Defining the Nineties – Eltham Library’s Renaissance
The Nineties. What an incredible time. Who could ever forget the decade that brought us unforgettable television such as “Friends” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". Charles vs Di, Blur vs Oasis, mobile phones vs dial tones. Did you ever try to record your favourite movie such as “10 Things I Hate About You” or “Romeo and Juliet” complete with advertisements on your VHS? No one knows the pain of a nineties tween trying to get the perfect timing to create their mix tape and crossing all fingers and toes that the radio host doesn’t talk over their elusive song. Hairbrushes made their debut in the mirror to the likes of NKOTB, Spice Girls, Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys while your Tamagotchi starved to death and your game boy’s batteries died.
When thinking about the era of the nineties, it was a time set against the looming dawn of a new millennium, a decade where the World Wide Web was largely misunderstood. Culturally and technologically, it was a magical melting pot. “It was the decade of Girl Power, Neighbours, and New Labour. Thatcher was out, Mandela was free, and the Berlin Wall was rubble. Charles and Diana were the new soap opera, and "Cool Britannia" ruled the airwaves.” (Books that defined the 1990s (penguin.co.uk))
But what were we reading during the nineties that also shaped this era?
In honour of the Eltham Library’s architectural feat being designed and opened in 1994, we’d like to take you back to the same era and remind you of what you might have been reading in the nineties. We conducted a survey asking YPRL staff to list their favourite reads across five different categories.
From Michael Crichton to Mem Fox, John Grisham to Helen Fielding, here are some of the books and shows our YPRL staff picked as a snapshot that defined the nineties for them!
Adult Fiction:
“American Psycho (and anything by Brett Easton Ellis)*, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, Stephen King!”
“Hannibal by Thomas Harris, Tuesdays With Morrie ; any John Grisham” 
“Most fave - Possession by A S Byatt. Others, Girl With a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier, The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy, The Shipping News - Annie Proulx”
“Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin, Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton, Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernières, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle, The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje”
“Bridget Jones Diary, The Firm & The Runaway Jury - John Grisham, Terry Pratchett – Discworld"
“Maeve Binchy, Bryce Courtney, Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time, Terry Pratchett - Good Omens”
*Did you know that American Psycho book was not allowed on the shelves across YPRL and was handed over in a brown paper bag for borrowers who wanted it?
Junior Fiction:
“The Places You'll Go - I loved this as I worked in a children's library in Johannesburg”
“LOTS of picture books including Where's My Teddy - Jez Alborough, The Rainbow Fish - Marcus Pfister, Owl Babies - Martin Waddell, anything by Dr Seuss” 
“Pic: The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson, Time for Bed - Mem Fox, Shrek! - William Steig, Giraffes Can't Dance - Giles Andreae, Stellaluna - Janell Cannon
Teen: Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk series, Choose Your Own Adventure, The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky,”
“Looking for Alibrandi, Harry Potter series, A Cage of Butterflies - Brian Caswell, Wild Magic series - Tamora Pierce, Obernewtyn series - Isobelle Carmody, Tomorrow When the War Began series - John Marsden”
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Clifford, R.L. Stine (Goosebumps), Animorphs - John Heffernan, Lemony Snickett - Series of Unfortunate Events, Emily Rodda - Deltora Quest, Terry Pratchett - Hogfather, Wyrd Sisters, Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere"
“Sonya Hartnett books – The Devil Latch is one in particular”
“Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine and the Horrible Histories series by Terry Deary. We read lots of picture books at bed time including Guess How Much I love you by Sam McBratney.”
Non-Fiction:
“Loved Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt”
“Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson, Wild swans - Jung Chang” 
“Into Thin Air and Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer, Prozac Nation - Elizabeth Wurtzel, Long Walk To Freedom - Nelson Mandela, Before Night Falls - Reinaldo Arenas, Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama”
“The Nineties – A Book – Chuck Klosterman”
“The Last Action Heroes – Nick De Semlyen”
“Books on my reading pile included Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray, and various biographies including one on Princess Diana and Bridge Across My Sorrows by Christina Noble.”
Magazines:
“Dolly, Empire”
“Cosmopolitan”
“People Magazine celebrate the 90s: 1997 edition”
“Mad, Top of the Pops, Smash Hits”
“Rolling Stones Magazine, Blunt Magazine, Roadrunner”
TV/Movies:
“Roseanne, Beverly Hills 90201, Melrose Place, Friends, RAGE, South Park, The Simpsons, Titanic, Romeo + Juliet, The Mummy, Austin Powers, Strictly Ballroom, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Usual Suspects, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, The Piano, Braveheart, Bram Stoker’s Dracula”
“Law and order; Frazier and ER; Blue healers and Seachange”
“The Sopranos”
“Seinfeld, Ghost, Toy Story, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Titanic, just to name a few!”
“OMG Movies: Princess Bride, Point Break, Truman Show, Wayne's World, Edward Scissorhands, Silence of the Lambs, 10 things I Hate About You, Reservoir Dogs/Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Ghost, Thelma and Louise, Groundhog Day, Mrs. Doubtfire, Mission: Impossible, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Sixth Sense, Good Will Hunting, The Matrix, Pretty Woman, Schindler's List, The Big Lebowski, Fight Club, My Own Private Idaho, Trainspotting 
Kids: The Lion King, Nightmare before Christmas, Kiki's Delivery Service, Babe, Free Willy, Muppet Treasure Island, Parent Trap, The Secret Garden, Stuart Little, Matilda, My Girl, Men in Black,
TV: Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Star Trek - Next Gen, Nothern Exposure, Mr Bean, Stargate, Ren and Stimpy”
“TV: Buffy, X-Files
Movies: Clueless, Scream”
“Round the Twist, Home Improvement, ER, NYPD Blue, Rage, Blinky Bill, Mr Squiggle, Pokémon, The Ferals, Neighbours. Crackerjack, Magic School Bus, The Princess Diaries"
