Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Lit Hub article: lithub.com/a-century-of-reading-the-10-books-that-defined-the-1980s
Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove (1985)
Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall (1985)
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game (1985)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Laura Numeroff, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985)
Art Spiegelman, Maus I (1986)
Roald Dahl, Matilda (1988)
0:00 intro
1:05 world events
2:14 defining books of the decade
3:20 my reads
10:37 my strange pick
Dates:
June 22, 2026 - 1930s youtu.be/bBQlrHkDVuM
June 25, 2026 - 1940s youtu.be/RhxgnlopU1s
June 29, 2026 - 1950s youtu.be/KFYAnupP9NM
July 2, 2026 -1960s youtu.be/0hCVro519Og
July 6, 2026 - 1970s youtu.be/2YGf2R1MUYM
July 9, 2026 - 1980s youtu.be/vwI-JtBPn18
July 13, 2026 - 1990s youtu.be/bNGU96VfNcw
July 16, 2026 - 2000s youtu.be/0yuG3Eu9D3I
July 20, 2026 - 2010s youtu.be/z1J-LWZgiQU
July 23, 2026 - 2020s youtu.be/kQ7IXx10G8U
Amuse me in my inbox - rachelle.e.swearingen (at) gmail.com
Befriend me on Goodreads -goodreads.com/user/show/139310469-shelly-swearingen
Drop by on Instagram - Shellyish
1980s books, 1980s literature, best books of the 1980s, 1980s historical fiction, 1985 books, 1986 books, 1987 books, 1988 books, Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove review, Pulitzer Prize novels, Western literature, Beloved, Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison books, Nobel Prize literature, literary fiction, Black literature, American classics, Sarah Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan, children’s literature, Newbery Medal books, Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card, science fiction books, sci-fi classics, dystopian fiction, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, dystopian literature, feminist literature, speculative fiction, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff, picture books, children’s books, Maus, Art Spiegelman, graphic novel, Holocaust literature, Pulitzer graphic novel, Matilda, Roald Dahl, classic children’s books, decades reading project, reading through the decades, booktube, book review, historical fiction by decade, what to read from the 1980s, 1980s bestsellers, banned books, book recommendations, bookish content
Amuse me in my inbox - rachelle.e.swearingen (at) gmail.com
Befriend me on Goodreads -goodreads.com/user/show/139310469-shelly-swearingen
Drop by on Instagram - Shellyish
Lit Hub article: lithub.com/a-century-of-reading-the-10-books-that-defined-the-1980s
Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove (1985)
Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall (1985)
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game (1985)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Laura Numeroff, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985)
Art Spiegelman, Maus I (1986)
Roald Dahl, Matilda (1988)
0:00 intro
1:05 world events
2:14 defining books of the decade
3:20 my reads
10:37 my strange pick
Dates:
June 22, 2026 - 1930s youtu.be/bBQlrHkDVuM
June 25, 2026 - 1940s youtu.be/RhxgnlopU1s
June 29, 2026 - 1950s youtu.be/KFYAnupP9NM
July 2, 2026 -1960s youtu.be/0hCVro519Og
July 6, 2026 - 1970s youtu.be/2YGf2R1MUYM
July 9, 2026 - 1980s youtu.be/vwI-JtBPn18
July 13, 2026 - 1990s youtu.be/bNGU96VfNcw
July 16, 2026 - 2000s youtu.be/0yuG3Eu9D3I
July 20, 2026 - 2010s youtu.be/z1J-LWZgiQU
July 23, 2026 - 2020s youtu.be/kQ7IXx10G8U
Amuse me in my inbox - rachelle.e.swearingen (at) gmail.com
Befriend me on Goodreads -goodreads.com/user/show/139310469-shelly-swearingen
Drop by on Instagram - Shellyish
1980s books, 1980s literature, best books of the 1980s, 1980s historical fiction, 1985 books, 1986 books, 1987 books, 1988 books, Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove review, Pulitzer Prize novels, Western literature, Beloved, Toni Morrison, Toni Morrison books, Nobel Prize literature, literary fiction, Black literature, American classics, Sarah Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan, children’s literature, Newbery Medal books, Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card, science fiction books, sci-fi classics, dystopian fiction, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, dystopian literature, feminist literature, speculative fiction, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Laura Numeroff, picture books, children’s books, Maus, Art Spiegelman, graphic novel, Holocaust literature, Pulitzer graphic novel, Matilda, Roald Dahl, classic children’s books, decades reading project, reading through the decades, booktube, book review, historical fiction by decade, what to read from the 1980s, 1980s bestsellers, banned books, book recommendations, bookish content
Amuse me in my inbox - rachelle.e.swearingen (at) gmail.com
Befriend me on Goodreads -goodreads.com/user/show/139310469-shelly-swearingen
Drop by on Instagram - Shellyish
