Our Favorite Books from the 1990s
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Bookended by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Y2K scare, defined by social change and economic prosperity, the 1990s brought a momentous end to the 20th century. This sense of upheaval, evolution, and optimism is reflected in the books that defined the decade, from no-holds-barred memoirs, to engrossing fantasy narratives, to works of pop psychology that changed the way we look at ourselves.
{{ product: 9780553386790 }}A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin
The book that started it all will be two decades old next year. A Locus Award winner, and nominated for a Hugo and a Nebula, A Game of Thrones is a complicated, fierce tale of families struggling for power in a dangerous land where a season can last decades, intrigue runs deep, and, of course, winter is always coming. In our case it’s the warmer season that’s on the way, and a good thing: reading this larger-than-life fantasy series is a perfect way to spend a summer month or two.
The Bridges of Madison County, by Robert James Waller
One of the bestselling hardcovers of all time, The Bridges of Madison County is the beautiful, poignant story of a brief affair that turns into a decades-long love story, even though the lovers must live their lives apart. When photographer Robert Kincaid asks lonely farm wife Francesca Johnson for directions, the chemistry is instant and palpable. The next four days, the only ones they’ll ever spend together, end up lasting them a lifetime. The Bridges of Madison Country is also the source material for the critically acclaimed film of the same name, starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, by John Gray
The classic relationship guide that found the perfect metaphor to explain the eternal divide between the sexes: Martians and Venusians used to coexist in harmony, aware that they were from different planets. Then they came to Earth and forgot all that, and have been battling it out ever since. Of course, it’s not that simple, but Gray’s book has helped millions of couples recognize their differences and make sense of their relationships with its clear-eyed view of the things that divide us, and its reassurance that understanding can ultimately bring us closer together.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt
When Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was released, the New York Times reviewer noted that it might be the first true crime novel to make the reader “want to call a travel agent and book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.” A gripping, hugely entertaining book that’s as much about Savannah—in all its lush, colorful detail—as it is about the sensational 1981 shooting of Danny Hansford by his lover, antiques dealer Jim Williams, Berendt’s tale is a must-read for anyone who loves an engrossing story.
Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding
With her too-short skirts, and her cigarettes, and her booze, and her constant and futile attempts to lose weight, Bridget Jones ushered in a whole new kind of heroine. She’s a mess. She’s prone to extremely magical thinking. She’s never met a bad decision that she didn’t like. And if she hasn’t managed to worm her way into your heart within the first three pages, I’m not sure you have one. A so-funny-you’ll-cry kind of story, Bridget Jones’s Diary is one to read and reread.
Sex and the City, by Candace Bushnell
Before Carrie Bradshaw traipsed around Manhattan in Manolos on HBO, she strutted across the pages of The New York Observer in Candace Bushnell’s uproarious column, which detailed the romantic and career travails of her pseudonymous single friends in booming mid-90s NYC. When collected in book form, the material turned out to have legs to carry it far beyond the Big Apple: from the bestseller lists, to a TV show that became a bedrock part of the pop culture firmament, blockbuster movies, spinoff TV shows, and more. We can’t help but wonder…what would modern-day NYC look like without Carrie and Candace?
Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
This evocative tale of the rituals of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a surprise sensation, thanks to its richly developed characters, heady romance, magical realism, and, perhaps most of all, its sensuous descriptions of food. Tita is a young girl who spends her whole life dreaming of marrying her true love, a union that can never happen because of her mother’s strict adherence to tradition. Tita’s true feeling only come out in her cooking, which is magically imbued with all the sadness, longing, and love her heart can’t contain. Upon its release, the film adaptation became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
The Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield
This one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and self-help philosophy became a self-publishing success, and then an outright phenomenon. It follows the fate of an unnamed male narrator on a quest to unearth an ancient, legendary Peruvian text that offers, in a scant nine pages, all the secrets to living a balanced spiritual life. It’s an adventure tale, it’s a manual for better living, and it’s an insightful collection of plain-spoken insights that helped set millions of readers on a new path to self-knowledge.
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, by Douglas Coupland
It’s no exaggeration to say that this novel about a bunch of twentysomethings failing to thrive in late 20th century America literally defined a generation: Coupland’s acerbic chronicle of three friends’ meandering attempts to forge their own paths in a world defined by Baby Boom Yuppies, post-Vietnam malaise, and Reganomics captured the ennui of millions of young adults who felt they’d been handed a raw deal by the so-called “Greatest Generation.” Popularizing the iconic image of the “Xer” long before a million journalistic think-pieces and films like Reality Bites turned it into a commercial commodity, the effects of Coupland’s most enduring work still linger in the age of the Millennials.
Prozac Nation, by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Wurtzel’s nakedly confessional account of her battle with clinical depression in the years before the widespread use of the titular antidepressant that finally gave her some relief, this memoir is a brutal, insightful, ultimately triumphant story of one woman’s lifelong struggle with her own mind. After a suicide attempt at age 12, the author bounced between therapy, self-medication with illegal drugs, and pharmaceuticals, all the while finding strength in expressing herself through her writing.
Throwback to the 1990s with us on Thursday, July 30! >