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If there’s one hill I will die on, it’s that I am Gen X. Yes, I was born in 1980, but I am definitely a GenXer and snuck in right before the cutoff. But it’s more than the date. It’s a sense of shared cultural norms and touchstones and general attitudes. It’s one of those things that feels hard to define or explain, but you just know it.
My childhood was shaped by the Challenger disaster, the Lisa Steinberg case, the Tiananmen Square protests, Operation Solomon, the fall of the Berlin wall, and the AIDS activism of Ryan White and Elizabeth and Ariel Glaser. The movies Singles and Reality Bites are immediate core memories of teenage summers. Debbie Gibson was my first concert; I remember listening to Jet, Menudo, and The Party; and I remember when MTV actually played music. The Real World, the Riot Grrrl era, Rodney King and the Los Angeles Uprising, the OJ Simpson case, Columbine, Seinfeld, 90210…all of this was the backdrop to my childhood and adolescence.
Those times are long gone, as my eight-year-old loves to remind me, and so if you’re like me, and want some nostalgic reads or an escape from *waves hands* all of this, grab your favorite snack—bonus points if it’s something that was also around in the ’80s or ’90s (does anyone else remember the candy Bonkers?? SO good, right?)—and let’s take a look at some of the best books about the ’80s and ’90s.
Obviously, this is just a small taste of what’s out there. There are so many other books, including the novels Prep, Tuesday Nights in 1980, and Like A Love Story, and nonfiction books like Girls to the Front, Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies, I Want my MTV, and 90s Bitch.
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ’80s and ’90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss
I could read this book over and over and over (and I have, actually). This book brought back so many core memories of my childhood and jogged memories of books that I’d forgotten about, but whose plots came right back to me. Moss writes about teen books from the ’80s and ’90s, breaking the overarching themes into chapters like Love, Friends, Family, School, Jobs, Danger, and Terror, with each chapter encompassing a spectrum of books and series. It’s a thought-provoking book that poses interesting questions about things like the popularity of Christopher Pike’s books and why so many of us loved the sad books of Lurlene McDaniel. If you grew up on the books of the ’80s and ’90s, don’t miss this one.
The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman
Klosterman is a master of chronicling culture, and his examination of the nineties is a joy to read. He touches on so much, yet makes clear that this is only a small representation of everything the nineties encompassed. He illustrates how this decade brought changes in how we experience things even today, and how we’re still adjusting to that, even now. It’s not all fun pop culture, though: Klosterman also explores changes in how we look at race, class, and sexuality; changes in politics and how 9/11 impacted all of that; and how film, music, and television impact our larger lives and society.
Wannabe: Reckoning with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris
In this essay collection, Harris takes on her nineties childhood, braiding the cultural and the political. She writes about the origin myth of her name, explores the “Black friend” trope through movies and shows, and looks at how identity is shaped by history and culture while breaking down tired tropes. It’s a smart, incisive examination of the shows we grew up with, past and current trends, and how all of this helped inform how we see the world.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Though not strictly set only in the ’90s, there’s enough ’90s nostalgia in this novel to earn its place on this list. Two friends, Sam and Sadie, have known each other since childhood. While in college, they create a blockbuster video game, Ichigo. But fame and fortune aren’t the be-all and end-all, and nothing takes the place of true connection and love. Relationships get called into question, motives are challenged, and emotions run high. The story spans 30 years, allowing us to see that human stories are layered and nuanced, which adds more depth to the story when set alongside gaming and gaming culture.
We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
Set in 1989, this novel follows the Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team during a season in which they’ll do almost anything if it means making it to the state finals. Danvers was the site of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, and this team, with a history of losing, decides that if anything can help them, maybe witchcraft can. Once they start winning games, more people start believing. It’s a fun story of friendship, sports, and fun, with plenty of ’80s nostalgia to boot.
60 Songs that Explain the ’90s by Rob Harvilla
If you love ’90s music, this is the book for you. Harvilla takes on 60 iconic songs of the ’90s—from a variety of genres—and writes about how they help to explain the decade. It’s a mash-up of memoir and personal anecdote, pop culture, music criticism and analysis, and a whole lot of fun nostalgia. It’s music history, interwoven with cultural commentary and examination, looking at how the songs exemplify this time period while also getting you humming songs you thought you forgot. It’s a combination that can’t be beat.
Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart: A Memoir by Jen Sookfong Lee
As a child, Lee sought refuge in pop culture. It was a way for her to fit in and allowed her an escape from grief. But as she got older, she started to see how in many ways, pop culture wasn’t made for people like her—people who weren’t white and people with immigrant parents. She examines how she made her own path, juxtaposed with the pop culture touchstones she used to hold up as ideals, and discusses how pop culture can be a springboard to exploring themes in our own lives.
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib
While not specifically about the ’90s, this immersive exploration of the iconic rap group A Tribe Called Quest, does situate the group in the larger context of the 1990s. This group reimagined rap, using jazz and incorporating different genres. Abdurraqib chronicles the history of the group, their place in rap culture and the 1990s, their impact on everyday life, and also weaves in personal narrative and anecdotes. It’s a compelling look at a band that was a pillar of music and ’90s culture.
If you want even more books like this, check out this post about books with ’80s nostalgia, and this post on coming-of-age books set in the ’90s.