The“GilmoreGirls”Reading
Challenge
Do you enjoy “Gilmore Girls”? Here are the top ten books mentioned
on the show! Join Rory in the reading challenge!
1. “1984”byGeorgeOrwell
Winston Smith is a long-rung member of the Party, the
ruling government of Oceania. He works in the Ministry
of Truth, the Party’s propaganda arm, where he is in
charge of revising history. He is but a small brick in the
pyramid that is the Party, at the head of which stands
Big Brother. Big Brother the infallible. Big Brother the
all-powerful.
In a totalitarian society, where individuality is
suppressed and freedom of thought has its antithesis
in the Thought Police, Winston finds respite in the
company of Julia. Originality of thought awakens, love
blossoms and hope is rekindled. But what they don’t
know is that Big Brother is always watching.
2.“TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn”byMarkTwain
A young runaway boards a raft and sets
off down the Mississippi, setting in
motion a series of memorable
adventures that have intrigued readers of
all ages for over a century. Huck Finn
and his loyal companion, the escaped
slave Jim, form one of literature’s
greatest friendships.
3.“Alice’sAdventuresinWonderland”byLewisCarroll
The story is deeply but gently satiric,
enlivened with an imaginative plot and
brilliant use of nonsense, as it relates Alice’
s adventures in a bizarre, topsy-turvy land
underground. There she encounters a cast
of strange characters and fanciful beasts,
including the White Rabbit, March Hare,
Mad Hatter, the sleepy Dormouse and
grinning Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle, the
dreadful Queen of Hearts, and a host of
other unusual creatures.
4.“TheAmazingAdventuresofKavalier&Clay”byMichaelCHabon
Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been
trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just
smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed
in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is
looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for
the latest novelty to hit America--the comic book.
Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay
create the Escapist, the Monitor and Luna Moth, inspired
by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by
powerful ties to both men. With exhilarating style and
grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about
American romance and possibility.
5.“AnAmericanTragedy”byTheodoreDreiser
On one level, “An American Tragedy” is the story of the
corruption and destruction of one man, Clyde Griffiths, who
forfeits his life in desperate pursuit of success. On a
deeper, more profound level, the novel represents a
massive portrayal of the society whose values both shape
Clyde’s tawdry ambitions and seal his fate: It is an
unsurpassed depiction of the harsh realities of American
life and of the dark side of the American Dream.
Extraordinary in scope and power, vivid in its sense of
wholesale human waste, unceasing in its rich compassion,
“An American Tragedy” stands as Theodore Dreiser’s
supreme achievement.
6.“Angela’sAshes”byFrankMcCourt
“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It
was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your
while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish
childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.”
So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era
Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland.
Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father,
Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy--
exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling--does nurture Frank an appetite for
one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain,
who saved Ireland, and the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother
babies.
Perhaps it is the story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for
diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner, and gathering coal from the
roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation, and the casual
cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence,
exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.
“Angela’s Ashes,” imbued on every page with Frank McCourt’s astounding
humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.
7.“AnnaKarenina”byLeoTolstoy
In their world, frivolous liaisons are commonplace,
but Anna and Vronsky’s consuming passion makes
them a target for scorn and leads to Anna’s
increasing isolation. The heartbreaking trajectory
of their relationship contrasts sharply with the
colorful swirl of friends and family members who
surround them, especially the newlyweds Kitty and
Levin, who forge a touching bond as they struggle
to make a life together. “Anna Karenina” is a
masterpiece not only because of the unforgettable
woman at its core and the stark drama of her fate,
but also because it explores and illuminates the
deepest questions about how to live a fulfilled life.
8.“AnneFrank:TheDiaryofaYoungGirl”byAnneFrank
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life,
Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic--
a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent
testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying
Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their
home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years,
until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and
another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annex” of an old
office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger,
boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and
the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne
Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this
period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account
offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and
a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman
whose promise was tragically cut short.
9.“ArchidamianWar”byDonaldKagan
This book, the second volume in Donald
Kagan’s tetralogy about the Peloponnesian
War, is a provocative and tightly argued
history of the first ten years of the war.
Taking a chronological approach that allows
him to present at each stage the choices
that were open to both sides in the conflict,
Kagan focuses on political, economic,
diplomatic, and military developments. He
evaluates the strategies used by both sides
and reconsiders the roles played by several
key individuals.
10.“TheArtofFiction”byHenryJames
In this classic essay which originally appeared
in his 1888 collection “Partial Portraits,” Henry
James argues against rigid proscriptions on
the novelist’s choice of subject and method of
treatment. He maintains that the widest
possible freedom in content and approach will
help ensure narrative fiction’s continued
vitality.
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Email: homeschoolliterature@gmail.com

The “Gilmore Girls” Reading Challenge

  • 1.
    The“GilmoreGirls”Reading Challenge Do you enjoy“Gilmore Girls”? Here are the top ten books mentioned on the show! Join Rory in the reading challenge!
  • 2.
    1. “1984”byGeorgeOrwell Winston Smithis a long-rung member of the Party, the ruling government of Oceania. He works in the Ministry of Truth, the Party’s propaganda arm, where he is in charge of revising history. He is but a small brick in the pyramid that is the Party, at the head of which stands Big Brother. Big Brother the infallible. Big Brother the all-powerful. In a totalitarian society, where individuality is suppressed and freedom of thought has its antithesis in the Thought Police, Winston finds respite in the company of Julia. Originality of thought awakens, love blossoms and hope is rekindled. But what they don’t know is that Big Brother is always watching.
  • 3.
    2.“TheAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn”byMarkTwain A young runawayboards a raft and sets off down the Mississippi, setting in motion a series of memorable adventures that have intrigued readers of all ages for over a century. Huck Finn and his loyal companion, the escaped slave Jim, form one of literature’s greatest friendships.
  • 4.
    3.“Alice’sAdventuresinWonderland”byLewisCarroll The story isdeeply but gently satiric, enlivened with an imaginative plot and brilliant use of nonsense, as it relates Alice’ s adventures in a bizarre, topsy-turvy land underground. There she encounters a cast of strange characters and fanciful beasts, including the White Rabbit, March Hare, Mad Hatter, the sleepy Dormouse and grinning Cheshire Cat, the Mock Turtle, the dreadful Queen of Hearts, and a host of other unusual creatures.
  • 5.
    4.“TheAmazingAdventuresofKavalier&Clay”byMichaelCHabon Joe Kavalier, ayoung Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America--the comic book. Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. With exhilarating style and grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about American romance and possibility.
  • 6.
    5.“AnAmericanTragedy”byTheodoreDreiser On one level,“An American Tragedy” is the story of the corruption and destruction of one man, Clyde Griffiths, who forfeits his life in desperate pursuit of success. On a deeper, more profound level, the novel represents a massive portrayal of the society whose values both shape Clyde’s tawdry ambitions and seal his fate: It is an unsurpassed depiction of the harsh realities of American life and of the dark side of the American Dream. Extraordinary in scope and power, vivid in its sense of wholesale human waste, unceasing in its rich compassion, “An American Tragedy” stands as Theodore Dreiser’s supreme achievement.
  • 7.
    6.“Angela’sAshes”byFrankMcCourt “When I lookback on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy-- exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling--does nurture Frank an appetite for one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies. Perhaps it is the story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner, and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation, and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness. “Angela’s Ashes,” imbued on every page with Frank McCourt’s astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.
  • 8.
    7.“AnnaKarenina”byLeoTolstoy In their world,frivolous liaisons are commonplace, but Anna and Vronsky’s consuming passion makes them a target for scorn and leads to Anna’s increasing isolation. The heartbreaking trajectory of their relationship contrasts sharply with the colorful swirl of friends and family members who surround them, especially the newlyweds Kitty and Levin, who forge a touching bond as they struggle to make a life together. “Anna Karenina” is a masterpiece not only because of the unforgettable woman at its core and the stark drama of her fate, but also because it explores and illuminates the deepest questions about how to live a fulfilled life.
  • 9.
    8.“AnneFrank:TheDiaryofaYoungGirl”byAnneFrank Discovered in theattic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has since become a world classic-- a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annex” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
  • 10.
    9.“ArchidamianWar”byDonaldKagan This book, thesecond volume in Donald Kagan’s tetralogy about the Peloponnesian War, is a provocative and tightly argued history of the first ten years of the war. Taking a chronological approach that allows him to present at each stage the choices that were open to both sides in the conflict, Kagan focuses on political, economic, diplomatic, and military developments. He evaluates the strategies used by both sides and reconsiders the roles played by several key individuals.
  • 11.
    10.“TheArtofFiction”byHenryJames In this classicessay which originally appeared in his 1888 collection “Partial Portraits,” Henry James argues against rigid proscriptions on the novelist’s choice of subject and method of treatment. He maintains that the widest possible freedom in content and approach will help ensure narrative fiction’s continued vitality.
  • 12.