Latest / Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club / 📚I Read All of Ann Patchett’s Books. Here’s How They Rank.

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📚I Read All of Ann Patchett’s Books. Here’s How They Rank. · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

0:05
SPEAKER_00: Hello, Friday Night Readers.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: This is a really big day and not just because we are in peak fall.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm looking out my window and I am starting to see all of the reds and yellows
0:16
SPEAKER_00: and oranges on the trees.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: I have a really lovely view of the front of our house,
0:21
SPEAKER_00: which was actually one of the reasons we bought this house because it has
0:24
SPEAKER_00: the office right in front.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I used to work either in this third bedroom that was in a row house in Philadelphia
0:30
SPEAKER_00: that was, I mean, really like a cubicle.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: So I didn't like working in there because it was so small and it had
0:35
SPEAKER_00: a really small window as well.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: So I often just worked at the dining room table or on the couch.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: So this was one of the reasons we moved here and I am enjoying every second of it
0:44
SPEAKER_00: at this time of year.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: I hope you are too.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: We are also having beautiful fall weather.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: It is just slightly sweater weather right here, right now.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, that is not the only reason I'm excited about today.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: It's because it is finally time to talk about something that I have been working on for years.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: I am now an Ann Patchett completist.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: I have read All of her books and I have ranked all of them for you.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: I know she is many people's favorite author and she is my favorite author.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: I think she's really come out in recent years as the top one or two people
1:19
SPEAKER_00: that readers talk about when they are talking about the greatest living authors
1:24
SPEAKER_00: and people who can do anything with their careers.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: That's how well known and well esteemed they are, which is really incredibly rare.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: And what's interesting about it is that she's not the type of person who gets
1:35
SPEAKER_00: a viral book talk sensation.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: She's really built this over time and built it up to where her books are so good
1:42
SPEAKER_00: that they market themselves and it's not just on social media.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: It's really everywhere.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: It's at the bookstore level.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: It's at the library level.
1:49
SPEAKER_00: It's on the level of readers talking to other readers.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: Her books are very book club friendly.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: So as we get into all of her books, I first want to take you back to spring of 2025.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: My husband had a work trip in Nashville and I asked if I could join and
2:04
SPEAKER_00: the reason was simply so I can visit Ann Patchett's bookstore.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: About 20 minutes outside of Nashville, this was one of my top literary bucket list items.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: What's interesting about Parnassus Books is that it's literally in a strip mall.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: So it's hard to imagine something so important to
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SPEAKER_00: so many people just being this totally nondescript location.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the sign reads just like any other sign in a strip mall.
2:31
SPEAKER_00: And to be honest, the bookstore in many ways looks like your average bookstore.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: It's got these oaky shelves with rolling ladders.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: But what's funny about it is that on any given day,
2:42
SPEAKER_00: and I went on,
2:43
SPEAKER_00: I believe it was a Thursday morning,
2:45
SPEAKER_00: right when the store opened,
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SPEAKER_00: you will see droves of women,
2:49
SPEAKER_00: yes, it is particularly women, who are clearly making pilgrimages there.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: There are people taking pictures outside.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: And you'll also even see people doing little side eyes in the store to see
2:59
SPEAKER_00: if they spot Ann Patchett.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: No, I did not.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: And I was actually glad I didn't.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: She's someone who I hold in such high esteem that I don't want to meet her.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: I just want her to exist in my brain I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:12
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:15
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:19
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:22
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:24
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going
3:28
SPEAKER_00: to show you what I'm going to show you what I'm going to show you
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Lots of customers, people sitting and reading, people browsing, fans scooping up merch.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: I even heard people fielding phone calls and taking messages to deliver to Anne.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: It just felt so good to be in a literary environment where people truly were there
3:53
SPEAKER_00: for the books.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: You could feel the joy and this real sense of community,
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SPEAKER_00: which is the best a bookstore can offer.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: And I will say it's also a pretty big bookstore.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: I bet they have great events there.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: So what did I grab there?
4:06
SPEAKER_00: I got a signed copy of a Margaret Rankel book.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: She is another Nashville author.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: She was actually Reese Witherspoon's English teacher.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I like her is because all the way back in 2019,
4:18
SPEAKER_00: when I started book blogging, I was asked to be on the Today Show for her book.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: This was done remotely by video,
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SPEAKER_00: but I did get to ask her a question and then I spoke with her online after.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: So she's just a very special person to me and her books are excellent by the way.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: If you like Mary Oliver, you would like her books.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: It's sort of like the essay version of Mary Oliver.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: So I did grab that because I like to grab signed copies of books when I'm
4:42
SPEAKER_00: in bookstores because I think it is one thing that makes it worth
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SPEAKER_00: the extra dollars versus buying something on Amazon or Target
4:49
SPEAKER_00: to get something signed by the author.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: And then I believe I got a sticker for my laptop,
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SPEAKER_00: which was Ann Patchett's dog is sort of famous as being a shop dog.
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SPEAKER_00: So that was the sticker I got.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: And then I got a t-shirt of Parnassus Books, of course.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Another cool thing is I got my mother-in-law an annotated version of Bel Canto.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think this is a really cool thing that Ann Patchett did.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: So she went back to her award-winning book.
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SPEAKER_00: This one won the Penn Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction
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SPEAKER_00: which is now called the Women's Prize for Fiction.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: And she looked at it again from a modern lens and wrote notes
5:26
SPEAKER_00: on either what she was thinking or what she would change
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SPEAKER_00: as her writing has developed since that time.
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SPEAKER_00: And I just think it is such a smart way for an author to really make the most bang
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SPEAKER_00: for their buck out of their work product which can be hard to do.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: It's also giving readers,
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SPEAKER_00: whether you're new to her or whether you're a big fan or a completist like me,
5:45
SPEAKER_00: a new way to experience her books.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: And in the bookstore, they had both signed and numbered copies.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: I can't remember how many they signed.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: I think it may have been 1,500
5:58
SPEAKER_00: So I got that from my mother-in-law.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: I also got her a t-shirt and I think that's it.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: So anyway, that was my very magical trip to Ann Patchett's Parnassus Books.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: I absolutely think it is worth it.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: There's also a really good smoothie shop in the shopping center and I had
6:14
SPEAKER_00: the best peanut butter banana smoothie that I continue to make weekly to this day.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: So I would recommend that as well.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: And if you head to the show notes,
6:22
SPEAKER_00: you can see my little video vlog and some pictures from the bookstore.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: So who is the woman that inspires these pilgrimages?
6:31
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to this, there is a pretty good chance you know who Ann Paschett is.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: But just to recap, she is a number one bestselling and award winning author.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: What she has become known for is these really multi-layered stories.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: They have very complex characters that have both positive and negative qualities,
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SPEAKER_00: and she uses this very lush literary prose to make what's ordinary
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SPEAKER_00: in life feel extraordinary.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: It's really about those little moments and those little things and drawing them out
7:00
SPEAKER_00: with words to show how special they are.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: She's very often a celebrity book club pick,
7:05
SPEAKER_00: Reese Witherspoon has picked her more than once,
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Jenna Bush Hager has picked her,
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SPEAKER_00: and she's also known She's known for taking these characters and placing them
7:12
SPEAKER_00: in unique circumstances.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: We'll get to many of those circumstances as I talk about her books,
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SPEAKER_00: but it really does feel like she starts with the character,
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SPEAKER_00: then pulls this unique circumstance out of thin air and sees what happens.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Beyond the awards I mentioned in 2012,
7:29
SPEAKER_00: she was named by Time as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: And in 2021,
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SPEAKER_00: she was awarded the National Humanities Medal,
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SPEAKER_00: putting into words the beauty, pain, and complexity of human nature.
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SPEAKER_00: I love the way that is worded.
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SPEAKER_00: I think it perfectly describes who she is as an author.
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SPEAKER_00: And while I was at Parnassus Books,
7:49
SPEAKER_00: that was the day that I decided to commit to completing her catalog.
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SPEAKER_00: I had probably read less than half at that point.
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SPEAKER_00: Now, about a year and a half later,
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SPEAKER_00: I have finally finished and I'm here to share my experiences with you.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to rank all 13 books for you.
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SPEAKER_00: There are three nonfiction and 10 fiction books that are full length books.
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SPEAKER_00: These are the ones I'm going to rank for you.
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SPEAKER_00: I do also want to note that she's published a few children's books and
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SPEAKER_00: a graduation speech, which is called What Now?
8:17
SPEAKER_00: And she offered photo commentary in a book called Nashville,
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SPEAKER_00: Scenes from the New American South.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: But I am not focusing on those here.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm focusing on her full length adult books.
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SPEAKER_00: To give you a quick overview,
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SPEAKER_00: I ranked four of them five stars,
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SPEAKER_00: five of them four stars, and four of them three stars.
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SPEAKER_00: We will get to my personal rankings,
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SPEAKER_00: but I do want to note that These Precious Days,
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SPEAKER_00: which is a essay book mostly about the pandemic,
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SPEAKER_00: was currently ranked the highest on Goodreads.
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SPEAKER_00: And The Dutch House was the most widely reviewed.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: Now in the show notes that accompany this post,
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SPEAKER_00: I am running a poll for which Ann Patchett book is your favorite in order
8:53
SPEAKER_00: to include more opinions than just my own.
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SPEAKER_00: But I did also take a poll in my Substack notes before filming.
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SPEAKER_00: And in that poll, Tom Lake was the favorite with 33% of the vote.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: What I want you to know about Ann Patchett's books is that you can read them in any order.
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SPEAKER_00: None of them are part of a series.
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SPEAKER_00: I will note that her most recent books are generally the best-selling and
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SPEAKER_00: the most well-received.
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SPEAKER_00: Tom Lake, The Dutch House, Whistler, which is new for 2026.
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SPEAKER_00: But if you want an award winner,
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SPEAKER_00: I would pick Bel Canto, which I did already mention a little bit earlier.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: In the show notes, I do have a photo that lists Ann Patchett books in order.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: As I'm looking at them, I'm thinking about which Gilmore Girl character would read each one.
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SPEAKER_00: Since that is what we do around here, I'll just give you a few before we get into the books.
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SPEAKER_00: So Tom Lake, I definitely think is an Emily book.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: It's about mothers and daughters.
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SPEAKER_00: It was definitely a book club darling and we know Emily is a book club darling.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Whistler,
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SPEAKER_00: her newest book is about a stepfather and his stepdaughter,
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SPEAKER_00: their estrangement and the love that they share for each other.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: So I really see this one as a Richard Gilmore book.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: I think he really has that special bond with Rory.
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SPEAKER_00: So if you are a fan of the Richard and Rory dynamic, I think you would like Whistler.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: Commonwealth is really big on family drama.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of that episode of Gilmore Girls where Lorelai talked to the magazine
10:11
SPEAKER_00: about her mother and then it went public.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: So this one is a Lorelei book for me.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: I think Rory would pick up Belcanto because I think that she would like an award winner.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: And then there is also a nonfiction book about friendship,
10:23
SPEAKER_00: and I can see Sookie reading that one.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: One more that just came to my mind, State of Wonder.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: That one's very science-y, so I can see April reading that one.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so now let's get into my rankings.
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SPEAKER_00: Number 13 is The Patron Saint of Liars.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: This was 1992 fiction and I did give it three stars.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: This was Ann Patch's debut novel and it follows Rose.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: She is a young pregnant woman.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: She abandons her marriage in California and then she moves to this Kentucky home
10:50
SPEAKER_00: for unwed mothers.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: That is where she has to make a decision about her baby and her life.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: So while this book lands last on my list,
10:58
SPEAKER_00: it actually surprises me that it did
11:00
SPEAKER_00: because I actually enjoyed my reading experience of this one.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: I think that is just the case that when you are reading an author as prolific
11:07
SPEAKER_00: as Ann Patchett, something has to come last.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: I really liked how there are three interconnected perspectives.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: It made the plot especially interesting to hear how the different characters felt
11:17
SPEAKER_00: about the actions,
11:18
SPEAKER_00: but I will say that the main character Rose It was
11:21
SPEAKER_00: a very frustrating main character.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: A main character does not have to be likable,
11:26
SPEAKER_00: but I do think that if this book were written later in Ann Patchett's career,
11:30
SPEAKER_00: she would have given this character more depth and more empathy,
11:33
SPEAKER_00: sort of like the characters on Gilmore Girls,
11:35
SPEAKER_00: like in Emily,
11:36
SPEAKER_00: where she has these qualities that are undeniably difficult,
11:39
SPEAKER_00: but then she also has these softer sides where you can really feel for her.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: So I think I would only recommend this one to readers who either want to read
11:48
SPEAKER_00: the book that started at all or who want to be completists.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Moving along to The Magician's Assistant.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: This one came in at number 12 for me.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: It is 1997 fiction.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: I also ranked this one three stars.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: It is about a woman named Sabine and she is left grieving the sudden death of her husband.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: He is a handsome magician and yes, she did serve as his assistant.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: In the wake of his death,
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SPEAKER_00: she discovers that the family he claimed to have lost in
12:12
SPEAKER_00: a tragic accident is actually still alive.
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SPEAKER_00: She reunites with them and this journey is one of both grief and taking another look
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SPEAKER_00: at the man that she loved through a different lens.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: There were things that I liked and didn't like about this book.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: I loved that there is a twist about their marriage that comes early in the book.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: It was unique to the 1000 plus books I have ever read and it really made
12:36
SPEAKER_00: the marriage interesting to me.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: I also loved how Sabine connected with Parzival, her husband's family.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: This is something that has happened in my own life after tragedy.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that she captured these dynamics so realistically.
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SPEAKER_00: There are these bonds that can be created that are just different
12:52
SPEAKER_00: than they would have been prior to this tragic event occurring.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: The reason this comes in at number 12 is I really enjoyed the first half more than
13:00
SPEAKER_00: the second half.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Next, number 11, State of Wonder.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: This was 2011 Fiction.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: I rated this one as three stars as well.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: This was actually the last Ann Patchett book I read.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: I was kind of putting it off because it has a lot of science themes and
13:13
SPEAKER_00: that is not really my thing.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: And I was right.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: They just didn't hit with me the way they would hit with those who do appreciate those themes.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: So in State of Wonder,
13:21
SPEAKER_00: a pharmacologist named Marina Singh travels deep into the Amazon rainforest
13:25
SPEAKER_00: and she is there to investigate the death of her former mentor.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: It feels very mysterious.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: And what he was doing there was developing a valuable fertility drug for an isolated tribe.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: So as you may have mentioned,
13:38
SPEAKER_00: being in the heart of the jungle,
13:39
SPEAKER_00: particularly in a plot like this,
13:41
SPEAKER_00: brings a lot of physical peril and moral dilemma and scientific mysteries.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: It did get a few extra points for me for making impactful statements.
13:49
SPEAKER_00: I just was not the right audience for this book.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: I think if you like Charlotte McConaughey,
13:55
SPEAKER_00: And books like Wild Dark Shore and Migrations,
13:57
SPEAKER_00: which she wrote, that you would like this one.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: I will also give you a fun fact about this.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: There is a book called Big Magic, which is about creativity.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: And it was written by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: And in there,
14:08
SPEAKER_00: she talks about how both she and Ann Patchett both came up with almost
14:12
SPEAKER_00: the same identical plot of this book,
14:15
SPEAKER_00: but that it wasn't right for Gilbert and it was right for Ann Patchett.
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SPEAKER_00: And Ann Patchett was the one who ultimately wrote it.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: The purpose of that whole story is that not every idea you have as a creative is
14:24
SPEAKER_00: the one that is right for you to follow.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: Let's move along to Taft which was 1994 fiction.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: This one comes in at number 10 and I also gave this one three stars.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: It's set in a Memphis blues bar and it is narrated by a man named John Nickel.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: He was a former jazz drummer coping with his son moving away.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: He hires this young waitress named Faye and as often happens in
14:46
SPEAKER_00: a workplace setting especially like this one he becomes entangled in her life
14:50
SPEAKER_00: and her troubled brother's life.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: This makes him completely consumed with reconstructing the memory
14:55
SPEAKER_00: of their deceased father while also processing his own past.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: This is another one that had some hits and some misses for me.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: I totally remember my experience reading this book.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: I listened to it on audiobook and the narrator Has this very James Earl Jones kind
15:10
SPEAKER_00: of voice that makes the main character really feel alive to you.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: And I also thought the setting and the other characters felt very alive and very memorable.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: That said, I don't totally remember much of the plot.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: It just wasn't a book that stayed with me and that's why it's ranked towards
15:26
SPEAKER_00: the bottom of my list.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: That said,
15:28
SPEAKER_00: I do think that given the way this setting is drawn,
15:31
SPEAKER_00: It would be a great book to read if you were traveling to Memphis.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about a nonfiction book.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: Number nine, this is the story of a happy marriage.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: Written in 2013, this was my first four star book on this list.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: It was Ann Patchett's first nonfiction book and it was a Reese's book club pick.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: It's a collection of essays and some of the topics are Ann Patchett's romantic history.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: She talks about her very brief first marriage.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: And then ultimately finding happiness with her husband,
15:58
SPEAKER_00: her devotion to her dogs, which is something that fans know her for.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: And the adventure of opening that independent bookstore,
16:05
SPEAKER_00: Parnassus Books, which I talked about at the beginning of the show.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: This one is great for her biggest fans because you learn so much about her life
16:12
SPEAKER_00: and her essays are written with meaningful life lessons just like her books.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: It also helps you see how her real life shaped her writing and even the plots of her books.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: I think the fans of Whistler can go back to this one
16:24
SPEAKER_00: and see how her life particularly inspired that one.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: There are definitely threads of it in that book.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: Number eight is a book you may not have even heard of.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: I definitely think it's an underrated gem.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: It's called Run and this was 2007 fiction.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: I rated it four stars.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: The first thing I love about it is that it takes place over just a 24 hour period.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Second thing I love about it, it is a snowstorm.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: A great plot device.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: And in this book,
16:50
SPEAKER_00: a former mayor and his two adopted African-American sons are involved in
16:54
SPEAKER_00: an accident.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: One of the sons is nearly hit by an SUV and then a stranger leaps in and saves him
17:00
SPEAKER_00: while critically injuring herself.
17:02
SPEAKER_00: This accident, dramatic in its own right, reveals this absolute web of family secrets.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Including a connection between the savior and the adopted brothers.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: How juicy is that?
17:15
SPEAKER_00: I still remember reading this book and thinking this is what Ann Patchett does best.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: She takes her characters, places them in the same room, and then just sees what happens.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: Here, the result was something really big.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, the 24 hour setting makes this twist especially satisfying.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: I think that if you have read Ann Patchett's more popular titles,
17:37
SPEAKER_00: this is one that is fun to venture into.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: Number seven is These Precious Days, which is 2021 nonfiction.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: I rated it four stars,
17:45
SPEAKER_00: but as you may recall from earlier in the episode,
17:47
SPEAKER_00: This one was actually rated the highest on Goodreads.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's because it is so emotional.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: It was an emotional time for many of us.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: She captured it so well.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: And there's also just something about memoirs that really make you feel even more deeply.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: Here, Ann Patchett looks at what matters most in life,
18:04
SPEAKER_00: which was something that we were all thinking about during that time.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: At the core of the book is her unexpected friendship with a woman named Sookie.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Sookie.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: She is terminally ill and went to live with Ann Patchett during her cancer treatments.
18:17
SPEAKER_00: Here we experience in its finest Ann Patchett's Warmth,
18:21
SPEAKER_00: exploring these really philosophical issues of family,
18:24
SPEAKER_00: of mortality,
18:26
SPEAKER_00: And even how life intersects with art, this is one of my favorite themes.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: I think there's nothing more beautiful than adding art to art, if that makes sense.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: It's like the book is art that makes you feel something in its own right,
18:38
SPEAKER_00: but then you add art as a theme that affects the people in the book as well.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's just a chef's kiss to me.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: I think that if you are in the mood for an emotional gut punch,
18:48
SPEAKER_00: and I do mean that in a good cry kind of way, this is one for you to pick up.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: I also remember a fun fact about this one.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: So the cover is bright red with white lettering, and then there is a piece of art of her dog.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: And I remember her saying that the book was designed to really stand out on a shelf.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: She wanted people not to miss it.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: I have heard that authors really don't play a huge role in what their book covers look like.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: But for someone like Ann Patchett.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about Commonwealth.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: Number six on my list.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: This is 2016 fiction.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: I sort of think this is when she really broke out with modern readers.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: I rated this one four stars as well.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: But if you remember going back to that I did get a few comments about it
19:40
SPEAKER_00: and I think it's just that much more well read than the other books on this list,
19:44
SPEAKER_00: but that is just my suspicion.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: This is my absolute favorite genre, multi-generational family dramas.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: Who would have ever guessed that as a Gilmore, this is exactly my kind of story.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: What happens here is that one romantic encounter changes two families lives forever.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: So a man named Burke Cousins attends Franny Keating's christening party uninvited
20:05
SPEAKER_00: and there he kisses Franny's mother Beverly.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: Over five decades,
20:09
SPEAKER_00: their marriages dissolve,
20:10
SPEAKER_00: and the two families, including six step-siblings, are joined.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Two decades later,
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Franny tells an author about her family, and this becomes the basis for a book.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: As you may expect,
20:21
SPEAKER_00: this is an explosive event that forces the family to confront their past and all of
20:26
SPEAKER_00: the resentments they've been holding.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Now,
20:28
SPEAKER_00: remember when I said earlier that this reminds me of that episode of Gilmore Girls
20:32
SPEAKER_00: where Lorelai talks to the magazine about her mother?
20:34
SPEAKER_00: And says all these horrible things.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: And then the magazine goes on to publish it,
20:38
SPEAKER_00: causing all H-E double hockey sticks to break loose between them.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Again, this is just like that.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: I will also say that this is the book that made Ann Patchett an auto-buy author for me.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm always a fan of a family drama, yes.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: But I think that the fact that this family story became a book made the plot
20:56
SPEAKER_00: so much more salacious than your run-of-the-mill family drama.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: Excellent choice for really any fan of Ann Patchett.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Now, number five, Bel Canto, 2001 Fiction.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: I also gave this one four stars.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: In reality,
21:10
SPEAKER_00: it's probably a toss up between Bel Canto and Commonwealth for the fifth
21:14
SPEAKER_00: and sixth places.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: I gave Bel Canto the benefit of the doubt because it is an award winner.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: It is her breakout novel.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: It is the only one that's been adapted to date and many readers consider it
21:25
SPEAKER_00: an all-time favorite.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: This includes Jenna Bush Hager.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: So it's hard to overlook all of those facts when there are some close calls.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: The title translates to Beautiful Singing and this is set somewhere in South America
21:37
SPEAKER_00: which is not disclosed and there A famous opera singer performs
21:41
SPEAKER_00: at this really lavish birthday party like a Gatsby party for a Japanese businessman
21:46
SPEAKER_00: when a group of amateur gorillas storm in to kidnap the president.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: It sounds like an action movie, doesn't it?
21:53
SPEAKER_00: When they realize he's not there, they take the party guests hostage.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: This is where the story takes a different turn.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: What it's about is how,
22:01
SPEAKER_00: over time,
22:02
SPEAKER_00: These people who are truly on two different sides,
22:05
SPEAKER_00: and one group being a captor,
22:06
SPEAKER_00: the other group being a victim,
22:08
SPEAKER_00: begin to interact with each other and even form bonds.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned,
22:12
SPEAKER_00: I always appreciate art as a theme,
22:14
SPEAKER_00: and that includes the beautiful singing in this novel.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: I also always appreciate how strange bedfellows interact,
22:21
SPEAKER_00: which is exactly what happens here, but I do wish the pace were faster.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: This was a pretty slow read for me.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: There is a 2018 adaptation starring Julianne Moore.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: I have not watched that one yet.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: And as I mentioned,
22:32
SPEAKER_00: there is also an annotated edition of this book,
22:35
SPEAKER_00: which would make for a really fun reading experience.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: I will link that in the show notes for you.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: Number four, Truth and Beauty.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: This is 2004 nonfiction.
22:43
SPEAKER_00: This was the book that I said I think Sookie St. James would like.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: This is my first five star read from Ann Patchett.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: It's another memoir, but this time it is not essays.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: It's a full length story.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: And it's about friendship.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Not just any friendship, a very deeply complicated one.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: She met this writer Lucy Greeley at school and they were both very creatively ambitious.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: So you can even think Paris and Rory.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: But what complicated things is that Lucy was dealing with the repercussions
23:09
SPEAKER_00: of childhood cancer and not just the trauma of it, but also the physical scars.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: She went through all of these surgeries that left her face disfigured.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: This is really about the depths of true friendship.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: It's about love and sacrifice in a relationship that is not romantic.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: And that is filled with all kinds of hardships like addiction.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: It's lesser known, but I found it to be the most unputdownable of all of her books.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: I think it's especially because the audiobook was narrated by Ann Patchett.
23:36
SPEAKER_00: There's just always something about listening to someone's story Not to mention
23:41
SPEAKER_00: that Ann Patchett has a very soothing voice.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: She could have painted herself as a savior and Lucy as not so great of a friend,
23:49
SPEAKER_00: but she gave each of them so many complex layers and offered so many lessons
23:54
SPEAKER_00: about true friendship.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: It was both juicy and beautiful at the same time.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: If you like the book Firefly Lane by Kristen Hanna or picking up a nonfiction book
24:03
SPEAKER_00: that you absolutely cannot put down, This one is for you and guess what?
24:08
SPEAKER_00: I have a great book pairing for you.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Lucy Greeley actually wrote her own version of her story
24:12
SPEAKER_00: and it's called Autobiography of a Face.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Both of these books were on some earlier list of the books on Gilmore Girls
24:18
SPEAKER_00: that was floating around the internet but I have never been able to pinpoint either
24:21
SPEAKER_00: of them as actually being on the show.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: That said,
24:24
SPEAKER_00: I do think both of them work well for fans of Gilmore Girls,
24:27
SPEAKER_00: where female friendships also run very deep.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: Number three, I have ranked Tom Lake, which was 2023 Fiction.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: Again, five stars.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: This is the book that in my prior poll, Readers Voted For is their favorite.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: It does not surprise me.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: I really never hear negative reviews of this book.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: It works on so many levels for so many different kinds of people.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: It was a number one New York Times bestseller and also a Reese's Book Club pick.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Another thing that people really loved about it was that Meryl Streep narrated the audiobook.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: It was an absolutely perfect narration.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: So this one is set on a Michigan cherry farm during the pandemic.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: And of course,
25:03
SPEAKER_00: this was a time when families were coming back together,
25:06
SPEAKER_00: didn't have a whole lot to do.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And there a mother begins to tell her three adult daughters the story
25:12
SPEAKER_00: of this whirlwind summer romance she had decades earlier with a now famous actor.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: And this occurred at a theater company, which was called Tom Lake.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: And they were performing Our Town.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: I think that the story within a story format is so immersive and the plot burns
25:27
SPEAKER_00: so slowly that it really feels extra captivating.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: Truly like a masterclass in storytelling on both levels, in both stories.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: It very methodically reveals that there are parts of a mother's life
25:39
SPEAKER_00: that her children never witnessed.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: The precision is absolutely surgical.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: And then it all leads to a big plot twist.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: It's one that may divide readers.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: But because Ann Patchett is writing it,
25:53
SPEAKER_00: it's done with a whole lot of heart that really won everyone over.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: I also think the whole idea of this secret story that involves someone in your life
26:02
SPEAKER_00: and a really big celebrity is just so captivating.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: Who wouldn't want to sit and listen to it?
26:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, I do want to also talk about Our Town.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: This is a book, or should I say play, that Ann Patchett has said that she reads yearly.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And once you experience Our Town yourself,
26:17
SPEAKER_00: you can totally see how it influences the way Ann Patchett writes.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: So Our Town is a Pulitzer Prize winning play and it's about It takes place in
26:28
SPEAKER_00: a small New Hampshire town.
26:29
SPEAKER_00: It follows the lives of Emily Webb and George Gibbs and explores themes like love,
26:34
SPEAKER_00: family,
26:35
SPEAKER_00: community, and really just the way everyday life moves and the meaning of it all.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: It found success in giving us profound meaning in these very simple moments,
26:43
SPEAKER_00: which is something that Ann Patchett excels at.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: There's so many things in life that aren't big and bold,
26:49
SPEAKER_00: yet really are what make a life, and that's exactly what Tom Lake is about.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: I would recommend this one really to any reader,
26:55
SPEAKER_00: particularly women, and I would also recommend the audiobook.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: Number two is Whistler, Ann Patchett's latest release, 2026 Fiction.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: This was another five-star book for me.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: I would describe this one as a very reflective novel.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: It follows a woman named Daphne.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: She is a 53-year-old schoolteacher.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: And she unexpectedly crosses path with her estranged stepfather,
27:16
SPEAKER_00: Eddie, who while being estranged, she actually loved.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: This was more a decision of her mother.
27:22
SPEAKER_00: So after more than four decades apart,
27:24
SPEAKER_00: after this very dramatic exile by her mother,
27:27
SPEAKER_00: they begin to reconcile what happened,
27:29
SPEAKER_00: which does involve a very dramatic event with both empathy and compassion.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: You may be wondering why is there a horse on the cover and why is this book called Whistler?
27:38
SPEAKER_00: There is a story that intertwines and it's done really brilliantly about a horse named Whistler.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: That's all I'll say about it.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: So this one did not just make President Obama's summer reading list.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: It is also set to be my book of the year, 2026.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: By the grace of the book gods,
27:54
SPEAKER_00: I got an advanced copy of this book on Christmas and it came at
27:57
SPEAKER_00: the absolute perfect time.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: This is because I was sick on Christmas and had to spend it home alone in quarantine.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: The entire holiday season, I did not see anyone in my family.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: So really all I had was this book.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: I told everyone that it saved my holiday season.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: It's one of these books that feels like a balm for your soul.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: It is very sweet, yet somehow it is never saccharine.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: And that is a very fine line.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: That being said, I also found it to be just as literary as her fans crave.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Could not put this one down.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Would also recommend it to anyone.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: I think it does work better for men than some of her other books.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: And I do see it as a very Richard and Rory kind of book.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: That very protective doting relationship of an older man with a younger woman who is
28:40
SPEAKER_00: in his family, but who he didn't always have the perfect relationship with.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: Reading this book just makes you feel good on every level,
28:47
SPEAKER_00: both as a human and as someone who appreciates the beauty of the written word.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: All right.
28:53
SPEAKER_00: We have reached the top.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Number one is The Dutch House.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: This is 2019 fiction,
28:59
SPEAKER_00: obviously five stars,
29:01
SPEAKER_00: a read with Jenna book club pick,
29:03
SPEAKER_00: a Pulitzer Prize finalist,
29:05
SPEAKER_00: a New York Times bestseller,
29:06
SPEAKER_00: a 2020 Audi finalist for Audiobook of the Year,
29:09
SPEAKER_00: and best male narrator who is none other than the Tom Hanks.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I do think that he contributes to making this my top That said,
29:22
SPEAKER_00: I do know a lot of people like Meryl Streep's narration as well.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: For me, there is just something about Tom Hanks' voice,
29:28
SPEAKER_00: and I think it's because he is in all of these feel-good movies that are so central
29:33
SPEAKER_00: to so many of our lives that it translates into how we feel about the narrative.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: With Meryl Streep,
29:38
SPEAKER_00: I can think of her as Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada,
29:41
SPEAKER_00: which isn't as happy-go-lucky,
29:43
SPEAKER_00: despite how well she played the character,
29:45
SPEAKER_00: but really I only associate Tom Hanks' voice with really beloved characters.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: What happens in this book is the Conroy family moves into the Dutch house outside
29:54
SPEAKER_00: of Philadelphia,
29:54
SPEAKER_00: which is where I live,
29:56
SPEAKER_00: and I'll just say that circumstances compel Maeve to become a mother figure
30:00
SPEAKER_00: to her brother Danny so as not to spoil any plot lines.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: And this relationship continues as they grow through decades of their life
30:07
SPEAKER_00: and often return to the nostalgia of their childhood home.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: When I tell you I have driven around Philadelphia looking for a house
30:14
SPEAKER_00: that I would describe as the Dutch house, I did on one occasion.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: Have a listing pop up in my Instagram feed where I did actually think this is the Dutch house.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: I believe it was in Chestnut Hill,
30:24
SPEAKER_00: Philadelphia,
30:25
SPEAKER_00: which is a pretty wealthy neighborhood with a lot of really beautiful older homes.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: And I feel like Every avid reader has one book that becomes their ride or die.
30:34
SPEAKER_00: It's a book they will go to bat for,
30:36
SPEAKER_00: it's a hill they will die on like it's a real person,
30:39
SPEAKER_00: and it's the one that they recommend to everyone no matter what.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: This is mine.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: I think what also contributes to it for me,
30:46
SPEAKER_00: besides the fact that it is a family drama,
30:48
SPEAKER_00: which is my favorite genre, This is the incredible cover.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: This is one that Ann Patchett commissioned.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: Again, because she's Ann Patchett and she can do these things
30:56
SPEAKER_00: and I think it just perfectly captures Maeve.
30:59
SPEAKER_00: I keep it displayed on my bookshelf like it is art and I do know that the artist,
31:03
SPEAKER_00: even recently,
31:04
SPEAKER_00: we're now seven years later,
31:06
SPEAKER_00: released prints of this portrait and they sold out in minutes.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: I can't imagine what shows the power of a book cover more than that.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: I also love that this story often takes place on Thanksgiving.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: It is my favorite holiday.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: Again, I am a Gilmore.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: It's fall, it's family, it's food.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: And I think that holiday also carries with it a lot of nostalgia,
31:27
SPEAKER_00: which is a theme of this book and which is also central to who I am as a reader and
31:32
SPEAKER_00: a person,
31:33
SPEAKER_00: constantly going back to Gilmore Girls and this backlist of books from the show
31:37
SPEAKER_00: and what life was like at a different time.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: How I feel about all of that,
31:41
SPEAKER_00: especially as I get older and life gets harder,
31:43
SPEAKER_00: there really could be no other book for me.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: And maybe this is true for Gilmore Girls in general.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: I think that it captures the nostalgia of growing up so poignantly
31:52
SPEAKER_00: while also exploring things like grief and how we wallow in the past.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is me slowly raising my hand over here.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Forgiveness,
31:59
SPEAKER_00: the dynamics between parent and child,
32:02
SPEAKER_00: another huge Gilmore Girls topic, and the bond between siblings.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: If I didn't sell this one well enough for you yet,
32:09
SPEAKER_00: I will say that the ending as narrated by Tom Hanks is the only time
32:13
SPEAKER_00: a book has ever given me chills.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: I actually want to reread it right now, especially because Thanksgiving is coming up.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: So there you have it, my ranking of all of Ann Patchett's 13 books.
32:25
SPEAKER_00: But before you go, I want to give you even more book recommendations.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: If you like Ann Patchett, but you do want to branch out, I would recommend Elizabeth Strout.
32:34
SPEAKER_00: Her most recent book was also on Barack Obama's summer reading list,
32:38
SPEAKER_00: and it is also one of my books of the year.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: Her Olive Kitteridge series is absolutely fantastic.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: I also recommend Barbara Kingsolver.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: Demon Copperhead,
32:47
SPEAKER_00: which was a Pulitzer Prize winner, is one of my favorite books of the last decade.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: And I did also love her most recent release, which just came out a week or two ago, Partita.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: Lily King is another good one.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: Her book Heart the Lover was my book of 2025.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: It's especially good for book lovers.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: It's also really short and you can read it in just one afternoon, which is what I did.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: If you want a male author,
33:08
SPEAKER_00: I would recommend Richard Russo start with Empire Falls,
33:11
SPEAKER_00: which I believe also won a Pulitzer Prize.
33:14
SPEAKER_00: This one was also on some of those earlier incorrect versions of the list of books
33:19
SPEAKER_00: on Gilmore Girls.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: So while I don't believe it was actually on Gilmore Girls after my years
33:24
SPEAKER_00: of rewatches and trying to confirm every single book that actually was,
33:28
SPEAKER_00: if you're new around here,
33:29
SPEAKER_00: I did write an unofficial guide to the books on Gilmore Girls,
33:31
SPEAKER_00: which I will link in the show notes.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: And it goes episode by episode with actually confirmed books.
33:36
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, I can still see why someone put this one on the list.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: It takes place in New England.
33:41
SPEAKER_00: There is a diner and a diner owner.
33:43
SPEAKER_00: He's a single father.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: And it's very much about the haves and the have-nots in that community.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: It is excellent.
33:49
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely unputdownable.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: Especially if you love literary fiction.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: The final author I would recommend is Amar Tolles.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: His favorite book of mine is A Gentleman in Moscow.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: And it's about a man who is in house arrest in a hotel in Russia.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: I believe it's in the early 1900s.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: And how he finds meaning in his life In these circumstances,
34:11
SPEAKER_00: super meaningful and really well written.
34:13
SPEAKER_00: So those are my recommendations.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: But why not also just go straight to the source?
34:18
SPEAKER_00: I have linked in the show notes a list of Ann Patchett's favorite books.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: It does include Our Town.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: I'll list a few more for you.
34:25
SPEAKER_00: Charlotte's Web, which is another Gilmore Girls book.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: And I think you can also see themes of that book.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: Very emotional, very much about what matters in life in Ann Patchett's books.
34:36
SPEAKER_00: A few that are on Gilmore Girls,
34:37
SPEAKER_00: In Cold Blood,
34:38
SPEAKER_00: The Great Gatsby,
34:39
SPEAKER_00: Madame Bovary,
34:40
SPEAKER_00: David Copperfield,
34:41
SPEAKER_00: which is actually the book that Barbara Kingsolver based Demon Copperhead on,
34:46
SPEAKER_00: The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: I believe this author was the speaker at Rory's Yale graduation off the top of my head.
34:53
SPEAKER_00: The Magic Mountain, which was a book that Jess read.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: I believe that he read it at the dance marathon,
34:58
SPEAKER_00: 100 Years of Solitude,
34:59
SPEAKER_00: which he read in the back of the bus when he left Stars Hollow.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: An Emily book, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: This is actually a book that Taylor Swift also references.
35:09
SPEAKER_00: Anna Karenina, which all of us Gilmore Girls know is Rory's favorite book.
35:13
SPEAKER_00: I've said this before, totally worth reading.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: Definitely one of the best written books and most meaningful written classics I have read.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: The Stories of Eudora Welty, another Rory favorite.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible collection.
35:24
SPEAKER_00: I definitely want to read the books that overlap with our list of the books from Gilmore Girls.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: That may be a fun way to continue this challenge.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that is your ultimate guide to Ann Patchett.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: Head to the show notes for even more.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to read the books that she loved,
35:41
SPEAKER_00: which are also on the Gilmore Girls book list, then subscribe to our sub stack.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: This is an email newsletter.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: And when you subscribe, you will get the full list that I confirmed.
35:51
SPEAKER_00: For free,
35:52
SPEAKER_00: it's a printable PDF you can download and print and then just check off the books
35:55
SPEAKER_00: that you're reading.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: And whether or not you choose to read with us like Gilmore Girls,
35:59
SPEAKER_00: I do hope that you still feel inspired to pick up your first
36:02
SPEAKER_00: or next Ann Patchett book.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: She is my favorite and I am so proud to be a completist and share all
36:08
SPEAKER_00: of these insights with you.
36:10
SPEAKER_00: See you next time.
36:15
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