Here 's a look back at the books & the times.
1976: The United States Bicentennial Year.
Remember all the Westport fire hydrants painted up in colonial costume??
Saul Bellow won both the Nobel prize for Literature & the Pulitzer for Humboldt's Gift.The year started with Agatha Christie at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for Curtain.
1977: President Jimmy Carter was sworn in.
Oliver's Story by Erich Segal & Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer topped the bestseller lists. Wallace Stegner's Spectator Bird was the National Book Award winner.
1981: Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female Supreme Court judge.
The Man Booker Prize went to Salmon Rushdie for Midnight's Children. James Michener captured the #1 NYT slot with Covenant.
1991: The Gulf War, Rodney King, first World Wide Web online, "grunge" music.
The Pulitzer was awarded to John Updike who wrote about Rabbit At Rest. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis caused controversy.
1996: Dolly the cloned sheep entered the world. Unabomber Kaczynski was arrested.The Daily Show premiered. Term two for President Bill Clinton.
Richard Ford captured the Pulitzer with Independence Day. The poetry of Wislawa Szymborska was praised by the Nobel committee for "skepticism about the future of humanity and the joy of creativity."
2000: No survival kits were employed in the arrival of the millenium!
Putin became President of Russia; George W Bush finally became President of the US.
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick won the Pulitzer. Young and older enjoyed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling.
Share your book aisle memories.