Discover the best 1990s books with these books published in the 1990s ranging from literary modern classics to popular novels of the Nineties.
When you think about the 1990s, you think of the optimism following the end of the Cold War. Although several conflicts flared across the globe, much of the world saw relative peace and prosperity. Technological advances propelled a reshaping of communication thanks to the internet and a shift toward multiculturalism.
As part of my Read Through the Decades series, I wanted to take a deeper look at 20th-century literature, examining both historical fiction from each decade as well as books published in each decade.
Along with such famous 1990s books as Jurassic Park, you’ll find other modern classic books written in the 1990s that showcase how much the world was changing. With the end of the Cold War, technological advances brought plenty of excitement to people in the Nineties.
It’s astounding to think of the staying power of novels written decades ago. If you are interested in modern classics, you’ll want to try one of the best books published in the 1990s.
Best 1990s Books
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
This dark academia book was one of the best 1990s books, Donna Tartt’s debut novel is a modern Greek tragedy that details the moral fall of a group of students at a private Vermont college. Classics professor Morrow only admits a handful of select students to study Ancient Greek. After determinedly breaking into this close-knit group, Richard Papen is surprised to find a world of highly-flawed characters losing their grasp on morality. Secrets, lies, betrayal, and eventually murder become justifiable actions as they fall further and further in their descent into evil.
Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton
When a new cloning method brings dinosaurs back from extinction, a billionaire establishes a park for wealthy visitors to come see them. As opening day approaches, a select group is invited to tour the park, but something goes wrong. With exciting action from start to finish, Jurassic Park is a great page turner 1990s book with many similarities but plenty of differences from the film adaptation.
Band of Brothers
Stephen E. Ambrose
The thrilling account of Easy Company, a unit of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army is one of my favorite World War 2 books. The book gets its title from the Shakespeare quote, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.” Instead of following one man’s journey, the cast of characters winds in and out as men come and go from the company due to reassignment, injury, and death. Stephen Ambrose’s powerful book is a remarkable look at the everyday men who became legends.
A Game of Thrones
George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin kicks off his epic mastery of political machinations with the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. With winter creeping into the land of summer and the king’s advisors mysteriously dying, Lord Eddard Stark is called to serve as the king’s new Hand, but Stark’s position places his family at risk from the ambitions of the rival houses.
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry
In 1975, the Indian government declares a state of emergency that forces a widow to take in a student boarder and two tailors fleeing caste violence and seeking work. In a deep examination of human nature, Mistry presents a character-driven story that completely draws you in while explaining the larger political landscape that affects them on an individual basis. Bleak, yet beautiful, Mistry’s epic novel explores the fine balance between hope and despair.
Outlander
Diana Gabaldon
Gabaldon’s Outlander series creates a sweeping love triangle that made waves in the 1990s for it’s well-researched historical fantasy romance. Recently returned from serving as a WWII nurse, Claire Randall decides to take a second honeymoon with her husband. When she steps through standing stones in the British Isles, she finds herself transported back to 1743 in war-torn Scotland. As Claire allies with the great warrior James Fraser, she must decide between the love of two completely different men in two completely different times.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
In a series of letters, fifteen-year-old Charlie narrates his struggles to adapt to his first year in high school, especially after the suicide of his best friend from middle school and the death of his beloved aunt. He befriends two seniors, Patrick and Sam, and together they navigate a difficult year. One of the best coming-of-age books, The Perks of Being a Wallflower hits on the tough topics of abuse and mental health.
Literary 1990s Novels
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
In 1959, Baptist preacher Nathan Price moves his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo as missionaries. Expecting to civilize the locals, they instead realize they are calamitously unprepared for post-colonial Africa. Over the next decades, the Price family finds themselves completely changed by their experiences.
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
In 1969, twins Rahel and Estha create a childhood for themselves among their dysfunctional family in Kerala, India. When their aunt and cousin come for a visit from England, a visit to a theater on the way to the airport changes all their lives when Rahel thinks she sees a family servant, Velutha, who is an Untouchable, among the protestors that humiliate her grandaunt.
Snow Falling on Cedars
David Guterson
On the remote San Piedro Island in the Puget Sound, Japanese-American Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with the murder of a local fisherman found mysteriously drowned. During the trial, San Piedro is forced to reconcile with its dark past, an entire community of Japanese-Americans forced into exile during World War II.
The Red Tent
Anita Diamant
In the Bible, the Book of Genesis tells the story of Jacob, who worked seven years for his wife Rachel but was tricked into marrying her sister Leah. Diamant casts a different view of the story of Jacob and his four wives. Told in the voice of Jacob’s daughter Dinah, The Red Tent shows ancient Hebrew life from a woman’s perspective, imagining a fierce woman caught up in a patriarchal society.
She’s Come Undone
Wally Lamb
After her parents divorce, Dolores Price moves into her grandmother’s Rhode Island house and attends the local Catholic high school. Struggling to fit in, a traumatic event leads Dolores to turn to television and food for comfort, eventually becoming obese. As Dolores matures into adulthood, she struggles to cope with the harshness of life and, after hitting rock bottom, decides she is in charge of her own destiny.
The Girl With a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier
Inspired by the Vermeer painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, that is pictured on the cover, Tracy Chevalier wrote a fictional account about Vermeer and his model. In the 1660s, sixteen-year-old Griet is hired as a servant in Vermeer’s household in Delft. As Griet and Vermeer become close, he asks her to be his assistant and eventually sit as a model for his work, catching the eye of his wealthy patron.
Popular 1990s Books
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks
After returning from World War II, Noah Calhoun begins restoring an old plantation house. Noah is haunted by memories of a beautiful girl from the other side of the tracks with whom he spent a beautiful summer when they were teenagers. Allie’s return sparks a memorable love story made even more famous among 1990s books because of the popular film adaptation.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Helen Fielding
Over the course of a year, Bridget Jones details her intimate thoughts and fears in her diary. At the top of her concerns: dying alone and losing weight. A middle-class working woman living in London, Bridget details her love life (a handsome boss, a boring barrister) while dealing with her constant negative self-image. The constant focus on weight, by Bridget and by everyone around her, reminds you how prevalent, and toxic, diet culture was in the 1990s.
All the Pretty Horses
Cormac McCarthy
When John Grady Cole’s grandfather dies in 1949 and the family ranch is sold, the Texas youth persuades his best friend, Lacey Rawlins, to go to Mexico to find work as cowboys. They encounter Jimmy Blevins, a young man whose lost horse and pistol lead to unintended consequences. After they find employment, John Grady begins a passionate affair with the ranch owner’s daughter, despite being warned of the dangers. Yet John Grady’s idyllic ideal of Mexico is shattered when Blevins’ actions cause the arrest of John Grady and Lacey.
Publication Date: 11 May 1992
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Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom had never forgotten his college professor Morrie Schwartz, so he jumped at the chance to rekindle his friendship with Morrie twenty years later. Knowing his life was drawing to an end due to ALS, Morrie met with Albom every Tuesday to teach him one final class: lessons on how to live.
Fight Club
Chuck Palahniuk
“The first rule about fight club is you don’t talk about fight club.” Although best known for its film adaptation, Palahniuk’s cynical book is also worth a read. Depressed by his lackluster job and lackluster life, the male narrator becomes enthralled by Tyler Durden, who holds secret underground boxing matches in the basement of bars.
The Virgin Suicides
Jeffrey Eugenides
In a Michigan suburb in the 1970s, the neighborhood boys try to understand the five Lisbon sisters who each die by suicide. When the youngest first attempts suicide, the family tries to give the girls more social interaction. Yet, the youngest eventually dies by suicide and another sister is engulfed in a heartbreak that pulls the family further into isolation, further fascinating the neighborhood boys.
Bestselling 1990s Books
Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer
While writing a story about the overcrowding on Mt. Everest, investigative journalist Jon Krakauer got much more than he expected. Climbing to the summit on May 10, 1996, Krakauer’s group was engulfed by a storm that ended up claiming five lives. With his firsthand account of the glories and dangers of climbing Mt. Everest, Krakauer will have you gripped to the page as you follow along with his expedition.
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje
In a bombed-out Italian villa near the end of World War II, four damaged lives intersect. Exhausted nurse Hana, maimed thief Caravaggio, and a Sikh solider Kip are each haunted by an unnamed English patient. Lying in an upstairs room burned beyond recognition, the patient slowly details his story of passion, betrayal, and rescue.
Black Hawk Down
Mark Bowden
In 1993, a hundred US soldiers were dropped by helicopters into a crowded Mogadishu market in the middle of the day to capture two Somali warlords. The quick in-and-out operation went to pieces when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, trapping dozens of soldiers in place overnight in a hellish fight against thousands of Somalians.
The Green Mile
Stephen King
At the Cold Mountain Penitentiary, the death row inmates nervously await the walk down the Green Mile to Old Sparky, the electric chair. Paul Edgecombe has seen it all in his years as a prison guard, but nothing prepares him for John Coffey. With the body of a giant and the mind of a child, Coffey’s imprisoned for a heinous crime. The more Paul learns about Coffey, the more Coffey’s unexplained abilities will challenge everything he thought he knew.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden
In 1929, Chiyo is sold by her father to work in the entertainment industry in Kyoto, Japan. Chosen to work at a geisha boarding school, Chiyo quickly wins the ire of Hatsumomo, the premier geisha at the time. As Chiyo grows, she is eventually trained to become a geisha herself, gaining in popularity that leads to strife while also navigating the changing times brought on by the Second World War.
White Oleander
Janet Fitch
When her single mother is imprisoned after poisoning her cheating ex-boyfriend, twelve-year-old Astrid is shuffled between different foster homes in the Los Angeles area. At each different home, Astrid is confronted with a new set of rules and beliefs and dangers, learning hard lessons along the way. All along, Astrid corresponds with her mother but her perception of the world around her changes as she matures.
Sci Fi & Fantasy Books from the 1990s
Good Omens
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, whose prophecies have proven surprisingly accurate, the world is set to end next Saturday. As the forces of good and evil prepare for an ultimate war, a finicky angel and a pleasure-seeking demon aren’t too keen on the coming Rapture. They’ve come to enjoy living among mortals and decide maybe it’s time to mess with the Divine Plan.
The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan
In the first book of the epic high fantasy series Wheel of Time, Moiraine Damodred arrives in a remote village searching for the chosen one prophesied to be able to defeat the Dark One. After human-like monsters attack the town, Moiraine convinces three men to embark on a journey that will be filled with unimaginable dangers.
Practical Magic
Alice Hoffman
In a small Massachusetts town, the Owens women have been blamed for centuries for anything that goes wrong. Tired of being cast as outsiders, Gillian and Sally hate that their great-aunts seem to embrace the accusations of witchcraft. One escapes by marrying and the other by running away but they can never seem to break the family bond that ties them together.
Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. Butler
In 2025, the world has been laid bare by drugs, disease, war, and water shortages. Lauren Olamina lives in a compound outside of Los Angeles, where her father is a preacher trying to lead people to a better way. When her family is killed, Lauren journeys north in a dangerous world, conceiving of an idea that could change everything.
Green Rider
Kristen Britain
After a fight at school that will surely have her expelled, Karigan G’ladheon sets off through the forest on a long journey home. When she comes across a dying Green Rider, one of the king’s elite messengers, he begs Karigan to carry his urgent message to King Zachary. Suddenly her life is changed forever as she battles deadly danger and complex magic and is stalked by a dark being intent on keeping the message from the king at any cost. If you want page turners that will hook you from the start, this high fantasy series full of gripping action and fun characters is a must-read.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Haruki Murakami
In the suburbs of Tokyo, Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat. During the search, he ends up meeting all kinds of interesting characters including a psychic prostitute, a morbid teenage girl, and a war vet disturbed by the things he saw in Manchuria during World War II. When his wife leaves him, Toru’s life fragments in this imaginative Japanese novel full of magical realism.
Nonfiction 1990s Literature
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
In 1992, moose hunters found the body of a young man alone in the Alaska wilderness. Investigators soon found out it belonged to Christopher McCandless, who had hitchhiked to Alaska to live alone in the wild for a summer. How does a well-educated young man from a well-off family give it all up – give away all his money, abandon his car and tramp around the US for years? What drove McCandless to see out the wild? Telling as well the stories of those other souls throughout history who have sought out the wonders of nature, including himself, Krakauer is the perfect person to pen this insightful chronicle of Christopher McCandless’s life, a story that will stay with you for a long time.
The Hot Zone
Richard Preston
Although COVID-19 has had far-reaching ramifications, its symptoms seem quite pleasant against those of ebola. The highly infectious virus which causes massive internal hemorrhaging is not as contagious but has over a 50% mortality rate. Preston thrillingly recounts the history of viral hemorrhagic diseases and details a terrifying incident where one was discovered at a primate facility outside of Washington, D.C.
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond won a Pulitzer Prize for this book about how civilization has been shaped by geography and environment. Diamond’s theory is that the development of civilization was aided by the similar weather in east-west migrations and hindered by the vast differences of north to south climate. Though his analysis of the evolution of human societies is solid and thought-provoking, the repetition of the topic does get a bit old.
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson fits in as naturally with nature writers as he does with travel writers in his entertaining book about the Appalachian Trail. Stretching from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail is a perfect place for a hike, and with a guide like Bill Bryson, you are sure to learn the history and ecology as well as meet plenty of fun furry creatures along the way.
Long Walk to Freedom
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela’s inspiring autobiography of his life as he evolved from a freedom fighter to a political prisoner to a great leader testifies of the refining power of transformation through struggle and gives hope that our struggles are not in vain.
Skunk Works
Ben R. Rich & Leo Janos
Known as “The Father of Stealth,” Ben Rich was the second director of Lockheed’s Skunk Works and was crucial in the development of the F-117A, the first stealth airplane. Rich’s memoir gives you a fascinating look at one of the aerospace industry’s elite companies and an inside peek into the development of such renowned airplanes as the U-2 and SR-71. With segments from pilots, military members, and other individuals involved in the programs, Skunk Works is a captivating read for any aviation enthusiast.
Publication Date: 1994
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Angela’s Ashes
Frank McCourt
Born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrants, Frank McCourt recalls his childhood in extreme poverty. Eventually moving back to Limerick, Ireland, the McCourts’ situation becomes more and more dire as his father’s alcoholism leaves no money for the family to live on. As McCourt matures, he struggles to be the provider for his kindhearted mother and siblings, eventually moving back to New York at age nineteen.
1990s Children’s Books
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling shaped the imagination of an entire generation when she published the Harry Potter series: the most famous fantasy books of the modern age. When he is eleven years old, neglected orphan Harry Potter receives a letter accepting him into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly Harry finds himself swept into a magical world he didn’t know existed. Even more surprising, he is already famous beyond anything he could have comprehended.
Holes
Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats’s life is cursed all thanks to his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. When he gets arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, he finds himself at Camp Green Lake. Under the eye of the ominous warden, the boys are required to spend each day digging holes in the dry lake bed, looking for treasure. Instead, Stanley digs up the truth of his past in this silly children’s story full of dark humor.
The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
One of the best-known young adult fantasy books is Pullman’s tale of the battle between good and evil. After her best friend disappears, Lyra vows to save him and the other children who have been taken by the Gobblers. Along with her animal companion, Lyra sets out to the far North where her uncle is building a bridge to a parallel world.
The Giver
Lois Lowry
One of the most classic dystopian books for middle school is Lois Lowry’s The Giver. In a utopian society, twelve-year-old Jonas is surprised to be given the rare assignment as the Receiver of Memory. He will be given all past memories from his society – a flood of emotions that have been eradicated in his world of Sameness. Slowly, Jonas realizes that this perfect order at the cost of individuality is no utopia. A must-read for young tweens.
The Face on the Milk Carton
Caroline B. Cooney
Janie Johnson is just an ordinary teenager until one day she can’t stop staring at the face on the side of her milk carton. Twelve years ago, a three-year-old girl was kidnapped from a shopping mall in New Jersey. At first, Janie can’t believe that it could really be her except why the explanations for why there are no baby pictures of Janie don’t seem to be adding up.
More 1990s Books for Children:
How Do You Feel About 1990s Literature?
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my 1990s Books list? What books published in the 1990s have I forgotten? As always, let me know in the comments!
More Reading Lists:
Kathy says
I remember reading the Green Mile as it was coming out. Stephen King wrote those as small, 100 page books that he released in installments, like the old days when stories were published in magazines and you had to wait until the next month to get more of the story. There were 6 books in the series. I HAD them all, until I gave them to my kids to read. they “lost” 3 of them!
Rachael says
Yes! When I read the Green Mile, I got it from the library and it was in the six book format. I think now they usually just combine it into one volume.