The 100 Novels that Shaped our New World reading list is revealed today by Libraries Connected for Libraries Week.

Library users and staff around the country chose the novel that had meant the most to them during the pandemic. Whether it gave them hope for the future or simply provided them with comfort or escape, over 400 people chose novels and this new list is the result.

The diverse collection features the latest titles from Ayisha Malik, Candice Carty-Williams and Rumaan Alam as well as constant favourites from Orwell, Tolkien and Austen. It’s also great to see smaller publishers such as Bluemoose Books, publisher of Ronan Hession’s Leonard and Hungry Paul, on the list.

There is a wealth of genres with Dune sitting alongside The Remains of the Day and The House in the Cerulean Sea beside Still Life. There are also a fair few novels featuring pandemics, Station Eleven, The Pull of the Stars and the Women’s Prize winning Hamnet.

Speaking of prizes, this year’s Women’s Prize winner Pirenesi made the list, along with this year’s Costa winner The Mermaid of Black Conch, the previous two Booker Prize winners Shuggie Bain and Girl, Woman, Other and even one from this year’s shortlist, Great Circle.

This new list follows the BBC Novels that Shaped our World library campaign, funded by Arts Council England that saw libraries around the country create an exciting range of activities and events in response to the list of novels from BBC Arts. These events targeted a wide range of communities that included older people experiencing isolation and/or dementia, rural mining communities, refugees, the homeless and those in prison.

The events explored identity, culture, history and prejudice, and libraries worked with theatre groups, authors and illustrators, dance companies, and a huge range of visual and digital artists during the campaign.

Isobel Hunter, Chief Executive, Libraries Connected:

‘At the heart of libraries is reading. The power of books to sooth and comfort, to provide respite and escape and to generate inspiration, hope and empathy has never been more evident. I sincerely hope that this new list will inspire people to read something they’ve never considered before and to support the wonderful new and upcoming authors it features.’

Sue Williamson, Director of Libraries, Arts Council England:

‘Our public libraries provide the opportunity for experimentation and exploration in reading, helping us to discover writers that are new to us, but not yet familiar, that have the power to inspire and delight. The written word can take us into new worlds and deepen our understanding - we can listen to different voices, go on journeys and above all, relax and refresh our minds, even in difficult times. This wide ranging and diverse list contains brilliant writers from the past and the present and introduces us to the great names of the future. There is something for everyone, free of charge, from your local public library.’

100 Novels that Shaped our New World list                                                                                               

They Both Die At The End - Adam Silvera

4.50 from Paddington - Agatha Christie

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith

Summer - Ali Smith

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

This Green and Pleasant Land - Ayisha Malik

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

The Offing - Benjamin Myers

Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo

The Flatshare - Beth O'Leary

The Switch - Beth O'Leary

Last One At The Party - Beverley Clift

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett

Strangers - C.L. Taylor

Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse - Charlie Mackesy

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Christy Lefteri

Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers

The Authenticity Project - Clare Pooley

Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

The Lost Soldier - Diney Costeloe

Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart                                                                                   

Forty Rules of Love - Elif Shafak                                                                        

The Light Years - Elizabeth Jane Howard

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel

The Pull of Stars - Emma Donoghue

The Bass Rock - Evie Wyld

Dune - Frank Herbert

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

Middlemarch - George Eliot                                                                                 

Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell                                                

The Devil's Highway - Gregory Norminton

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Away with the Penguins - Hazel Prior

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

The Mirror and the Light - Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Excession - Iain M Banks

Love After Love - Ingrid Persaud

A Long Petal Of The Sea - Isabel Allende

A Month in the Country - J L Carr

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Himself - Jess Kidd

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - JK Rowling

A Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne

Ladder to the Sky - John Boyne

The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes

Lean Fall Stand - Jon McGregor

A Room made of leaves - Kate Grenville

Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid

The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

This Lovely City - Louisa Hare

Those People - Louise Candlish

The Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley

Circe - Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell

Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead

Grown Ups - Marian Keyes

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle - Matt Cain

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom

The Mermaid of Black Conch - Monique Roffey

The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

Villa of Secrets - Patricia Wilson

The Code of the Woosters - PG Wodehouse

His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman

Miss Benson’s Beetle - Rachel Joyce

The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai

The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

The Overstory - Richard Powers

The Prophets - Robert Jones Jr

Leonard and Hungry Paul - Ronan Hession

Leave the World Behind - Rumaan Alam

The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan

Mrs Death Misses Death - Salena Godden                                                                

Still Life - Sarah Winman                                                                                            

Tin Man - Sarah Winman                                                                                           

SpellSlinger - Sebastian De Castell                                                                                    

The Woman in the Photograph - Stephanie Butland                                                        

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke                                                                                            

Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid                                                                   

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman                                                                                

Tess of the D'Urbervilles -  Thomas Hardy                                                                

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune                                                     

Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier                                                                 

Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier                                                                    

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue -  V E Schwab                                                     

The Wind Singer - William Nicholson                                                                            

Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi