Breaking News: Announcing the 2021 Better Reading Top 100

We are thrilled to announce the 2021 Better Reading Top 100.

Each year, Australians have their say about which books and authors they love to read in the Better Reading Top 100. It has become a well-loved annual event that readers vote for, celebrate and then discuss. It is a true reflection of what Australians read, featuring a mix of crime, women’s general fiction, literary fiction and classics. We’re thrilled with this year’s list and look forward to sharing it with our readers.

The 2021 top spot goes to… drumroll please… Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. This exquisite coming-of-age story, and heartbreaking ode to the natural world, has been embraced by Australian readers, but also sets the tone for the rest of this year’s Top 100 list. Some other noteworthy observations:

Australian readers love female authors.
65 of the Top 100 books were written by women.
There are seven great reads by female authors in the Top 10.
Four female authors in the Top 10 are Australian.
In total, 60% of authors are Australian.

Overall, the list is a celebration of female authors but also a reminder of how loved Australian authors are. Better Reading Director Cheryl Akle states: “Australians have preferred home-grown authors since the 2017 Top 100. Australians love to read Australian stories. It’s clear there’s a strong culture and thirst for local voices with authors such as Jane Harper, Liane Moriarty, Trent Dalton, Markus Zusak, Rachael Johns and Fiona McIntosh each featuring multiple titles on the 2021 list.”

Once again, debut authors play a prominent role on the list – especially authors whose books have now remained on the list for consecutive years. Also crime thrillers remain one of the genres most widely enjoyed by readers. Australian crime is well represented with multiple books by Michael Robotham, Jane Harper, Dervla McTiernan and Christian White making the list.

Along with the Top 100 displays in Big W stores nationwide, all the titles are now available for the first time as an e-book list on Apple Books, and more and more libraries are now creating Top 100 shelves. All over the country, readers use the Top 100 as their annual book list, counting down their reads alone, with friends, in book clubs and on the Better Reading Facebook Page. #Whatsyournumber

For the full list of Better Reading’s 2021 Top 100, click here.

Better Reading’s Top 10 reads:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Dry by Jane Harper
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Honeybee by Craig Silvey
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
I Give My Marriage a Year by Holly Wainwright
The Godmothers by Monica McInerney

Thank you to all who voted, and a huge congratulations to our Top 100 winners who will be receiving a copy of each title on the Top 100 list. The winners are: