6 Books That Will Totally Fuel Your 90s Nostalgia

Dive into the world of Boy Meets World, The Babysitters Club, and Beanie Babies

The days of opening a Capri Sun and diving into The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley may be behind you, but there are plenty of books to help you dive into that 90s nostalgia for a while again.

These are not the books that you actually read during the 90s. Instead, they feature the cultural phenomenons that you remember from those days (and plenty of things that you might have forgotten about, too).

Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern, by Danielle Fishel

It would be impossible not to jump at the chance to get to know more about the actress best known for her role as Topanga in Boy Meets World.

Fishel is just as loveable as you would expect her to be. She really is the girl-next-door character that she portrayed on TV.

Unlike most celebrity memoirs, Fishel’s book has refreshingly little drama to share, but readers do get to find out which member of NSYNC Fishel took to her high school prom, which is really everything we wanted to know anyway.

I knew this was my chance to show everyone how much I had learned about acting since they saw me last. I had to shine. I had to be Topanga. — Danielle Fishel, Normally This Would Be Cause for Concern

Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS, by Maria Sherman

Speaking of boy bands, while the 90s weren’t the only decade to adore these pop groups, boy bands were a huge feature of the decade.

This book gives fans an overview of how the boy band trend began and follows the movement through the 00s. A must-read for everyone from casual fans to superfans.

In the way that Judy Blume’s books, Harry Potter, and other various young adult fiction turned a few generations of youth into voracious readers, boy bands continue to turn curious kids into curious music and pop culture experts. — Maria Sherman, Larger Than Life

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of ’80s and ’90s Teen Fiction, by Gabrielle Moss

Before the Hunger Games and similar books took over the teen market, we had Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters Club.

Maybe those series didn’t touch on the same societal issues that today’s teen novels address, but the pages between those pastel covers helped create a generation of readers.

In Paperback Crush, you’ll revisit your favorites as well as discover some new books that you might not have run across at the time.

Before Sweet Valley High, I’d been a shy unpopular dork. But after Sweet Valley, I was something much better: a shy unpopular dork who could retreat into a pastel parallel universe. — Gabrielle Moss, Paperback Crush

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, by Zac Bissonnette

Is there anyone who grew up in the 90s who does still have at least one Beanie Baby tucked away somewhere?

Even though the Beanie Baby craze was mostly fueled by adults looking to make a financial investment, a lot of children still received those adorable plushies as gifts. They might have been toys, but we knew we weren’t supposed to take off the tags. What we didn’t know though, is how Ty Beanie Babies began and what caused the massive wave of sales.

Bissonnette’s peek into what happened at Ty Inc. is so far-fetched that you would swear the story is fictional, except that it isn’t.

Charles Kindleberger explained the self-perpetuating feeding frenzy that develops when speculators start making money: “There is nothing so disturbing to one’s well-being and judgment as to see a friend get rich.” — Zac Bissonnette, The Great Beanie Baby Bubble

The Totally Sweet 90s: From Clear Cola to Furby, and Grunge to “Whatever”, by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

For those who want more of an overview of 90s fads rather than a deep-dive into one particular area, The Totally Sweet 90s is just what you’re looking for. There are blockbuster moments that you’re sure to remember, but the real fun comes in discovering all the bits that you had forgotten until now.

Squeezits, anyone?

You think you had candy precious generations? We have super-sour candy that will rip a layer off your tongue! Think T-shirts pretty much can’t be improved? We have shirts that change color with the temperature!. — Gael Fashingbauer, The Totally Sweet 90s

X vs. Y: A Culture War, a Love Story, by Eve Epstein and Leonora Epstein

Your experience of the 90s differed depending on your age at the time.

Writers Eve and Leonora, Gen X and Gen Y respectively, are siblings born 14 years apart. Even though both were young during the 90s, they have different takes on the pop culture of the time.

Besides the essays written by the sisters, the book also includes artsy diagrams, lists, and other media that will make it feel more like you are flipping through your favorite magazine than reading a book.

This book is a celebration of it all — from icons and items understood by each generation to those we passionately share a mutual adoration for. It’s a love letter to our own people, and to each other — and an acknowledgement that though we were never really young together, we are both doomed to a similarly attenuated adolescence brought on by a ravenous nostalgia for the artefacts of our youth. — Eve Epstein, X vs. Y

While there are some parts of the 90s that we might not be interested in returning to (like those stretchy popcorn shirts), it’s still fun to spend a few hours engaging in nostalgia for a little while.