13 Quintessential Gen X Books

Every generation has its own list of literary works that seem to stand out from the crowd, be it because they’re particularly ground-breaking, wonderfully crafted, or uniquely relevant to the times. Generation X, roughly defined as those born between 1965 and 1980, is no exception. In fact, this is a generation that owes its name to a book: Generation X was popularized by writer Douglas Coupland, who used it in a 1987 magazine article and again for his 1991 novel Generation X: Tales From an Accelerated Culture. Since then, the moniker has come to represent a cohort known for its independence, resourcefulness, and cynicism.

We’ll delve into the unique influence and era-defining properties of each title on this list, exploring how they informed a generation’s psyche. This is by no means a comprehensive rundown, but all the works here are heavy hitters that resonated deeply with Gen X, chosen thanks to either their incredible success at time of publication, enduring status, or startling originality that opened up new means of expression. From moving stories of the Black American experience to imagined worlds of breathtaking vision, here are 13 books that had an influence Gen X—and help shaped the world as we know it today.

1. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) // Robert Pirsig
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) // Maya Angelou
3. The Joy of Sex (1972) // Alex Comfort
4. Sophie’s Choice (1979) // William Styron
5. The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)
6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) // Douglas Adams
7. Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) // Kurt Vonnegut
8. Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) // Rita Mae Brown
9. Kindred (1979) // Octavia Butler
10. The Shining (1977) // Stephen King
11. Dune (1965) // Frank Herbert
12. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970) // Judy Blume
13. Other Books Gen X Was Obsessed With That You Might Enjoy

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) // Robert Pirsig

Robert Pirsig was a prodigy. With a reported IQ of 170, he obtained his high school diploma aged 14 and went on to study biochemistry and journalism in Minnesota and philosophy in India. All of the disparate strands of his interests came together in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which was rejected an astonishing 121 times before publication. Presented as a fictionalized account of a motorcycle trip Pirsig took with his son, the book serves as a conduit for the exploration of deep philosophical themes on the conflict between romanticism and rationalization. It inspired a generation to question the nature of truth, purpose, and reality, selling over a million copies in its first year and drawing comparisons to classics of American literature. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) // Maya Angelou

Has there ever been a more eloquent and heartbreaking title in the history of literature? Maya Angelou was 40 when she embarked on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical coming of age story that follows the author as a young girl between the ages of 3 and 16 (six other books in the series would follow). An unequivocal commercial success in its time and since, this book is a vital work among the important body of Black American literature from the years following the civil rights movement [PDF]—and a mainstay on many high school reading lists for Gen X and beyond [PDF] whose powerful message continues to inspire readers today.

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The Joy of Sex (1972) // Alex Comfort

Possibly the first explicit sex manual that it was (almost) acceptable to have on display in your bookcase, The Joy of Sex featured a mix of original black-and-white and color illustrations alongside classic prints of Indian and Japanese erotica (that historical precedence, its publishers hoped, would keep them from getting sued for obscenity). Its frank and entertaining style took it to the top of The New York Times Best Seller list for 11 weeks and opened up a whole new area of the publishing sector dedicated to better-sex guides across all imaginable spectra. And, as Fiona Kate Barlow writes at The Conversation, the book “changed everything” for kids born from the ’70s through the early ’90s, “Not in the way it was intended, of course (as a gourmet guide to lovemaking), but rather as the transmitter of the awful realization that not only did our parents have sex, but they were keen to do it joyfully.” 

Sophie’s Choice (1979) // William Styron

In his final novel, Styron tackled one of the darkest and most painful subjects imaginable: the Holocaust. The book follows Stingo, a young aspiring writer, and his complicated relationship with a Jewish scientist, Nathan Landau, and Landau’s girlfriend, the titular Sophie, a Polish survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. The novel’s explicit sex and profanity, alongside Styron’s controversial take on the subject, led to bans and censorship in certain parts of the world, but didn’t prevent it from becoming an award-winning bestseller, whose impact, especially when coupled with the popular film adaptation, is such that the phrase Sophie’s choice has become synonymous with impossible decisions. British Conservative politician Baroness Arminka Helic is just one Gen Xer who was bowled over by the emotional power of Sophie’s Choice, which was her pick as “the book that changed my life.”

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X—which was based on 50 interviews between Malcolm X and journalist Alex Haley—was released nine months after the activist’s assassination, and proved a tremendous influence on the Black arts and civil rights movements. Critical appraisals of the book—which was framed around Malcolm’s personal journey of self-discovery and made especially poignant by his death—have only grown more positive over time. In 1998, it featured in TIME's roundup of the 10 most influential nonfiction works of the 20th century.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X remains a vital document for anyone attempting to understand the Black American experience and the turbulent nature of those times. Jennifer Porter Gore writes at Word in Black that “as Black Gen Xers came of age amid the civil rights movement’s broken promises … they rediscovered, and embraced, the philosophy and teaching of Malcolm X, a.k.a. El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. Scholars, historians, and pop-culture experts say El-Shabazz is arguably one of the most influential figures in the lives of Black Gen Xers, now known as the hip-hop generation.” 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) // Douglas Adams

Inspired by the author’s own adventures hitchhiking around Europe, this deeply funny book endures thanks to its elegant style, memorable characters, and the profound human truths that lie wrapped up in its humorous heart. Arthur Dent, the last human in the universe (possibly), embarks unwillingly on a wild ride across galaxies in the company of his best friend Ford Prefect, the two-headed fugitive ex-president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, astrophysicist Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android. Much of the fun stems from the author’s unique ability to parody everyday life in highly unusual ways. Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so. Gen Xers like Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty) have worked elements of this wonderful novel into their art.

Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) // Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut’s influence on a generation of writers is such that several works of his could have easily made this list, but Slaughterhouse-Five makes the cut due to its heavy-hitting anti-war message and captivating blending of history with science fiction elements. And, as former Science Fiction Book Club editor Andrew Wheeler put it, “it was for my generation, a book actually read by millions of Gen Xers as teens—some because it was assigned in relatively progressive schools, but most because they actually wanted to read it.”

Vonnegut uses black humor, irony, and wide-eyed imagination to convey the psychological and material horror that conflict leaves in its wake—and it’s all framed against a believable and recognizable backdrop, partly inspired by the author’s own experience as a prisoner of war in World War II. Vonnegut’s brisk, readable style, matched with his eclectic knowledge and brave unconcern for literary boundaries, remains startling, and the psychic disruption of combat depicted in this novel later resonated deeply with those suffering through the turmoil of the Vietnam War, many of whom were parents of Gen X children. Some of those Gen Xers went to war themselves: The Yellow Birds author and Iraq War veteran Kevin Powers wrote that Slaughterhouse-Five “has few if any equals in creating the kind of distance that can offer insight into the mass insanity of modern warfare … I’ve relied on it as a touchstone in my life. You can have Job. I’ll throw in my lot with Billy Pilgrim.”

Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) // Rita Mae Brown

American feminist writer Rita Mae Brown’s debut novel broke boundaries with its portrayal of Molly Bolt as she navigates her way through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood as a lesbian in a world largely hostile to the very notion of her existence. Brown’s depiction of difficult inter-family relationships is striking, but it’s the heroine, Molly, who makes this story special—an uncompromising, single-minded woman who refuses to be defined by anyone other than herself. One of the first lesbian coming-of-age books, Rubyfruit Jungle stands as more than just historically important—it’s a singular work that stuck in the minds of countless Gen X readers.

Kindred (1979) // Octavia Butler

Octavia Butler was a trailblazer—a Black woman science fiction writer in a time when that was a rarity. Kindred explores America’s history of slavery by way of a gripping science fiction narrative, as protagonist Dana travels in time between her life in 1976 and a plantation in Maryland in 1815. During her lifetime, Butler won the Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Awards, and her influence on successive generations of Black writers—including Gen Xers like N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor—would be hard to exaggerate. Kindred is the novel that first brought Butler to attention beyond the science fiction world.

The Shining (1977) // Stephen King

“Here’s Johnny!” The film adaptation of Stephen King’s masterpiece of horror, with its unforgettable performance by Jack Nicholson, has become so well known that choice quotes have found their way into all corners of pop culture. The Shining was King’s third novel, after Carrie and ’Salem’s Lot, and was arguably responsible for cementing his reputation as one of the finest crafters of scary tales. The book’s main protagonist, struggling writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance, was based on the author himself—and the setting by King’s own stay in a near-deserted hotel. The Shining thrilled and traumatized countless Gen Xers: As one of them wrote on a Reddit post discussing the film adaptation, “We all experienced Stephen King too young, that’s why we are how we are.”

Dune (1965) // Frank Herbert

Put aside the renewed interest generated by Dune’s recent two-part blockbuster adaptation—in the year of its original publication, the book won both the Hugo Award (jointly with Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal) and the Nebula Award, and garnered critical praise of the highest order: None other than Arthur C. Clarke declared Dune as equal in value to Lord of the Rings. The novel’s success lies in its intricate and highly detailed universe and its fascinating systems of religion, philosophy, and politics (though in the years since, Herbert’s personal and distasteful homophobia has been brought out into the open). The author penned five sequels, and, following his death, his son Brian Herbert collaborated with writer Kevin J. Anderson on additional books in the series. At Nerdist, writer Lindsey Romain outlines some of the Gen X-made movies and TV shows that reference Dune, including Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom.  

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (1970) // Judy Blume

American author Judy Blume stands as one of the most influential and accomplished authors of children’s and young adult fiction—a writer capable of crafting memorable stories with which their target audience readily identifies, free of any hint of patronization. Her works paved the way for the young adult genre to flourish, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret remains arguably her best loved. The story follows sixth-grader Margaret Simon as she confronts anxieties common to every early-adolescent girl. Blume writes with humor and empathy, and her refreshing frankness showed the world that children’s fiction doesn’t need to shy away from confronting traditionally taboo issues, not least the challenges and changes faced during female adolescence.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret revolutionized the concept of what was possible or acceptable in young adult fiction, and is still helping its original Gen X readers navigate the world today: In a piece at the Huffington Post, Zoe Zolbrod wrote that “When I talked to Gen X women about their first encounters with Judy Blume, they noted striking parallels between puberty and where we find ourselves now, approaching or past menopause.” One of the women she interviewed told her, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret helped us talk about menstruation. … now that we’re going through menopause, we are the people saying, this, too, is part of sexual health.”

Other Books Gen X Was Obsessed With That You Might Enjoy

• Bright Lights, Big City
• American Psycho
• Girl, Interrupted
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
• Choose Your Own Adventure Series
• Prozac Nation
• Bonfire of the Vanities
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• The Bluest Eye

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