The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge - An Impossible Task?
“I’m a failure. I am stupid. I’m uninformed and ignorant… I can’t even think of a second synonym for uninformed, I suck! 13 million volumes? I’ve read, what, 300 books in my entire life and I’m already 16?... I sleep too much. I’ve been frittering away my whole life.”
– Rory Gilmore, The Road Trip to Harvard (2x04)
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One of the most comforting TV shows that I watch when I’m down in the dumps is Gilmore Girls. I limit myself from too many re-watches but when I do decide that it’s that special time of year, it’s like coming home. I’d seen a lot of the episodes as a kid growing up while it was still airing on TV but I’d never actually watched from beginning to end until it hit Netflix while I was in University. I started during my second-year during December finals. Big mistake. Studying came second place that semester (but I managed to scrape by anyway). I’ve re-watched it every 2 years during the Christmas season ever since.
One thing that always made me jealous when watching that show was Rory’s ability to read SO MANY BOOKS in such a short time at such a young age. Sure, she isn’t real. But there are people like that in the world (maybe you’re one of them and if so, I envy you). It takes me days, sometimes weeks, to finish a good book (exception to those few that are impossible to put down). So, a few years ago I set myself a goal: Try and read all the books on Rory Gilmore’s reading list before I hit 30. Should be easy, right? I had about 10 years to get it done when I first set that goal….. It’s now been 4 years and I’ve managed 49 of the books on the list, some of which I’d already read in school.
Sometimes I feel like I set this insane goal that I’m never going to reach. And maybe I won’t. There are so many good books, classics, on this list. On the Road, The Shining, Charlotte’s Web, and Jane Eyre but there are quite a few books on that list that I’ll probably never read, nor want to read, such as George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President. It’s also been difficult to fit between my regular TBR lists and once I find a new series I get wayyyyyyyyy of track. But even though it may be a difficult goal and even though I may never finish it, this list has already broadened my literary likes and tastes and I’ve read stories I never would have thought twice about before attempting this challenge. Even if you have no intention of every reading all 399 books on the Rory Gilmore reading list, try it anyway! You’re reading horizons will broaden exponentially just from trying!
A few on the list I definitely plan to read this year:
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Has anyone else attempted this monstrous task? Check out the link above and see how many you've read from the list so far!