Book Review: The Totally Sweet ‘90s
newsday.com
As a 90s kid, I instinctively love all things that have to do with that decade. The music, movies, television, games, and even the fashion are all great. That’s why when I was looking for a new book to read not too long ago, I researched “1990s books” on the internet and came across one that I felt like I had to have. It was “The Totally Sweet ‘90s.” With a cover containing colors as bright as the ones represented by the decade’s fashion and a tagline on the front that read, “From Clear Cola to Furby and Grunge to ‘Whatever,’ the Toys, Tastes, and Trends that Defined a Decade,” I was instantly intrigued. I wanted to take a trip down 90s memory lane so I ordered the book.
today.com
Taking a trip down memory lane is exactly what this book offers its readers. And for that, I really enjoyed it. Like I said, I love pretty much all things from the 90s. So many things in this book brought back good memories from when I was a child. Cassette tapes, Fruit by the Foot, Gameboys, Goosebumps books, inline skates, Kid Cuisines, The Lion King, Power Rangers, Warheads, and Upper Deck baseball cards were all covered, each getting anywhere from a page to a page and a half of coverage.
There were also many things that I don’t remember from the 90s (because I was just a kid) in this book as well. Things such as 3D Doritos, Melrose Place, Surge Soda, and Calvin and Hobbes I don’t personally remember, so reading about them I was able to learn a few things. There were things in this book that made me laugh looking back on, such as Big Mouth Billy Bass that hung on household walls all across America singing, “Take Me to the River…” and things that are still very much enjoyed today like “Seinfeld” and Supersonic’s hit song, “Closing Time.”
today.com
As this book strolls down memory lane going through each 90s topic, it does it in a really fun and light-hearted way. It doesn’t give encyclopedic descriptions of each thing, but instead the author covers each topic in a “Do you remember this? Man that sure was a cool/stupid idea that is still awesome/seems ridiculous now” sort of way. Along with the author, you get to explore what things helped get us to where we are today such as the Mac Classic II and giant cell phones, along with making fun of things that may have seemed cool then, but are laughable now such as Zubaz pants.
With 239 pages of all types of nostalgia to look back on, you would enjoy this book if you have any amount of love at all for the 1990s. It most likely won’t be a book that you pick up and just can’t put down, because that wasn’t the case for me. Instead, it is better enjoyed in small doses. I would read about 5-6 pages at a time, which covered about 2-3 topics, before picking the book back up later. I think the book can be more fully enjoyed that way because then you really get to do some reminiscing about certain topics, and after all, that’s the sole purpose of the book. If you fly through it, you won’t get the full opportunity to pause and look back on things you fondly (or not so fondly) remember. And you can even do like me and after reading about something, look it up on the internet to get a refresher of what it was, sounds like, looks like, etc.
Castle Rock Television
As I mentioned, if you look back on the 90s with any fondness at all, I think you’ll enjoy this book. Overall, it’s just a fun book to read and definitely worth the cheap price to buy it. I believe there is an 80s book too, for those who want to look back on that decade. If you’ve read that one, or this one, let me know what you think.
Garett