Rory's love of reading on Gilmore Girls didn't come out of thin air. The show's creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, is a big reader herself. Years ago when the show was still on, Sherman-Palladino release a list of some of her favorite books. It was broken into two parts, classics and newer releases. There were 60 books (120) on each list.
I printed off the list around 2006 and started reading books from it. I discovered so many amazing gems! The list introduced me to the work of Margaret Atwood, Mary Roach, Dorothy Parker, Ann Patchett, Richard Russo, and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I discovered The Awakening, Ella Minnow Pea, and Middlesex because of this list. Not every book has become a new favorite, but I've gotten something substantive from almost every single one. As I read each book I marked it off my tattered list and checked to see what I had left to read. I still have a few, but I'm running out of her recommendations!
In the comments of recent post on Brick Lane Trish asked me where I'd heard about the book. It was from this list and I realized I should post about the wonderful books I've discovered in the last decade because of it. I couldn't find a single place online where all these books are listed. Honestly, it's been so long since I first found it, I don't even remember where I got it.
So I just scanned my very worn copy of the list that has traveled around with me for years. You'll see a list of 30 Books to Read Before You're 30 on there as well. It also includes a list of Best Picture Oscar winners that I've been slowly working my way through. There's a little list of Stephen King's top 10 audiobooks that ran in Entertainment Weekly years ago. That list is the one that first introduced me to Neil Gaiman's work!
You never know where you'll find a great book recommendation. Before I started blogging this list was my secret key to discovery so many of the authors who are now my favorites, so I had to share it. I'm so grateful for Sherman-Palladino's impeccable reading tastes!
p.s. If you have any questions about a specific book just ask! I'm sure some of the titles are hard to read because of my scribbles and notes.
p.p.s. If ANYONE know how I can watch the movie Cavalcade, please let me know! It's the only movie on my Oscar list that I haven't seen and I've never been able to find a copy of it.
