No matter how old you are, weâve all got those books that have made a lasting impression on us. Whether itâs the book your mom read to you at night when you were a kid, one a beloved English teacher introduced you to or one that opened your mind and heart at an important point, some books really stand the test of time.
In celebration of 50 years of PEOPLE, we polled our staff about the books from decades past that made a difference in their lives or the culture at large. Here are our picks from the 1990s.
âThe Secret Historyâ by Donna Tartt
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch comes this chilling psychological thriller about a group of misfits at a New England college whose quest for a different, more enlightened way of thinking leads them down dangerous roads. Itâll get under your skin and stay there.
âJurassic Parkâ by Michael Crichton
Before it became the blockbuster film series that keeps on giving, we first traveled to Jurassic Park in the pages of Crichtonâs fast-paced, meticulously detailed book that started it all. Start here, then make your way through the rest of the late sci-fi masterâs impressive catalog.
âThe Wind-Up Bird Chronicleâ by Haruki Murakami
Step into the labyrinthine netherworld beneath Tokyo with our narrator as he searches for his missing cat, then his wife, and finds increasingly bizarre characters and circumstances along the way. Itâs wonderfully weird, and a fabulous introduction to Murakamiâs work if you havenât read him before.
âThe English Patientâ by Michael Ondaatje
At the center of this gem of a book lies a horribly injured, nameless man known only as the titular English Patient, and the crux around which the rest of the characters revolve. Thereâs the obsessive, exhausted nurse Hana, the maimed thief Caravaggio, and the Indian bomb-seeker Kip, all picking up the pieces at the end of World War II. Fans of historical fiction: Donât skip this one.
âInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short fiction introduces us to a young Indian American couple confessing damaging secrets, an Indian American girl who confronts her cultural identity during a Halloween party against the background of the Pakistani civil war, a latchkey kid who gets attached to a woman from Calcutta and an interpreter for an Indian American family who hears a staggering confession. Itâs kaleidoscopic, deeply emotive and absolutely essential reading.
âThe Golden Compassâ by Philip Pullman
In a world where people have animal familiars and children are getting stolen, our protagonistâs uncle is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world as she tries to find her kidnapped friend. This is the first, game-changing entry into Pullmanâs His Dark Material series and once you read it, your brain will never be the same.
âThe Giverâ by Lois Lowry
If you havenât read The Giver since middle school â or at all â itâs time to revisit this one. Jonas is born into a society in which children are birthed by designated mothers, then assigned to family units. Similarly, everyone is assigned partners and jobs and no one steps out of line. That is, until Jonas. Itâs a powerful story about authority, individuality and love.
âHigh Fidelityâ by Nick Hornby
Rob runs a struggling record store, and his girlfriend has left him for the guy upstairs. At first, he thinks itâs for the best. But after he tries dating the kind of girl heâs always wanted, he realizes maybe the grass isnât always greener after all. If you like the John Cusak movie, youâll love the book.
âInto the Wildâ by John Krakauer
In April 1992, a well-off young man hitchhiked to Alaska and embarked on a solo journey into the punishing wilderness, following in the footsteps of his heroes Jack London and John Muir. Four months later, his decomposing body was found by a moose hunter. With a level of detail that borders on obsession, this is an unparalleled true account that reads like a mystery.
âHarry Potter and the Sorcererâs Stoneâ by J.K. Rowling
We first met a young orphan named Harry in 1998, and his books became a phenomenon that sparked movies, merchandise, theme parks and an entire generation of kids waiting for mail-bearing owls on their 12th birthday. Itâs undeniably one of the most impactful series of all time.
âGame of Thronesâ by George R. R. Martin
While Harry was changing the game for kids, George R. R. Martin brought adults into the fantasy realm too. The Starks of Winterfell and their many tragedies, triumphs, betrayals and conquests captured our imaginations on the page before the hit HBO series brought them alive on the screen. Itâs a perfect cool-weather read.
âBridget Jonesâs Diaryâ by Helen Fielding
Renee Zellweger brought Bridget to gut-busting life in the movie version, but if you havenât read the even-more-hilarious book, itâs not to be missed. The book about the lovably blundering single lady who made all of us feel seen has even gotten an update for its 25th anniversary â just in time for the fourth movie â so thereâs no better time to check it out.
âAngelaâs Ashesâ by Frank McCourt
This memoir of author Frank McCourtâs devastatingly impoverished childhood in Ireland won the Pulitzer Prize for its luminous prose and stunning story. Itâs a deeply inspiring tale of survival against the worst odds but grab a box of tissues first â itâs a tear-jerker.
âBlindnessâ by Jose Saramago
After an epidemic of âwhite blindnessâ hits the city, authorities confine the afflicted to an empty mental hospital, where criminals steal food and rape women. One eyewitness brings seven strangers through the harrowing city in a parable that feels even more apt in 2024 than it did upon its publication.
âBrokeback Mountainâ by Annie Proulx
The short story that became the movie of the same name won The New Yorker the National Magazine Award for Fiction and once you read it, youâll understand why. Ranch hands Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist share a tent and hard labor like all cowboys do, but their fellowship evolves into something deeper. Even after they marry, have kids and make something of their lives, their relationship remains the most important one. If you liked the Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal movie, read the book too.
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