Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we help you read, live, and write like Rory.

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Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Lorelai Gilmore Reading List

Timestamps:

00:22 Intro - Rory Gilmore reading challenge and a Read Like a Gilmore challenge to read the books on Gilmore Girls

04:27 Featured Book of the Month: Macbeth, No Fear edition

05:41 10 Iconic Books Lorelai Read on Gilmore Girls - Deenie by Judy Blume, The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, et al., I’m With the Band by Pamela Des Barres, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, Out of Africa by Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen, Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins, Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman, Wild by Cheryl Strayed

16:27 The Full Lorelai Gilmore Reading List: 136 Verified Books

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Anna Karenina Book Review

Timestamps:

01:10 books set in Europe

03:21 Anna Karenina key details

05:06 Get a good translation: Oprah’s Book Club edition, Audible exclusive audiobook

05:54 Formulate your reading plan.

07:23 Remember the opening line—the most famous quote.

07:57 Master the main characters.

09:17 Learn the basic summary.

09:52 Watch an adaptation. (2012 Keira Knightley adaptation)

10:34 Read a modern retelling. (Anna K by Jenny Lee)

11:40 Pair it with Gilmore Girls. (Want all the books on Gilmore Girls listed by episode? Become a paid subscriber to access my 15-page checklist as a perk or buy my 200-page Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls.)

14:40 Understand the point of it all.

15:22 Know that it’s worth it.

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Books Set in Europe

Timestamps:

01:36 Elle Reads Library Books. Note that she’s currently running a 60% off sale on annual paid subscriptions for one week just for Friday night readers like you!

04:16 Rory Gilmore reading challenge is to read one book set in Europe from the Gilmore Girls book list.

06:20 Anna Karenina

08:27 Barefoot in Paris

11:34 The Merchant of Venice

14:50 Outlander

19:00 Rebecca

23:01 A Room of One’s Own

25:21 Our TBR Lists: Tender is the Night, Zorba the Greek, Daisy Miller Gigi

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Shakespearean Tragedies

Timestamps:

03:57 What You Need to Know About Shakespearean Tragedies

06:21 Hamlet

09:20 King Lear

11:51 Macbeth

13:15 Othello

15:15 Romeo & Juliet

19:26 Tips for Reading Shakespeare’s Works (No Fear editions )

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: American Girl Tribute

Timestamps:

03:25 My Origin Story: What It Meant Then and Means Now

07:00 On American Girl’s 40th Anniversary: From 1986 to 2026

The Making of American Girl (a swoonworthy coffee table book)

An American Girl: How a Billion-Dollar Doll and Its Unlikely Founder Changed Girlhood Forever by Amanda FitzSimons (a nonfiction deep dive)

12:59 Felicity Merriman

15:28 Josefina Montoya

18:12 Kirsten Larson

20:02 Addy Walker

22:25 Samantha Parkington

24:53 Molly McIntire

27:26 Reading Tips for Beginners

28:54 The Impact of American Girl on This Community

33:28 More American Girl Fandom to Explore

Samantha: The Next Chapter by Fiona Davis

Meg’s Collecting Corner

my appearance on her podcast

Meg’s Reading Room’s interview with author Valerie Tripp and Meg’s interview with Blake Changnon / The CF Museum of Toys & Collectibles

Sydney Rose Paulsen (@5hensandacockatiel)

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Best Elin Hilderbrand Books with Laura Yamin of The Reading Receipt — by Laura of What to Read Next

Timestamps:

02:19 About Queen of the Beach Reads, Elin Hilderbrand

08:27 The Rumor

10:23 The Hotel Nantucket

13:19 Swan Song

16:11 The Perfect Couple

18:07 Silver Girl

19:18 Summer of ’69

20:37 Winter in Paradise

21:56 28 Summers

24:31 Authors Like Elin Hilderbrand to Read Next

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Follow: Instagram, Threads, Facebook, GoodReads, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, X, Reddit, LinkedIn

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Full List of Short Books

Timestamps:

01:03 Rory Gilmore reading challenge to read one book per month from the Gilmore Girls book list

03:41 Featured Book Author of the Month: William Shakespeare (No Fear editions)

09:32 10 Popular Short Classic Books Everyone Should Read

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our Substack community: Jane Austen Adaptations

Timestamps:

01:08 As we read female authors from the list of books on Gilmore Girls for our Rory Gilmore reading challenge this month, I’m focusing on Jane Austen, whom 81% of you voted as the most classic female author of all-time.

07:24 The Other Bennet Sister

07:53 My Top 5 Jane Austen Adaptations

08:00 2005 Pride and Prejudice

11:31 1995 Clueless

15:57 2001 Bridget Jones’s Diary

19:32 1995 Sense and Sensibility

22:08 2020 Emma

24:17 The Jane Austen Adaptations That Didn’t Make the Cut

Emma: 1997 movie

Mansfield Park: 1999 movie

Northanger Abbey: 1987 movie

Persuasion: Netflix’s 2022 movie

26:39 Your Bonus Recommendations

Kelly Miller, award-winning author of Austen-esque Regency romances, kindly offered her expert advice in detail: 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries with Colin Firth, 1995 Persuasion, Emma with Kate Beckinsale

Lost in Austen

Advertise: Do you have a book, product, or service you'd like to share with my engaged audience? Learn more and contact me.

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2020 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our book club community: Books by Female Authors on Gilmore Girls

Timestamps:

00:44 June reading prompt for our Rory Gilmore reading challenge to read one book per month from the Rory Gilmore reading list: books by female authors.

02:32 Featured Author of the Month: Jane Austen

07:00 10 Uniquely Impactful Books by Female Authors on Gilmore Girls

08:06 Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

09:14 A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary

09:46 The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

10:29 Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

11:31 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

12:48 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

14:03 Out of Africa by Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen

15:00 Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

16:29 The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels by Nancy Mitford

17:08 The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

18:05 All the Books by Female Authors on Gilmore Girls

More Mentions:

Most Ardently Yours by Freya Sampson

The Other Bennet Sister

Pride and Prejudice

Northanger Abbey

Advertise: Do you have a book, product, or service you'd like to share with my engaged audience? Learn more and contact me.

Follow: Instagram, Threads, Facebook, GoodReads, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, X, Reddit, LinkedIn

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.

Welcome to Friday Night Readers, a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls, hosted by Julianne Buonocore, who has run a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2020 and wrote the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Fueled by coffee, we break down the books on the show, so you actually understand what the characters are talking so fast about, and help you read, live, and write like Rory.

Listen to the podcast on: Substack | Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube

Read the full transcript and subscribe to our book club community: July 2026 Book Releases

Timestamps:

03:40 Libro.FM: three audiobooks for the price of one when you start a new membership with code FRIDAY.

04:08 July 7

Country People

Helpless

Man Overboard!

The MASH Up

Most Ardently Yours

07:50 July 14

The Parisian Heist

The Romance Revival

09:21 July 21

Cool Machine

Crash Into Me

10:22 July 28

Meet Me in Paris

Advertise: Do you have a book, product, or service you'd like to share with my engaged audience? Learn more and contact me.

Follow: Instagram, Threads, Facebook, GoodReads, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, X, Reddit, LinkedIn

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These show notes contain affiliate links through which I earn commissions at no extra cost to you.