We’ve already found out which song rumbled all over the world the year you were born. Now it’s time to find out what they studied that year.
1967-1977
1967 – “Rosemary’s Baby” by Ira Levin. A thriller about a young married couple Rosemary and Guy Wodehouse who move to a new neighborhood. Where the neighbors have their own plans for Rosemary’s unborn child.
1968 – “Married couples” by John Updike. The story of several couples from a provincial town.
1969 – “Father” by Mario Puzo. A novel about the life of one of the most powerful mafia clans in America – the Don Corleone family.
1970 – “Crystal Cave” by Mary Stuart. A fantasy novel about the wizard Merlin and King Arthur.
1971 – “The Devil” by William Blatty. A 12-year-old girl’s strange seizures, her mother sees it as an obsession, and asks the priest to perform an exorcism…
1972 – Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach. The Story of a Seagull Who Learned Life and the Art of Flying.
1973 – “File” Odessa “, Frederick Forsyth. Thriller about a young German reporter who tries to discover the whereabouts of a former SS concentration camp commander.
1974 – “Jaws” by Peter Benchley. A novel about the story of the great white shark terrorizing a resort town.
1975 – “The Curtain”, Agatha Christie. The last novel by Agatha Christie (at the time of publication) about Hercule Poirot.
1976 – Farce or Down with Loneliness, Kurt Vonnegut. The novel is presented to the reader as an autobiography of its protagonist, former (and last) US President Wilbur Narcissus-11 Swain. She lives in the ruins of the Empire State Building with her granddaughter Melody Malinovka-2 von Peterswald and her lover Isidore Gooseberry-19 Cohen. No one lives in the skyscraper except three of them – nearly all of Manhattan’s residents have died from a specific type of local plague, the “Green Death.”
1977 – Birds of Thorns, by Colin McCullough. The story of Maggie Cleary, who falls in love with the Reverend Ralph de Bricassard.
1978-1988
1978 – The World Through the Eyes of Garp, John Irving. A gripping drama about the life of author TS Garp won the prestigious National Book Award in 1980. And the inimitable Robin Williams starred in the film adaptation of The World According to Garp.
1979 Sophie’s Choice, William Styron. A book about the terrible consequences of war. While at Auschwitz, young Sophie had to make a terrible choice. The girl survived and moved to live in America, but the ghosts of the past haunted her.
1980 – “The Name of the Rose”, Umberto Eco. It is the first novel by Umberto Eco that is always on the must-read book lists. The story of Wilhelm and his friend Adson as they investigate a series of tragic and mysterious deaths of monks in a Benedictine monastery.
1981 – Children of Midnight, Salman Rushdie. An exploration of 20th century Indian life through the eyes of the young wizard Salem. By the way, Indira Gandhi sued Rushdie because of this book – the author allegedly lied about her relationship with her son. Then the charges were dropped.
1982 – “House of Spirits” by Isabel Allende. The epic of the most popular writer in Latin America about 50 years of the history of the Truebe family from Chile.
1983 – “The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett. The first book in the Discworld series (41 novels in total). A humorous fantasy about the adventures of a tourist from the Agate Empire.
1984 – The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. One of the main postmodern novels of the 20th century, in which there are answers to the most banal and current questions about love, career and life.
1985 – “Perfume” by Patrick Suskind. The 2006 film “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” caused a lot of controversy: it was called monstrous and undeservedly cruel – a young perfumer turned into a serial killer for the sake of an idea. However, the novel from which it was filmed became a bestseller, with a total circulation of more than 12 million copies.
1986 – “It”, Stephen King. King’s second most popular novel (after The Shining). A serial killer appears in the town of Derry.
1987 Watchmen is a graphic novel by Alan Moore based on the DC Comics comics of the same name from 1986-1987. In the story, the Assassin, nicknamed Rorschach, investigates the murder of his former comrade.
1988 – “The Alchemist” by Paolo Coelho. Coelho’s best-known novel, its circulation exceeds that of any other Portuguese book sold. This is the story of the shepherd Santiago who goes in search of treasure in Egypt – a story in the style of “The Arabian Nights” or 18th century French fairy tales.
1989-1999
1989 – “The Joy and Luck Club”, Amy Tan. The most popular novel about immigrants of the 20th century is a story about elderly Chinese women and their children who move to the United States but continue to honor their traditions.
1990 – “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton. Several movies were made based on Jurassic Park, games were released for computer and consoles. In the story, millionaire scientist John Hammond bought the island to build a “biological park” there and populate it with real dinosaurs.
1991 – “Sophia’s World”, Eustein Gorder. The novel was on the list of the world’s most popular books for three years, making it the most expensive movie in Norwegian history by subject. 14-year-old schoolgirl Sofia corresponds with philosopher Alberto Knox, who tells her the history of philosophy.
1992 – Secret History, by Donna Tartt. According to the plot, a murder occurs in the company of close friends. The hero relives his youth and tries to find out who did it. Meanwhile, Donna only wrote three novels (The Secret History, Little Friend, and The Goldfinch), but each became a bestseller, and Tartt even won the Pulitzer Prize for the Goldfinch.
1993 – “Virgin Suicides”, Evgenidis Jeffrey. The contemporary American classic Eugenides and his Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel. In the story, one of the five Lisbon sisters is thrown out the window. Since then, the rest of the sisters have come under the close attention of their neighbors. A film adaptation starring Kirsten Dunst was released in 1999.
1994 – Automatic Bird Diaries, by Haruki Murakami. Murakami receives the Yomiuri Literary Award for Chronicles. This is the story of an office clerk who quits work and starts looking for the meaning of life.
1995 – “Blindness” by José Saramago. Saramago is modern Portugal’s most famous writer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. According to the plot of the book, an epidemic of blindness begins in an unknown city. To prevent its spread, the government imposes quarantines.
1996 – “Game of Thrones” by George RR Martin. One of the most popular series of our time is filmed based on the book cycle of Martin, in which several influential households fight for the right of family clans to the Iron Throne.
1997 – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by JK Rowling. The most popular children’s fantasy epic of the 20th and 21st centuries. In the first book, we find ourselves in the world of magic with Harry Potter and learn where he got this mysterious lightning-shaped scar, explore all the nooks and crannies of Hogwarts and fight Voldemort for the first time.
1998 – Clocks, Michael Cunningham. Cunningham won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel. In the story, three strong women try to cope with domestic problems and find the meaning of life.
1999 – It’s good to be quiet Stephen Chbosky. Chbosky not only wrote one of the most popular adult novels, but also directed the 2012 film adaptation (starring Emma Watson, by the way). Teen Charlie is depressed – he has lost two people close to him, Aunt Helen and his best friend Michael. She begins to correspond with an unknown young man and talk about her experiences.
2000-2010
2000 – “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. Surely you remember the movie adaptation and that beautiful Bengal tiger in the boat. The film received four Oscars (for sound, cinematography, director and visual effects) and one Golden Globe (for soundtrack).
2001 – The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. The film adaptation of the novel won the best actress (Queen Latifah), director and screenplay awards. In the story, 14-year-old Lily Owens lost her mother. She could not live with her abusive father and ran away from home.
2002 – Beautiful Bones, by Alice Sebold. A terrifying story told from the perspective of a girl named Suzy Salmon: she was murdered and dismembered by a 14-year-old neighbor. You should read and watch the movie adaptation with a bag of tissues – you will definitely cry.
2003 – The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. The love story of a man with a genetic disorder that allows him to travel through time, and his wife, an artist.
2004 – Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell. The complex and multi-layered plot of the book draws you in from the very first page. In 2012, a film adaptation was also released – the main roles were played by Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.
2005 – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. All the horrors of war are told because of your Death. Germany, 1939 9-year-old Lizzy’s father disappeared, and her mother decided to put her daughter and brother in foster care. On the way to a new family, Lisa’s brother dies of illness in front of her. The girl grows up in a new family, is fond of books and begins to steal them.
2006 – “Marley and us. An incredible story about love and life with John Grogan, the scariest dog in the world. Everyone sobbed uncontrollably in the movie adaptation starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. And you will cry more for the book.
2007 – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by JK Rowling. The final book in the Harry Potter saga. The struggle is not for life, but for death. Who will win in the final battle: good or bad?
2008 – “Duma Key”, Stephen King Construction contractor Edgar Fremantle is involved in an accident, losing an arm and suffering a brain injury. His wife can’t stand it and decides to divorce him.
2009 – “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown. The subsequent adventures of Professor Robert Langdon, author of the popular books and adaptations of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. This time he has to learn the Masons’ biggest secret.
2010 – “The Girl whose Airborne Rooks Exploded” by Stieg Larson. The third episode of Larson’s Millennium series is about a 24-year-old hacker who is raped and decides to take revenge on his rapist. This is Larson’s last book – he finished it in 2007 and soon died of a massive heart attack after climbing the 7th floor. By the way, in 2011, the Hollywood adaptation of the first part, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was released, but they did not shoot further – Daniel Craig charged too much.
2011-2018
2011 – “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. The most complete and reliable biography of the founder of Apple – his friends, colleagues, enemies and even himself took part in its creation. The book was published in the US in October 2011, two weeks after Jobs’ death.
2012 – “Fifty Shades of Grey” by EL James. The erotic handbook for housewives in light BDSM that broke all sales records! In general, this is the love story of a millionaire Christian Gray and a modest student Anastasia Steele.
2013-2014 – StrengthsFinder 2.0, Tom Rath. It seems like the usual motivational guide and advice on how to find yourself, start doing everything and what you want, how many million you will become. But this book has been at the top of the bestseller lists for two years!
2015 – “Magical cleansing. The Japanese art of putting things in order at home and in life, by Marie Kondo. The book is the answer to the age-old question: how to clean an apartment so that once – and for a lifetime.
2016 – “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by JK Rowling. Rowling promised to write more books about Harry Potter, but she didn’t say a word about the younger generation! The adventures of the children of the main characters – Scorpius Malfoy and James Potter.
2017 – Miracle, RJ Palacio. A very touching story about a boy named August who has a complex facial anomaly (it looks more like a scary mask).
2018 – Being. My Story by Michelle Obama. Memoirs of the Former First Lady of the United States.
2019 – “City of Women” by Elizabeth Gilbert. New York is a 1940s burlesque theater and a young countryman who has just arrived in town. But this girl has secrets from the past and is not as naive and simple as her colleagues first thought of her.
2020 – “Normal People” by Sally Rooney. A drama about the love of a girl from a wealthy family and a servant’s son.
Source: People Talk
