9.
The Glass Castle
The Glass Castle 4.32 avg rating — 1,325,627 ratings
10.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything 4.01 avg rating — 885,818 ratings
11.
Saturday
Saturday 3.64 avg rating — 72,554 ratings
12.
The Year of Magical Thinking
The Year of Magical Thinking 3.93 avg rating — 284,957 ratings
13.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus 4.05 avg rating — 93,181 ratings
14.
Shalimar the Clown
Shalimar the Clown 3.91 avg rating — 14,680 ratings
15.
Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Memories of My Melancholy Whores 3.58 avg rating — 95,054 ratings
16.
Prep
Prep 3.44 avg rating — 73,271 ratings
17.
The Sea
The Sea 3.55 avg rating — 34,124 ratings
18.
Mao: The Unknown Story
Mao: The Unknown Story 3.83 avg rating — 13,572 ratings
19.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century 3.69 avg rating — 102,339 ratings
20.
Towelhead
Towelhead 3.69 avg rating — 4,360 ratings
21.
Slow Man
Slow Man 3.45 avg rating — 9,470 ratings
22.
The Painted Drum
The Painted Drum 3.92 avg rating — 10,101 ratings
23.
Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey
Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey 4.11 avg rating — 1,363 ratings
24.
Mark Twain: A Life
Mark Twain: A Life 4.06 avg rating — 1,859 ratings
24.
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey 4.21 avg rating — 74,673 ratings
26.
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
by: Kai Bird
4.31 avg rating — 55,185 ratings
27.
The Beatles: The Biography
The Beatles: The Biography
by: Bob Spitz
4.09 avg rating — 13,232 ratings
28.
Conspiracy of Fools
Conspiracy of Fools 4.20 avg rating — 6,530 ratings
29.
John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics
John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics 4.16 avg rating — 131 ratings
30.
The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln
The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln 3.97 avg rating — 1,899 ratings
31.
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
by: Tony Judt
4.38 avg rating — 13,387 ratings
32.
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife 3.60 avg rating — 40,173 ratings
33.
Beyond Black
Beyond Black 3.43 avg rating — 9,883 ratings
34.
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
The Tender Bar: A Memoir 3.99 avg rating — 44,606 ratings
35.
Home Land
Home Land 3.62 avg rating — 2,869 ratings
35.
Veronica
Veronica 3.43 avg rating — 7,561 ratings
37.
The March
The March 3.78 avg rating — 13,886 ratings
38.
Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk 3.77 avg rating — 6,429 ratings
39.
Missing Mom: A Novel
Missing Mom: A Novel 3.57 avg rating — 4,750 ratings
39.
Break, Blow, Burn
Break, Blow, Burn 3.96 avg rating — 1,223 ratings
39.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius 4.15 avg rating — 221 ratings
42.
The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq
The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq 4.05 avg rating — 3,181 ratings
43.
Elia Kazan: A Life
Elia Kazan: A Life 4.11 avg rating — 419 ratings
44.
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke 4.08 avg rating — 1,054 ratings
45.
Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink
Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink 4.01 avg rating — 261 ratings
46.
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece 3.87 avg rating — 35,393 ratings
47.
The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life
The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life
by: Tom Reiss
3.92 avg rating — 2,915 ratings
48.
102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
by: Jim Dwyer
4.30 avg rating — 12,178 ratings
48.
The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life
The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life 3.65 avg rating — 105 ratings
50.
Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
Vindication: A Life of Mary Wollstonecraft 3.96 avg rating — 336 ratings
51.
Empire Rising
Empire Rising 3.61 avg rating — 443 ratings
51.
Mirror to America
Mirror to America 4.21 avg rating — 283 ratings
53.
Europe Central
Europe Central 3.97 avg rating — 3,133 ratings
54.
Please Don't Come Back From The Moon: A Novel
Please Don't Come Back From The Moon: A Novel 3.69 avg rating — 1,335 ratings
54.
A Tale of Love and Darkness
A Tale of Love and Darkness
by: Amos Oz
4.23 avg rating — 12,546 ratings
56.
Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness
Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness 3.92 avg rating — 6,578 ratings
57.
Lunar Park
Lunar Park 3.65 avg rating — 30,300 ratings
57.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City 4.12 avg rating — 3,692 ratings
59.
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War 4.15 avg rating — 913 ratings
60.
Indecision
Indecision 2.85 avg rating — 3,456 ratings
61.
Collected Poems, 1943-2004
Collected Poems, 1943-2004 4.32 avg rating — 396 ratings
62.
The Hot Kid (Carl Webster, #1)
The Hot Kid (Carl Webster, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 5,467 ratings
63.
Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York
Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York 3.84 avg rating — 432 ratings
64.
Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying in the New Iraq
Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying in the New Iraq 3.74 avg rating — 57 ratings
64.
Wodehouse
Wodehouse 3.94 avg rating — 548 ratings
66.
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945 4.28 avg rating — 7,363 ratings
67.
Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide
Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide 3.08 avg rating — 1,594 ratings
68.
Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves 4.31 avg rating — 2,344 ratings
69.
De Kooning: An American Master
De Kooning: An American Master 4.13 avg rating — 2,899 ratings
70.
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America 3.92 avg rating — 1,570 ratings
71.
In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War
In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War 4.13 avg rating — 138 ratings
72.
The Letters of Robert Lowell
The Letters of Robert Lowell 4.22 avg rating — 87 ratings
73.
Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour, 1909-1954
Matisse the Master: A Life of Henri Matisse: The Conquest of Colour, 1909-1954 4.25 avg rating — 339 ratings
74.
Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are 4.19 avg rating — 4,317 ratings