Latest / Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club / 🍂5 Fall Episodes of Gilmore Girls to Rewatch (and What to Read After)

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🍂5 Fall Episodes of Gilmore Girls to Rewatch (and What to Read After) · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Friday Night Readers.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: We are officially in the heart of fall.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I am still in that vibe where I'm trying to wear shorts,
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: but at the same time, I do have a blanket covering my legs.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just going to have to give in and accept that shorts weather is over,
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: which is fine because I actually do prefer sweater weather.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: I am a Gilmore.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: So now that we are in October and it is officially fall,
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: I want to talk to you about the best fall episodes of Gilmore Girls to rewatch
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: and what books to pair them with.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: This whole idea started as a post that I wrote
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: for my friend Elle Reads Library Books on Substack.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: She's someone that I met over the summer and she really impressed me
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: by being another real life Rory Gilmore, just like me.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: She's actually read over 3000 books, which is practically the entire Harvard library.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you know, you know.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And she also even had a fake library card when she was younger.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: If Gilmore Girls ever comes back on the air,
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think they need to take that little fun fact and apply it to Rory's storyline.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: What she really excels at is providing lists of books
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: that are not your average books that you would see on TikTok.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: She's the type of person who's mined all of those underrated gems
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: that people like us love to cling to.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we became fast friends and I did even interview her for the podcast over the summer.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about books set in Europe because she is a very voracious traveler.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: She lives in Brazil now and has lived abroad in other places as well
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  SPEAKER_00: and actually just got back from a big European trip.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I will link that post for you because she shares some of her favorite books set
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: in Europe that were from Gilmore Girls.
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  SPEAKER_00: And she's a big Ina Garten fan, so we love that as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: But anyway,
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  SPEAKER_00: in becoming friends with her,
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  SPEAKER_00: she admitted to me that she had never seen Gilmore Girls,
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  SPEAKER_00: but I was influencing her to start it this fall.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So she asked me what fall episodes she should watch and what books would pair with them.
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  SPEAKER_00: And hello, that is literally what I do around here.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I wrote a post, which I'm going to break down for you in audio right here.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the full post on her substack.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I will link that in the show notes for you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when you head over there,
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: she also made a discount for Friday Night Readers
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: for 50% off her paid subscriptions.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I will link that in the show notes for you as well.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: She's really excelled at creating a community of voracious book readers.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And what you'll find in her paid community are things like books that didn't make
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  SPEAKER_00: the official list or expanded versions of lists,
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  SPEAKER_00: what's going on in her real reading life,
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  SPEAKER_00: things that you'll love if you also love Friday Night Readers.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: So again,
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  SPEAKER_00: if you want to read the full post that accompanies this podcast episode,
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can head to her Substack with the link in the show notes.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to upgrade to become a paid subscriber of her Substack,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: you can use the discount link that is also in the show notes.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Elle,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: for the opportunity to share my love of books and Gilmore Girls with your audience.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: To me, Fall, Books,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Gilmore Girls sit on this little Venn diagram with each other
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  SPEAKER_00: where Fall is Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls is books.
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  SPEAKER_00: It all just goes together.
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  SPEAKER_00: So this is the perfect time to talk about it.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let's break down the five best Fall episodes I recommended to her
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  SPEAKER_00: and what I would recommend reading with them.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're wondering where I got all of these books from,
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: you may or may not know that I did actually compile 475 plus books
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  SPEAKER_00: from Gilmore Girls.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is my own personal curation that took many years.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe there are at least 100 books that you will not find elsewhere.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: I put them all into a book recently, which I will put in the show notes for you as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that book is a reference guide slash reading journal
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  SPEAKER_00: where you can do things like Color in a Gilmore Girls bookshelf
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  SPEAKER_00: and track your book reviews based on coffee cups instead of stars.
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  SPEAKER_00: All the analog fun.
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  SPEAKER_00: So the first fall episode I recommended to Elle was for back to school vibes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you have watched Gilmore Girls,
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  SPEAKER_00: you're probably going to guess which episode I picked for back to school.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is The Lorelei's First Day at Chilton, season one, episode two.
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  SPEAKER_00: In many ways,
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  SPEAKER_00: this feels like the pilot to me and like the pilot was actually just a setup
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  SPEAKER_00: for Rory's first day at Chilton.
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  SPEAKER_00: The episode is iconic in so many ways from the first time we see Rory
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  SPEAKER_00: in her Chilton uniform to Lorelei dressing as if the rodeo were in town.
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  SPEAKER_00: These outfits are so memorable that they're actually the most worn as Gilmore Girls costumes.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I do also have links to Gilmore Girls costumes that I curate every year.
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  SPEAKER_00: It cracks me up every year when I go into my affiliate link dashboards and see all
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: of the people buying Chilton skirts and pink tie dye shirts.
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  SPEAKER_00: So yes, you can too.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is also a very literary episode.
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  SPEAKER_00: As soon as Rory gets to Chilton, students are studying Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy.
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  SPEAKER_00: These are two authors that we see repeated so often throughout the show.
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  SPEAKER_00: And you really get that feeling of hallowed halls that we didn't get as much
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  SPEAKER_00: in Stars Hollow High.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some may even say it reeks of dark academia.
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  SPEAKER_00: I would say so, especially when Paris gets involved.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing is scarier than Rory facing Paris during those first few months at this new school.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this is when Rory starts facing more academic and social challenges
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  SPEAKER_00: than she ever could have imagined.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The episode also gives us Lorelai's famous line that this is a jumbo coffee morning
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  SPEAKER_00: and she needs coffee in an IV.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have all been there.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: And here we first see Kirk.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: But he is not Kirk.
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  SPEAKER_00: He is Mick.
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  SPEAKER_00: Installing the internet, of course.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: My recollection from all of the Gilmore Girls things I've read over the years is
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: that they just couldn't find a gactor that could play Kirk as well
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  SPEAKER_00: as they thought Sean Gunn could.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think all of us would agree about that.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: We also first learn here that Rory intends to go to Harvard and study journalism
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  SPEAKER_00: and political science and that her inspiration is Christiane Amanpour,
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  SPEAKER_00: not Oprah, Rosie, or the women from The View.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: The book that I would pair with this episode,
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: although there are many, it's got to be Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's so poignant that it's referenced on her first day at Chilton
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  SPEAKER_00: because we later learned that it's her favorite book.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you are intimidated by Anna Karenina, I do have tips for reading that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: I went through them in a recent episode, which I will share in the show notes.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is 800 pages and it is 19th century Russian literature,
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  SPEAKER_00: but it does not have to be as hard as you think it will be.
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  SPEAKER_00: I only read 10 pages a day and I paired it with spark notes,
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  SPEAKER_00: which really helped me understand the Russian culture at the time.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: And not only do I not regret it,
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: but I would say it's the book that I'm happiest I picked up because
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: of this Gilmore Girls reading challenge.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with this famous line, all happy families are alike.
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  SPEAKER_00: Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then it goes on this ill-fated love story that follows Anna Karenina
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  SPEAKER_00: in this love triangle with her husband and an officer she falls in love with.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the part that's really juicy and immersive.
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  SPEAKER_00: What makes it hard is that there is a parallel story about a landowner named Levin.
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  SPEAKER_00: And while his is also a love story,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's also one about Russian farming and agriculture at the time.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's where you really need those spark notes to help you understand it
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  SPEAKER_00: and keep you going.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can also pair it with the Keira Knightley movie adaptation,
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  SPEAKER_00: which I thought was excellent and really only follows Anna's story.
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  SPEAKER_00: I personally read the Oprah's Book Club edition and this one won the Penn Book of
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  SPEAKER_00: the Month Translation Prize.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I also read a book called Anna K.
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  SPEAKER_00: by Jenny Lee,
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  SPEAKER_00: which is a modern gossip girl style retelling of Anna Karenina,
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  SPEAKER_00: which makes it extra easy to learn the characters and the plot.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you don't want to read Anna Karenina,
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  SPEAKER_00: but want something else to read with this episode,
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  SPEAKER_00: a few other books you'll find in this episode are Alice in Wonderland,
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  SPEAKER_00: when Lorelai says, off with their heads.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is when she and Rory pull up to Chilton.
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  SPEAKER_00: At that moment,
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  SPEAKER_00: they also refer to A Hunchback in a Bell Tower,
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  SPEAKER_00: which is from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
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  SPEAKER_00: At Chilton,
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  SPEAKER_00: you'll hear references to Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens,
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  SPEAKER_00: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens,
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  SPEAKER_00: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy,
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  SPEAKER_00: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes, Chilton really likes Charles Dickens.
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  SPEAKER_00: Personally,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've only read A Christmas Carol so far and I found it to be really beautiful,
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  SPEAKER_00: short, and well worth reading even though you probably already know the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, you may also pick up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is an interesting reference.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: So Miss Patty is teaching ballet class and she refers to the newest book in
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: the Harry Potter series to her girls.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I had to go back and see when this episode aired and it was in October of 2000.
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  SPEAKER_00: This was actually when I started college.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this fourth book in the Harry Potter series is the one that was the newest book
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  SPEAKER_00: at that time.
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  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if you aren't necessarily looking for back to school vibes,
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: then maybe you're looking for This is part of what we love Gilmore Girls for,
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  SPEAKER_00: isn't it?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just last year for the 25th anniversary of the show,
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel We're on the Emmys and Lauren said
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: that Gilmore Girls took the season of fall hostage ever since it first aired.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't agree more.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So the episode that I picked for the fall aesthetic is Kiss and Tell,
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: which is season one, episode seven.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is one where Stars Hollow is absolutely bursting with orange.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's planning its autumn festival and we get all these great shots of Rory
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: and Lorelai walking through town among the pumpkins and haystacks
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: and multicolored leaves.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then later,
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Rory and Lane are also dressed as pilgrims,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: talking about that very special moment when Dean kisses Rory in Ducey's Market and
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: then she shoplifts.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, she did say thank you, which was very polite.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then Lorelai invites Dean over for movie night.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I actually think movie night has fall vibes as well.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's something we're not doing as much of in summer.
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  SPEAKER_00: So while movie night doesn't have to happen in fall,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's something we more often start doing again in the fall.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Believe it or not,
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  SPEAKER_00: seven episodes into the show,
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  SPEAKER_00: this is also the first episode where we meet Taylor Ducey.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not, fun fact, he was actually born in Hartford, Connecticut.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's why he thinks Richard is the most interesting insurance man he'd ever met.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: We also get the famous line that aisle three is a good aisle.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is something I think of anytime someone says a good something, I just can't help myself.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: And another one of my favorite lines is when Rory calls Lorelai her mother
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: and Lorelai says to stop saying it like there's supposed to be another word
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: after it.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: One thing I think that we can really debate is Lorelai and Dean's interactions with each other.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: They're both pretty similar.
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  SPEAKER_00: He's sassy in these first episodes,
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: and though Dean agrees that Rory, quote,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: won't go on his motorcycle,
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: I personally think he's out of line with the tone he takes with Lorelai.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: I would have liked him to be more earnest in how much he likes Rory without being
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: as firm, if that makes sense.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: You kill more flies with honey than vinegar,
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: and I think this is especially true when it comes
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: to getting your significant other's parents on your side.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: So what book would I pair with this episode?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: It may surprise you, but it is The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Back when Rory and Lane are dressed as pilgrims,
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai says to Luke that he would look good dressed as a character
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: from this Salem witch trial play.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that this particular book matches the fall aesthetic of the episode.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is a parable that makes really interesting statements about witch hunts,
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: which we can apply to witch hunts of today,
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: which aren't actual witch hunts, but witch hunts, so to speak.
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  SPEAKER_00: Things like whether a writer used AI or not, whether a politician is telling the truth.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: It also has some pretty juicy twists.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Since it's a play,
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: you can read it pretty quickly,
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  SPEAKER_00: even just one afternoon, perhaps by the fire, on a chilly rainy fall day.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want other books that were referenced in this particular episode,
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: take a look at The Automated Battlefield by Frank Barnaby.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: That was a war book on Lorelei's and Rory's shelf.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: I really don't understand why that one is there, but it is.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then in this episode, Lorelai also refers to Lothario.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is a name for a playboy that originated in The Fair Penitent by Nicholas Rau.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: The episode's title of Kiss and Tell also actually comes from a book,
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: and that is Love for Love by William Congreve.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: During this episode,
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai calls herself Shaft,
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: who is a private detective and is best known as an adaptation.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: However, she doesn't clarify book or adaptation, so I'm going with book.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then the Watercolors for the Birds of America by John James Audubon is also
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: on Lorelai's and Rory's shelf.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now you may say, what about Movie Night?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: I consider those to be extras because we know
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: that they are watching book adaptations versus reading the books,
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: but the trio does watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: which is an excellent book by Roald Dahl.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: I read it as an adult and even then thought it was five stars.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Super well written, super easy to read, very impactful.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And they discuss children's titles like Cinderella,
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sleeping Beauty, And The Love Story The Way We Were.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: So lots of books in that fall episode for you to pair with your rewatch.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to fall episodes on Gilmore Girls, we've got to talk about Thanksgiving.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think all of us fans can agree that
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: a deep fried Korean Thanksgiving season three,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: episode nine is the best Thanksgiving episode, period.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is because the only thing better than one Thanksgiving is four.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here Lorelai and Rory juggle for very different dinners.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: First you have Tofurkey and that chocolate turkey at the Kim's,
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: not to mention lots of Dave Rogowski lore,
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: two deep fried everything at Sookie's,
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: including margaritas,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: gotta love a drunk Sookie, and classic diner grub with Luke and Jess.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love this one as a double date.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then it all culminates in, you guessed it, Family tension at Richards and Emily's.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: The whole Harvard and Yale debate really heats up here.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And this is such a big part of season two's conflict.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: What Rory wants for herself versus what her grandparents want for her and
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: of course what her mother wants for her.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it overlaps and sometimes it doesn't.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: It does tend to always produce arguments.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: This particular Thanksgiving dinner is the only one that can ever make me wonder
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: if Thanksgiving was actually on a Friday and not a Thursday.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Sure feels like a Friday night dinner to me.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we do know that the Gilmore Girls love food.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: This episode gives us the Lorelei quote that this is what they have been training
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: for their whole lives.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is their destiny.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: It is their finest hour.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: If I were to pick one of those four Thanksgivings to attend,
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: don't hate me for this, but I think I would pick the Gilmores.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: The Kim's makes me feel a little bit on edge.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sookie's feels a little too wild.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Luke's is a bit too basic compared to how the girls always eat.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: And while there is oodles of conflict at Richard's and Emily's,
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: at least you know you're getting a really good meal.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: I am wondering if she served those apple tarts for dessert.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, what book would I pair with this episode?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: It would be Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Here, Rory refers to their best laid plans.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is actually a quote from a poem to a mouse on turning her up in her nest with the plow.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are new to Steinbeck or if you are already a fan of Mice and Men is a must read.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's very short.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's very popular with readers in our book club.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: It was popular in my high school class.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy to read and it's very emotional.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: Highly, highly recommend it.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: I really don't think you can go wrong picking that one up.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then you can use that quote in everyday life as well.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, you'll also hear Lorelai and Rory talk about The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, this is from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, another quick and easy seasonal book.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: That you can read while watching this episode.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: What I would do is watch this episode on Thanksgiving morning or afternoon.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then at night,
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: as you're bridging the gap into Christmas season and Black Friday,
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: read How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think that would be the perfect pairing.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Again, we also hear Lorelai refer to Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And while she does say the word Hamlet, this is not the Shakespearean play.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is a noun.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe it refers to something like a type of street or how a neighborhood is arranged.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now we talked about a Thanksgiving episode.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: You may be thinking, but what about Halloween?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: There is actually only one Halloween scene in Gilmore Girls as a whole.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It is 21 is the Loneliest Number.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Season six, episode seven.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is also Rory's birthday, which is in October.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another seasonal event.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: And this particular one is her 21st birthday planned in the grandest Emily Gilmore fashion.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your signature pink Rory cocktail and toast her and the season
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: as you also celebrate that one teeny tiny Halloween scene featuring Babette
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: and Maury.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: They are simply setting up really cookie Halloween decorations.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that is it.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: To me, it is a really missed opportunity for a show so known for the fall season.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: There are episodes where you can pretend it's Halloween,
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: like the Quentin Tarantino party or even the Donna Reed episode.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: But purely for Halloween, this one is it.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Personally,
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think I would pair it with Charlie Brown,
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: The Great Pumpkin, which is my personal favorite thing to watch on Halloween.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: That said, the episode is not without its heartwarming moments.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: We do see Rory and Lorelai reunite.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: I won't say why for anyone who is new to the show, but if you know, you know.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And as we celebrate her 21st birthday,
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sookie remembers how it seemed like just yesterday she was crying because
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: the author Charlotte Bronte couldn't come to her sleepover because she's dead.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: How's that for literary humor?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then Lorelai compares her party martini to James Bond martinis.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, James Bond was a book series first.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: I like to remind my husband this when he says that he does not like to read fiction,
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: like many men say.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: I say, oh really,
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: coming from the man who watches James Bond movies and Game of Thrones and Dune.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I digress.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: If I were to pair this episode with a book, it would be Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Richard refers to the Mad Hatter's Tea Parties and I think it is so fitting
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: for October both because of a Mad Hatter Tea Party that would work well
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: for Halloween along with the fact that Alice in Wonderland costumes are so popular
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: for this holiday.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's whimsy and as Kirk would say, whimsy goes with everything.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: That Johnny Depp adaptation also gives more Halloween-y vibes than the others,
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: so that would be fun to pair as well.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And other than James Bond,
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: we also see Richard reading Matisse the Master,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: which is an art biography, in this episode.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: I believe I found this one at a library sale recently.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: I just love scoring these somewhat obscure titles from the show.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Last but not least,
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: if you want an episode of Gilmore Girls that takes you on a season-long journey,
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: of course, you should watch A Year in the Life Fall.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know not everyone likes the Netflix reboot,
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: but it does give us an hour and a half dedicated to the season of fall.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: I also find it so fitting that this season is where the show finally ends its run.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to spoil the ending for those who have not finished the show yet.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going to make a few subtle references to seasonal moments for you.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai takes a very poignant and pivotal hiking adventure.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: There is an entire musical scene.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: With the Life and Death Brigade,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: a secret society,
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: also very fall in costume,
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: and the whole way it's set up is very dark,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: steampunk,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: definitely has Halloween vibes, even though I personally think it's pretty cheesy.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then speaking of Alice in Wonderland,
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: which we just talked about, we also get an Alice in Wonderland inspired wedding.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: That is just a little hint for you.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: I told you Alice in Wonderland was very fall.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the book that I would pair this episode with is Definitely Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: The book, not the movie.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai attempts to hike the Pacific Crest Trail,
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: just like the author of this book did, to cope with her grief.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the other hikers often question each other.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Are you here because of the book or the movie?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Lorelai is a book.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just know it.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And there are actually so many books referenced in this episode.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: In regards to Lorelei's Wild Adventures,
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: she also refers to The Call of the Wild by Jack London and Eat,
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which is a travel memoir.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: During her hike,
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: I spied I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron on her hotel bed,
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: and I think I'm one of the only people who spotted this.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you want something short, sweet, humorous, Go ahead and grab that one.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Her writing is actually very much like Lorelai, but an older version of her.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: That whole life and death brigade scene includes the quote from Macbeth,
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: which is the title of Something Wicked This Way Comes.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Either one of those would be great pairings for this episode as well.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I would prefer Macbeth.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: That too is not as hard as you may think it would be.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: I like to use the No Fear editions of Shakespeare because they have
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: the original text on the left side and then a modern translation on the right side,
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: but you can just pair it with the recent Denzel Washington movie adaptation
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: or Sparknotes.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Another great one for fall is The Picture of Dorian Gray.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very dark, moody thriller.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's also highly consumable.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: The type of thriller you can't put down and will read in one weekend,
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: even though it's a classic.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And on this episode, Lorelai compares Emily to this character.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: He's someone who remains young despite a picture of him growing older.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this has all kinds of tragic consequences.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: Later in the scene with the Life and Death Brigade,
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Finn and Colin reenact The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Rory.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And Finn refers to Yentl the Yeshiva Boy by Isaac Bashevis Singer.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: I am not familiar with this one.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: It is a Jewish play.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also hear Rory talk about the character Mr. Toad from The Wind in the Willows.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I should really like this children's book.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: I read it over the summer on audiobook and I honestly was kind of bored.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: I picked it up because Ann Patchett had recommended it.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe take her recommendation and not mine,
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: and maybe pick up the book and not the audiobook.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Especially if you have a child, this is all about whimsy.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're not done yet for something different.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sookie refers to Cogburn, who is from True Grit by Charles Portis, a Western.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll see Jess reading My Struggle by Karl Ove Nausgaard.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I am butchering that name.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's an autobiography, which I always thought was a philosophy book.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'm wrong, or maybe it Plays into that.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Even Jackson reads here.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: He'll see him reading the American pioneer story Little House in the Big Woods
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: I actually loved this one on audio.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: It had old-fashioned music and tons of charm.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I recently watched the Netflix adaptation of Little House on the Prairie,
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: which follows a different story in this series.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, this feels like a really good place to end.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: We have a Godfather reference.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Emily says she received an offer she couldn't Now,
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: normally The Godfather, which is a mafia mob story, is a Lorelai reference.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that Emily is channeling her and they are connecting in this way in this episode.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the top five fall episodes of Gilmore Girls that I would recommend
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: for all the various fall vibes,
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: whether it's back to school or Halloween or Thanksgiving,
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: fall decor, and even a movie length feature dedicated to the season.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: For five more episodes I would recommend to you this fall,
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I will link a blog post in the show notes.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Since Gilmore Girls is such a fall show and us Gilmores love the look and
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: the feeling of the season so much,
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: I personally felt joy just walking into HomeGoods the other day with all of
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: the oranges and deep greens and browns.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Head to the Substack post that accompanies this episode
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: and let me know your favorite fall moment on Gilmart Girls.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thinking about it myself,
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think it would just have to be that scene of Rory and Lorelai walking through town
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: with all of the decorations behind them and kiss and tell.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think that it's true to what we see on the show so often,
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: yet feels so much more elevated because of the setting around them.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: It speaks to the show as a whole.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: A mother and daughter,
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: and while it does take place in all four seasons,
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: in our minds as superfans, it's taken fall hostage.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.
• 23:35
  [music]