I see Instagram posts about ’80s and ’90s memorabilia and cultural icons (anyone else remember Big Bopper magazine, YM, and of course the best magazine of all time, Sassy?) and am immediately wistful, losing myself down the rabbit hole of whatever account was reposted. My Spotify playlists heavily feature Tori Amos, Rage Against the Machine, Bikini Kill, The Roots, and Ani DiFranco. Recently, with Netflix’s adaptation of Moxie, Hulu’s release of Felicity and My So-Called Life, and the reunion of the original Real World cast, I’ve been more than a little nostalgic for the 1990s. Maybe nostalgia is the wrong word, since I know that that time was surely not “the good old days,” nor was it perfect in any way. Maybe after a year of staying at home and a hyper-focus on day-to-day survival mode and just getting through, remembering parts of my preteen and teen years is a little bit entertaining. (Note that I said a little bit…my awkward phase was in full force during much — all? — of the ’90s). If you’re also feeling some sort of way about the ’90s, I put together a small list of books set in the ’90s, as well as books that simply remind me of the ’90s or that were really big in the ’90s, or simply ’90s-adjacent. If you want even more ’90s-related books, check out this list of books to read if you loved Sassy magazine, and this post on YA books set in the ’90s.
