Rory Gilmore: The Bibliophile We Inspired To Be
Hey everyone I am in a bit of a book slump right now (if you are not aware of what exactly a book slump is, it means that you just can not find the desire to read and it seems like every book you pick up is not enjoyable or good, regardless if you would feel differently if you were not in a reading slump). So I thought instead of trying to review a book, I would write about one of my favorite TV book worms in existence. That is Rory Gilmore from one of my favorite shows Gilmore Girls.
Gilmore Girls was a show that aired from 2000 to 2007 and was about a young mother and her teenage daughter being friends, as well as dealing with their everyday life in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Besides having fast paces and funny dialogue, a look into the culture and traditions of a small town, memorable characters, and more, the show also introduced viewers to one of the best bibliophile character's ever aka Rory Gilmore. If Cath from Fangirl was a character in a book I could relate to most with her fangirling and love of books, then Rory Gilmore is one of the characters I can relate to the most with her love of books. Throughout the years we saw Rory become a new Chilton Academy student to getting a job after college writing about the Obama Presidential campaign. Through the years something that stayed consistent was Rory's reading habits. Rory always seemed to have a book with her and must have mentioned or been seen reading a book. There are even entire articles and website dedicated to "Rory Gilmore's Reading List".
Some examples of the books Rory mentioned or was seen reading, as well as a few books other characters brought up were:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Anna Karenia by Leo Tolstoy
Carrie by Stephen King
The Catcher in The Rye by J.D Salinger
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Ulysses by James Joyce
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Curious Case of A Dog in The Nighttime by Mark Haddon
It was not only Rory's reading habits that we bibliophiles and readers saw ourselves in, but her habits when it came to books. Rory frequented the local book shop, would purchase piles of books at local sales, enjoyed the smell of books, packs multiple books in her backpack, and discussed books with her friends, family, or significant others. In the Season 2 episode entitled Richard Visits Stars Hollow, She even had not only a shelf filled with books, but under her bed and in multiple drawers.
One of the other relatable storylines related to Rory's reading habits that many introverted book worms can relate to is during the season 2 episode Like Mother, Like Daughter. In the 7th episode of the season is seen by the guidance counselor frequently eating lunch alone, listening to her walkman (this was the early 2000's so no iPods yet), while she reads her book. The counselor calls Rory into her office and tells Rory she should socialize more because it could hurt her future and makes her look "unapproachable." By the end of the episode Rory has almost fully joined a secret society at the school and almost gotten herself suspended. So after that mishap she is allowed by the school to do as she pleases and sit by herself and read & listen to tunes. This time however, a girl who was at the secret society initiation ask to sit with her in which Rory agrees and is happily surprised when the girl opens up a book of her own to read. The wanting to read peacefully and enjoying your own company is something that I and many introverted book lovers can relate to. It is not that Rory is totally anti social, she just enjoys reading, listening to music, eating her lunch, and not being bothered. This is probably one of my favorite episodes personally because of how much I relate to Rory in this particular storyline.
The last topic to discuss is Rory's boyfriends. Rory had 3 boyfriends during the durations of the series: Dean, Jess, and Logan. While Logan kind of was not really that interested in books as far as I can remember (there may have been a few mentions here or there but if he was a reader I do not recall the series saying anything about it, though my memory may be fuzzy. If I am wrong please let me know in comments below), Dean and Jess were. The funny thing about Dean and Jess was Jess seemed to be one of the most favored boyfriends for Rory, while Dean was the least. Logan was either tied with Jess or somewhere between Jess and Rory, but Jess was most likely the boyfriend people wanted to be endgame for Rory. Each of Rory's boyfriends had their flaws and strengths. Reading wise however Jess was probably the best boyfriend, while Dean was the worst. While Dean enjoyed reading and was seen or offering to go to book store or sales with Rory, he and Rory fought about books and her did not always seem exactly happy to be going to sales with her. When he said the lines about watching her browse for hours in a book shop it never felt genuine to me or like he really wanted to go enjoy the book store with her. One of the few times they broke up in series was even partially due to their differing opinions on Anna Korenia. Even if Dean and her both liked to read and liked some of the same books, they were just not compatible enough among many other issues outside of books.
Jess on the other hand was the most compatible with Rory book wise. Not only did they get along and agree about books that they loved and hated, but Jess was as much as a reader as Rory was. Though he was not always open with his feelings and had a very mysterious "bad boy" vibe to him (and a few actions past and present to go with that vibe), he was smart, a hard worker, and good at heart. While Jess went through multiple job and location transitions throughout the series, by the end of Gilmore Girls we were able to see he was owning a small publishing company in New York, had friends there, and even published a book. Jess was not perfect by any means, he was not always the best boyfriend, but to be fair all of Rory's boyfriends seemed to have some kind of problematic tendencies or traits one way or another. The fact of the matter is that Jess was probably most suited for Rory both book wise and in the general sense.
Rory Gilmore is going to be gracing our screens once again in the Gilmore Girls revival entitled Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life. Many fans are curious to know what Rory will be seen reading during these 4 mini movies. Maybe Harry Potter and The Cursed Child? Alexander Hamilton? A pick off of Emma Watson's feminist book club list? We will have to wait and see in mean time, if you want something to quench your thirst for Rory, Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore did a video with the current First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in which she discussed books to help promote the Gilmore Girls revival and books in general. Check it out and make sure to catch up on Gilmore Girls, now on Netflix, as well as be ready to watch Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, coming to Netflix on November 25, 2016.
