As you may or may not know a list was recently released with all the books ever mentioned in a show called Gilmore Girls. This started the challenge among bookworms to see how many books they’d read that one of the show’s protagonists, Rory Gilmore a huge bookworm, had also read.
Anyway, this list got me thinking: what if I tried to tick of every book? It’s a huge lists (I think there’s over 300 books) including War and Peace, aka the biggest novel I’ve ever seen, so this is near impossible. But I’ve been trying to read a classic novel every month this year and struggling to pick which ones so I thought I’d just let the show guide my choices, without really ever intending on actually ticking them all off.
There are 339 books referenced in Gilmore Girls (according to BuzzFeed, I don’t know where the original list is). If I read 1 a month it’ll take me 28 years. I stand little chance of still doing this challenge when I’m 47. But like I say I’m going to roughly let it guide my novel reading.
I rewatched Episode One last weekend (while happily soaking in the bath, which is the best way to watch any TV show) and have made a list of all the books they mentioned, so here we go! (Also I should add I’m only going to read the ones Rory actually reads, the 339 was all the books mentioned in the show, although I don’t know what the difference in number actually is).
1. Hukleburry Fin
This is Rory’s English classes book that they’re studying. Rory is an A* student so we can be pretty confident she’s done the required reading.
I read Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain as a kid and found it a little scary (he witnesses a murder and then gets threatened to keep quiet – pretty traumatic to read when you’re 9), but hopefully my 22 year old self can manage this one, about Tom’s best friend Huckleberry.
2. Moby Dick
Honestly, thought this was a type of pudding. Actually, that might Spotted Dick. Either way Rory mentions having read this novel in episode one so I’m thinking of giving it a go. In March (yes, don’t worry about this being at all quick).
3. Madame Bovary
I had the spelling of this so wrong when I jotted it down while watching the episode. It took me a lot of googling to wrangle a novel from my note and then I cross referenced it to the actual list (this is on there so I think I’m right).
I’ve never heard of this novel before and it’s originally in French so have no idea what to expect. But hey I was expecting some curve balls in this!
Let’s Compare Notes
So there you have this impossible challenge. Have you seen the list? How many have you read? Have you read any of the ones listed above? Would love to hear your opinion in the comments section!