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The Rory Gilmore reading challenge

September 10, 2013 by Nathan Bransford 55 Comments

Rory Gilmore from “The Gilmore Girls” was filmed reading no fewer than 339 books over the course of the show.

Now you can take the Rory Gilmore reading challenge to see how you stack up. How many of those 339 have you read?

Me: 88

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Culture

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Annikka Woods says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    I'm disappointed in myself. My score is only 28.

    Reply
  2. nadinebrandes says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:17 pm

    My score is only 24, but I've seen the movies of many others. Also, several of these these weren't and aren't my preferred genres of books, so I'm actually surprised I scored anything over 10, LOL.

    Reply
  3. Kate says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:19 pm

    I only got 66. It looks like I have some reading to do πŸ™‚

    Reply
  4. Laura Marcella says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    I really liked Gilmore Girls! It was great to finally have a TV show character be so enthusiastic about books and reading.

    My score is 90! What a great list of books. There are so many I still must read!

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

    Reply
  5. anya* says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:32 pm

    108! AP English in high school helped me out!
    This was fun, thanks for sharing:)

    Reply
  6. Matthew MacNish says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    As I was going through, a gold star popped up on one of the books. I wonder what that means?

    My final score was 61, which I guess I'm rather indifferent to, since it's a pretty random list.

    The book I'm probably most proud of having read on that list (because it's so obscure) is The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. I read it as a teenager, and thought it was most excellent. I wonder if it would hold up now?

    Reply
  7. jenna123 says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    41…. There was a bunch of books where I was like ooo! I've read this! then I realized that I've only been meaning to read them for forever. Luckily this chick is a fictional character so I don't feel too bad.

    Reply
  8. Steve MC says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    54. And so cool to see The Mad Scientist’s Club, which I've read about 54 times.

    Reply
  9. John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur says

    September 10, 2013 at 4:58 pm

    52, and I'm surprised I did *that* well. In my defense, I read a lot. I read almost constantly. I just don't read most of the books you're *supposed* to read. It's been 35 years since college and I feel no need to go back to having someone else decide my reading list for me.

    Reply
  10. abc says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:03 pm

    50. I will take it. That is quite a diverse list! Mitch Albom and Proust!

    Reply
  11. abc says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:04 pm

    Which reminds me, I really miss the Gilmore Girls.

    Reply
  12. Debbie says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    133, although I'm not proud of all them. Lots more on the shelf waiting.

    Reply
  13. K Callard says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:06 pm

    65. It certainly was a random assortment of books.

    Reply
  14. Debbie says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:06 pm

    Me, too, abc. It reruns weekday mornings on ABC Family.

    Reply
  15. Tiana Smith says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:15 pm

    78. I'm surprised I got that many since most of these aren't really my style (AP English and an English degree – those are the only reasons why I've read that many).

    Reply
  16. Christine Monson says

    September 10, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Sadly, 64. However, if we could count movies, it would have been much, much higher. That was an excellent list of MUST READ books. And I love, love, love The Gilmore Girls.

    Reply
  17. Elizabeth Maria Naranjo says

    September 10, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    I got 57, but I'd like to point out that my number would be twice that if I could count the times I'd read these more than once! Haha.

    Reply
  18. chelle says

    September 10, 2013 at 6:09 pm

    84. But only because of a few college english lit classes!

    Reply
  19. Simon says

    September 10, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    85, and I have no idea how I got there. (Actually, 84, but I'm part way through House of Sand and Fog right now…)

    Reply
  20. Shaunna says

    September 10, 2013 at 6:17 pm

    97. But I have an MA in English and at least half of mine were assigned reading.

    Reply
  21. Neurotic Workaholic says

    September 10, 2013 at 7:19 pm

    Mine was 73. But now I can add a lot of those other books I didn't read to my reading list! I always loved that Rory read so much; she was always shown with a book in her hand. I wish that I got to teach more students who read as much as Rory Gilmore did.

    Reply
  22. Jennifer J. says

    September 10, 2013 at 7:31 pm

    132, baby. It helped that I read all of Shakespeare and Dickens one summer.

    Reply
  23. MightyMissy says

    September 10, 2013 at 7:52 pm

    Can I count them if I've bought them but haven't read them? πŸ™‚

    Reply
  24. ddelano says

    September 10, 2013 at 7:53 pm

    How fun – I got 100 – but i was a literature major and tend to read classics anyway so i think i should have done better. Great list!

    Reply
  25. Mandi Barber says

    September 10, 2013 at 8:24 pm

    Only 53. And that's counting ones I've read most of but couldn't quite bring myself to finish. I'm disappointed in myself.

    Reply
  26. lora96 says

    September 10, 2013 at 10:17 pm

    81. I really could have done better but several of them I had started and never finished…

    Reply
  27. Kristi Helvig says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    87 but I didn't count the ones that I couldn't make myself finish. *cough Moby Dick cough*. Also, some of these books were assigned reading from way back in my school days or this number would have been lower. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  28. Marilynn Byerly says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    158. I was an English major with an MA and most of a PhD.

    It's amazing how few of the most recently published books I've read. I guess I overdosed on literary fiction during my college days so my tastes are more toward genre.

    Picture me as I run out of money to finish my doctorate and decide I don't want to finish it. I raise my arm in true Scarlet O'Hara fashion and say, "And I swear I'll never read a book I don't want to, again."

    Reply
  29. Bryan Russell says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    127.

    I could probably double that if I added the books I own but haven't read yet. But that probably says more about my obsession with buying than it does about my reading habits.

    Reply
  30. Eugenia Parrish says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    131, but I've been reading for many, many years and some were required reading. Although in my own defense, I enjoyed most of those more than the 'bestsellers' of today. I, too, have slowed down in the past few years on books everyone says are a 'must read'. Pure rebellion.

    Reply
  31. Jennifer R. Hubbard says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:18 pm

    84 at least; plus a couple I think I read a long time ago but I'm not sure. Plus a couple I started, didn't finish, and never plan to finish.

    Does anyone really *read* Roberts Rules of Order?? I think of it more as a reference book.

    Reply
  32. lisalenardcook says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:18 pm

    211. But I suspect I'm little older than some of the other commenters.

    Reply
  33. Nathan Bransford says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:20 pm

    jenn-

    I have, believe it or not. I was on the parliamentary procedure team at my FBLA club in high school. #NerdAlert

    Reply
  34. Karen M. Peterson says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:28 pm

    I got 46 and was pleasantly surprised. Some of the books on her list couldn't interest me any less.

    Reply
  35. Rosi says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    130, but I am older than most people commenting here. Maybe much older. So much left to do and so little time.

    Reply
  36. Regina Richards says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:43 pm

    62

    Reply
  37. Bruce Bonafede says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:47 pm

    I scored 78. But I've read "Crime and Punishment" which ought to count for at least 20.

    Engaging post, as always!

    Reply
  38. virg_nelson says

    September 10, 2013 at 11:57 pm

    73

    Reply
  39. Taffy says

    September 11, 2013 at 12:02 am

    WOW! That is quite a diverse list! I have read 114.

    Reply
  40. Suzanne Anderson says

    September 11, 2013 at 12:23 am

    I've read 123, not bad, but I'd love to read more classics.

    Reply
  41. Tiger says

    September 11, 2013 at 12:30 am

    155. So many good ones I haven't read. Now I have to add them to my TBR list!

    Reply
  42. wendy says

    September 11, 2013 at 1:16 am

    I've read 12. I'm surprised the tally reached that high as for the last few decades my interests have become more diversified including composing/recording music on PC, design and illustration, and more recently photography — well, aspirations mostly unrealised there, although I've invested in the gear and signed up for the online Adv Dip. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  43. synical says

    September 11, 2013 at 2:15 am

    40, but that's also because I added some "started, but ain't ever gonna finish" ones.

    Does it count if I read about it on Wikipedia? πŸ˜€

    Reply
  44. Vanessa Hatley-Owen says

    September 11, 2013 at 2:48 am

    42 – not too bad. A few of them were way back in high school. Also saw a few that I have wanted to read; so thanks for the reminder!

    Reply
  45. Backfence says

    September 11, 2013 at 7:09 am

    83

    Reply
  46. Iliadfan says

    September 11, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    83. Like everyone else, could have tripled the number if I included purchased, abandoned, and only-watched-the-movie.

    I've read Robert's Rules as well – parliamentarian for my sorority, along with Model UN and Model Arab League.

    Reply
  47. Jessica McCort says

    September 11, 2013 at 2:46 pm

    136. Not bad:).

    Reply
  48. Jan says

    September 11, 2013 at 4:43 pm

    111 – I'm shocked πŸ™‚
    I read a ton of shakespeare in Honors English…

    Reply
  49. Anonymous says

    September 11, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    170. However, I was raised in Blue Grass, Iowa. There's not much to do there.

    Reply
  50. Ellen says

    September 11, 2013 at 6:36 pm

    135, but I noticed quite a few that I meant to read and didn't. Some are still waiting on my shelf.

    Reply
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