Boy Swallows Universe wins ABC Radio National’s inaugural Top 100 Books countdown

The verdict is in – book lovers across Australia have crowned Brisbane author Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe as #1 in ABC Radio National’s inaugural Top 100 Books of the 21st Century countdown.

With almost 300,000 votes cast, readers celebrated stories across both fiction and non-fiction, from the court of King Henry VIII and post-revolutionary Russia to the familiar streets of suburban Australia.

Published in 2018, Boy Swallows Universe is Dalton’s debut novel, a semi-autobiographical story following 12-year-old Eli Bell as he grows up navigating troubled family life against the backdrop of 1980s, working-class Brisbane.

The novel has since gone on to win a slew of awards and was adapted into a play and Netflix series.

In second place was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Third place went to Amor Towles’ 2016 novel A Gentleman in Moscow.

A closer look at the countdown reveals some compelling insights into the nation’s reading habits:

• Four of the top 10 titles and 26 of the top 100 titles were also written by Australian authors.
• Female writers led the way, with a gender split of 54% female to 46% male.
• Two standout authors — Anna Funder and Geraldine Brooks — each had three books make the Top 100, confirming their place as reader favourites.
• Australia’s “bookiest” state or territory — or votes per state or territory with population considered — was the ACT, followed by Tasmania and then Victoria.
• When it comes to literary vintage, 2023 emerged as a standout year, with 10 titles from that year making the list.

ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century countdown – The Top 10 list:

1. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (2018)
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005)
3. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (2016)
4. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)
5. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (2022)
6. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (2013)
7. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams (2020)
8. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (2022)
9. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (2015)
10. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (2009)

ABC Radio National presents the ABC’s weekly flagship book programs The Book Show on Mondays at 10am and The Bookshelf on Fridays at 10am featuring author interviews, reviews, and commentary.

Tune in live or catch up on the ABC listen app.