Getting Gilmore Girls ready for Sept/Oct new reads

We have a small window of time left for summer, which means that the major focus for the upcoming pop culture season will be aligned with the one major event that's part of the real world as well.

Yes, I'm talking about the return of Gilmore Girls, via Netflix, and even if you can't watch it on it's official premiere date of November 25(hey, at least it's not June 3!), getting into the Gilmore spirit is as easy as walking into your favorite bookstore.

There are plenty of new titles ready to start your autumn off right and let's see on whose TBR in Stars Hollow that some of these September and October releases would be happily be waiting:

LOVE AND LAUGHS FOR LORELAI:  The reading tastes of Lorelai are a bit more pop culture inclined than Rory's, not to mention she has a fondness for celebrity memoirs.

With that in mind, I think that Jennifer Weiner's Hungry Heart would be nestled right beside the remote control at a certain house in Stars Hollow. The subtitle of this collection of autobiographical essays is "Adventures in Life, Love and Writing" as Weiner chronicles her experiences with changing family dynamics in her childhood, learning the craft of writing and dealing with society's attitudes about women of size.

Weiner's novels are a longtime favorite with me and no doubt her real life stories are just as engaging and heartwarming, with humorous notes when needed. I'm pretty sure that Lorelai would relate to her works, not to mention watch and live tweet the Bachelor right along with her at times(October):

 LITERARY AND LITE FOR RORY: You could make up numerous lists for Rory's reading but let's stick to a pair of books that would showcase both sides of her nature. For example, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett sounds right up her bookish alley.

The story is centered around the Keating family and daughter Franny in particular, as a long ago mishap at a wedding is turned into the plot of her husband's new novel. This does not go over well with the rest of her siblings, especially when the movie version comes out.

I haven't read Patchett myself but plan to check this one out(along with Bel Canto) and seeing as how her love of literature has lead the author to open her own bookstore, it's a sure bet that Rory would not only pick up this book but take a trip to Parnassus Books for some browsing time as well(September):

Speaking of bookstores, it would be hard for a bibliophile like Rory not to stop and take a look at Jenny Colgan's The Bookshop on the Corner. 

The literary leading lady of this story is Nina, an English librarian looking to fulfill her dreams of  owning a small book store. Since her job has been downsized and money is tight, she loads up a bookmobile with discarded library books and takes to the road.

Nina's travels take her as far as Scotland, where she finds a number of new friends eager for good books and perhaps a chance to find her own happily ever after. Such a charming bookish romance sounds like pure catnip for Rory, as well as her fellow book lovers who enjoy a little page turning charm every now and then(Sept):

 SOME GRAND AND GRACIOUS READS FOR EMILY: We must not forget Emily Gilmore, who did find time in her busy schedule to enjoy some fine fiction. I do recall that she had a fondness for old world Russian style, so  Amor Towles' upcoming novel A Gentleman In Moscow seems to be tailor made for her.

Towles follows up his highly praised debut novel Rules of Civility with the fictional plight of Count Rostov, who is starting a long imprisonment in 1922 at the Metropol hotel ,due to his "crime" of writing a supposedly subversive poem back in his college days. The Metropol happens to be right across from the Kremlin, which makes any urge to escape all the more daunting.

As the years pass, Rostov learns to make helpful friends who help him to deal with enemies on the staff such as the Bishop, a waiter eager for advancement by any means. When one of Rostov's long time friends has need of his aid, a risk must be taken in order to live up to his true self worth. Not only would Emily Gilmore love this book, she would pass it on to Rory as well(Sept 6):

Another new work of historical fiction that Emily might enjoy, The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies takes place in Ceylon as newlywed Gwen joins her husband Laurence Hooper at his vast tea plantation.

While her reception from Laurence is cooler than she anticipated, Gwen soon finds the attention she seeks from Savi, a local artist. In addition to that, a variety of secrets and lies surrounding Laurence's first marriage, along with how the native workers are being treated, causes Gwen to resort to a few hidden indiscretions herself.

This blend of mystery, history and romance has that particular flavor that Emily Gilmore and other readers of this genre would consider to be their perfect cup of story telling tea indeed(Sept): 

TRUE GRIT FOR PARIS GELLER: It's time to check out a couple of not directly related members of the Gilmore circle and Paris Geller would be rather peeved at not being selected first in that category.

Since she matches Rory in reading intensity but had rather time consuming career plans since we last saw her, a short yet sharply written novel would be a good choice for her. Not to mention that I think she'd appreciate the marvelous brevity and style of Paulette Jiles' News of the World.

Set in 1870, a former military vet named Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd makes his living these days by traveling to remote towns and reading newspapers aloud to the isolated locals. At a stop in Wichita, he is paid fifty dollars in gold to take  Joanna Leonberger, a former captive of the Kiowa tribe, to the home of her nearest relatives in San Antonio.

Captain Kidd is less than thrilled with the job, the one thing that he and Joanna agree upon. Nevertheless, they set out together and form a bond of reluctant friendship as they face various difficulties on their journey, which is something that I do think that Paris would really relate to in more ways than one(Oct):

 
 SMART AND SCARY FOR JESS: Both as a troubled teen and as an indie writer adult, Jess Mariano was always the most literary minded of Rory's boyfriends(and the best of the bunch,imo, but that's another topic for another time).

Due to his interest in off the beaten track lit, Jess would certainly appreciate Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and probably have read her first supernaturally themed novel Signal to Noise to boot.

The theme here is vampires, as street kid Domingo is scraping by in Mexico City when he is claimed by the beautiful Atl, an ancient blood drinker on the run from a vicious gang of narco-vamps. Her plan is to escape to South America, ready to dispose of Domingo as soon as he's no longer of use but Atl finds herself feeling connected to him. Pursuing them both,along with the vampire gangs, is policewoman Ana, who is wondering just what the hell she has stepped in.

Creative, entertaining and sinister smart, Jess would insist that Rory read this as well. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a new spin on an old legend, Certain Dark Things promises to be an ideal Halloween treat(Oct): 

Well, this is certainly a good start for the Gilmore set and if you have any suggestions as to what any of the GG characters would love to read this year, feel free to comment below. As they say, there's never too many books unless you're trying to pack them all in Rory's backpack, that is: