1990s: Print Culture

Up until the 1990s, Americans read their newspapers, magazines, and novels the way they always had: on paper. In the 1990s, the growing popularity of books on tape and the Internet revolution brought change to American print culture. Recorded books had been around for some time, but they grew in popularity during the decade. As prices dropped, more and more Americans began to listen to the latest books on tape in their cars or on personal cassette players.

Another major change in print culture was the emergence of the "e-book" and other forms of electronic print media. Book publishers sought to increase their profits by offering some titles electronically. Readers could download the book on to a personal computer or one of several new electronic devices designed just for e-books (if one could stand the less-than-perfect image quality). Magazine and newspaper publishers produced electronic versions of their periodicals online, and users could access the Web sites either free or for a small charge. All the major news outlets offered news via the Web, and Web-only magazines like Salon.com and Slate.com led the way in this new "print" media.

Despite the popularity of these new ways of accessing written information, the majority of Americans stuck with the tried and true popular magazines, newspapers, and best-sellers, that they had always loved. Some familiar names remained at the top of the best-seller lists, including Stephen King (1947–), Danielle Steel (1947–), Tom Clancy (1947–), and John Grisham (1955–). Michael Crichton (1942–) was the biggest crossover hit of the decade. Many of his best-selling novels quickly became blockbuster films, including one of the most spectacular of the decade, Jurassic Park. Late in the decade, a British novelist named J. K. Rowling (1965–) debuted a book called Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone that quickly became a sensation in the United States and around the world. While many praised the book for encouraging reading among young people, others tried to ban it for promoting witchcraft. The hubbub over the book made it the publishing sensation of the late 1990s, and Rowling followed her first book with several successful sequels.