Fans of the tv-show Gilmore Girls know this already: daughter Rory reads a lot. Actually, during the series she reads or mentions reading 339 books. Not counting the books from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, or books that Lorelai reads or mentions. Australian writer Patrick Lenton made a list of these books, and that resulted in the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.
Not afraid of a challenge, I copied the list and noted which books I have or can easily borrow from friends and family. Some books on the list I have already read, but I want to start fresh. Some books on the list are not books to read as a novel; especially the books about hotels and traveling in Europe won’t be my first pick. But that still leaves me with enough books to read, and probably 34 years to read them all (based on 10 books from this list yearly).
So where to start? The list goes from old classics to modern literature, and passes biographies and historical books. I figured to start with a book that I loved during English Literature in High School: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Also high on my list: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
After those three, I’ll read some books I have read before: The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and The Catcher in the Rye. Books that I loved reading, and I don’t mind reading them again. I’ll have read seven books of this challenge by then, since there are two Harry Potter-books on this list. I’d still have 332 books to go, but it’s a start, right?
And of course, there are books I want to read that are not on this list. Conclusion: a lot to read, but maybe not enough time? We’ll see in December. Let me know if you are doing this challenge as well, and maybe even suggest books from the list to read next!
