The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge - My Progress So Far

I like to think of myself as a real-life equivalent of Rory Gilmore. I know a lot of fans of Gilmore Girls might think that about themselves, but hear me out:

1. Lesson #1: Preparedness

I've brought a book with me everywhere since I could read - and that was years before Gilmore Girls ever premiered!

2. Lesson #2: Organization

We can all relate to lack of shelf space, but I'm now running out of space to put shelves! I may steal Rory's drawer idea next...

3. Lesson #3: Passion

I, too, love the smell of books. And the feel of them. And reading them, obviously. Being surrounded by books is utter bliss.

4. Lesson #4: Portability

Let's put it this way: I own multiple book sleeves so I can bring my books with me wherever I go without damaging them (see Lesson #1). It has become physically difficult to not enter a library book sale or a bookshop these days, and especially difficult not to buy something there. And often, when I go book shopping, I'm attracted to books that I already own as I browse. The struggle is real.

5. Lesson #5: Addiction

I always overpack for trips, short or long - because I need to bring a variety of reading material with me! Besides, what if I run out of material before the end of the trip?

Reading similarities aside, I'm also a quick-witted brunette who speaks in fluent references, I'm very close to my mom, and I live in small-town Connecticut. Are you convinced yet?

Regardless of how similar or dissimilar we are, I was curious to see how similar my reading taste is to Rory's. I downloaded a printable checklist of all the books Rory mentions reading in Gilmore Girls from Tanya at Mom's Small Victories. So far, I have read the following books from the list:

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

3. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

5. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan

7. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

8. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

9. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney

10. Brigadoon by Alan Jay Lerner

11. Candide by Voltaire

12. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

13. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

14. The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

15. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

16. A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

17. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

18. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

19. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

20. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

21. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

22. Eloise by Kay Thompson

23. Emma by Jane Austen

24. Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

25. Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

26. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

27. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein

28. Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein

29. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

30. Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky

31. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

32. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

33. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

34. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

35. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

36. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

37. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

38. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

39. Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare

40. Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare

41. Henry V by William Shakespeare

42. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

43. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

44. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

45. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

46. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

47. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

48. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

49. The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

50. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

51. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

52. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

53. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

54. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

55. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

56. New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson

57. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

58. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism

59. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

60. Othello by William Shakespeare

61. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

62. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

63. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

64. The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker

65. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

66. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

67. Rapunzel by The Brothers Grimm

68. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

69. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

70. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

71. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkein

72. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

73. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

74. The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum

75. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

76. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

77. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

78. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

79. Small Island by Andrea Levy

80. Snow White and Rose Red by The Brothers Grimm

81. The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

82. Stuart Little by E.B. White

83. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

84. Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

85. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

86. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

87. Richard III by William Shakespeare

88. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

89. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

90. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

91. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

92. The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

93. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

93 books is pretty good going, but there are still 246 more to go! I'm not consciously trying to complete the challenge within a certain time frame (i.e. "I will complete this challenge within a year!"), but I will try to read all of these books over the course of my reading career. Therefore, I will check in with this challenge once a year to see how many more books I can check off the list.

What do you think of the Rory Gilmore challenge? Would you give yourself a time frame in which to complete it, or would you freestyle it like me?

If you're joining me on this journey, grab some coffee and happy reading!