The Top 100 Books of the 21st Century was a countdown by Australian radio station ABC Radio National over 18 and 19 October 2025. It was the first annual countdown by the nationwide public service radio network. According To Variety, it âÂÂfollowed a similar structure to triple jâÂÂs highly successful Hottest 100 countdowns of musicâÂÂ.
Australian author Trent Dalton's semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe was voted into number one, while Australian authors Anna Funder and Geraldine Brooks scored the most entries, with three.
In May 2025, Radio National announced a new annual countdown called the Top 100 Books, inspired by Triple J's Hottest 100 music countdown. Each year will feature a different theme, with the inaugural edition focusing on the Top 100 Books of the 21st Century. All books published between 1 January 2000 and 31 August 2025 were eligible for voting, regardless of genre.
Writing for The Conversation, Melanie Saward found the list lacked diversity.