Before the Decade Ends, Here Are the Best Novels of the 21st Century

This dystopian science fiction novel is set in a grim world where human clones are created specifically for the purpose of being able to donate their organs as young adults. Never Let Me Go follows the life of Kathy, a clone raised at a boarding school for future organ donors—although it’s not quite a “donation” in the first place.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson (2015)

Maggie Nelson’s genre-bending memoir The Argonauts tells many stories, the primary of which being the author’s relationship with artist Harry Dodge, her journey to pregnancy, and the complexities of building a family outside of a heteronormative narrative.

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The More You Know

  • The glass winged butterfly lacks colored scales, which makes its wings transparent and helps it avoid predators.
  • The stars and flashes of light you see when you rub your eyes are called "phosphenes."
  • Doctors' sloppy handwriting kills more than 7,000 people annually in the United States.
  • After Hitler ordered the deportation of Denmark's Jewish population, Danish citizens organized a massive evacuation of the Jews to neutral Sweden, despite the risks. In the end, 99% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust.
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