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15 Aesthetic Fall Books For Fans of Gilmore Girls
Bonus Episode • 8th October 2025 • Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls • Friday Night Readers
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Welcome to 15 Aesthetic Fall Books For Fans of Gilmore Girls ! In this podcast episode, I share Fall books on the Gilmore Girls reading list, that feel like Gilmore Girls, that Rory should read, and that Lorelai should read.

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Full Show Notes For 15 Aesthetic Fall Books For Fans of Gilmore Girls

Time Stamps:

  • 01:23 Fall books on Gilmore Girls
  • 05:13 Fall books that feel like Gilmore Girls
  • 06:11 Fall books Rory should read
  • 08:41 Fall books Lorelai should read

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About Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls :

This is an unofficial pop culture rewatch of Gilmore Girls hosted by Friday Night Readers. We dive deep into each episode, featuring the Gilmores’ world of books, as well as their fast talk. Oy, with the pop culture already! Learn what the Gilmores are actually talking about, so you can read and live more like them as you rewatch. Life’s short; read fast!

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome to Friday Night Readers,

an unofficial pop culture

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rewatch of Gilmore Girls.

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We dive deep on each episode featuring

the Gilmore's world of books, as

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well as their fast talk or with the

pop culture already learn what the

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Gilmores are actually talking about so

you can read and live more like them.

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Life's short read and rewatch fast.

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Hey, Friday Night readers.

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This is the first bonus

episode of our podcast

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Today.

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We're not going to be going through

an episode of Gilmore Girls and

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calling out the pop culture.

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Rather, since October is the

heart of Gilmore Girls season,

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I wanted to make sure you read

like a Gilmore would this month.

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Now over the years, I've maintained a

list of about three dozen books I've

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read that really feel like fall to me.

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But here I've narrowed them down

specifically for Gilmore Girls fans

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into these categories fall books on the

Gilmore Girls Reading List Fall books

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that feel like Gilmore Girls Fall.

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Books that Rory should read and

fall books that Lorelei should read.

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You'll find everything from eerie classics

to spooky thrillers and cozy romances.

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If you're short on time, you can

just start with one of my favorites,

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Macbeth or Rebecca, the Dutch House,

the Secret History or Practical Magic,

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or keep listening and pick the one

that resonates the most with you.

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Let's start with Fall books on

the Gilmore Girls Reading List.

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First up is The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

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I gave this play three out of five stars.

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This classic play centers

on the Salem Witch Trial.

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A parable.

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Its purpose is to convey the harm that

violence sanctioned by society can cause.

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In Gilmore Girls episode 1.7,

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Lorelei tells Luke that he looks

like one of the guys from the

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adaptation, which actually makes

for a great pairing with the play.

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It's Stars, Winona Rider, and

I really enjoyed watching the

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movie after I read the play.

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Second is Harry Potter and the

Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling.

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I gave this popular book,

five Out of Five Stars.

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As everyone knows, this is the first

in a series about an orphan boy who

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goes to Wizard School and fights evil.

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Harry Potter appears a few

times in Gilmore Girls.

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Notably, you may recall, Brian wanted

to name Hep Alien, the Harry Potters.

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Now.

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Quick fun fact for you.

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Brian is played by John Cabrera and John

Cabrera has a substack called Remarkist.

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It's a fan community for

things like Gilmore Girls.

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I just sent in a written

interview to be on his substack,

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so keep an eye out for that.

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I've actually also been on his Discord

channel a few years ago, and I've been

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in touch with his team since then.

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Next is Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

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I gave this tragic play,

five out of five stars.

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I actually love Shakespeare and

I don't think it has to be hard.

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There are so many things you can

do to make it easy and enjoyable.

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One thing I love to do is pair it

with adaptations or spark notes, and I

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always love to do the no fear additions.

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And what's great about these is that

on the left side is the original

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text, and on the right side is

a modern translation so you can

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totally understand what's going on.

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Right as you read.

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This particular play is the tragic

Rise and Fall of the King of Scotland,

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featuring the three witches who

chant predictions and manipulate

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Macbeth with famously spooky lines

like double, double toil and trouble.

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Fire, burn and cauldron bubble, which

Rory says to Lane in episode one point 13.

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I did actually watch the recent adaptation

starring Denzel Washington and I really

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enjoyed it and it definitely helped me

understand and appreciate the play more.

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Next.

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Let's talk about Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier.

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I gave this book five out of five stars.

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Speaking of adaptations, there is a recent

Netflix one for this and it does get

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mixed reviews, but I actually liked it.

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This atmospheric thriller centers on a

servant who marries a wealthy widow and

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moves into his estate manderley, where the

ghost of his first wife, Rebecca, lingers.

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Now, this Gilmore Girls reference

is a bit harder to find.

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It's when Max, which is actually

the name of the books, widow

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nickname's, Rory Rebecca.

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Now let's talk about something wicked

this way comes by Ray Bradbury.

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I gave this book three out of five stars.

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Filled with fall imagery and magic.

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This is the story of two young boys

obsession with a Halloween night

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carnival that causes dark, strange

things to happen in their town.

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Okay, so let's go back to Macbeth.

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Right after Rory says the Macbeth line I

quoted above, she then says, it's other

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famous line with the pricking of my thumb.

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Something wicked this way comes

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that Macbeth quote is actually

what this book was named after.

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One more quick thing, there

is an older Disney live action

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adaptation of this book.

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I thought it was good, not great,

but you can definitely also watch

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it with children around Halloween.

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Last in this section is The

Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe.

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I gave the short story,

five Outta five Stars.

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A mysterious beating heart causes

uncontrollable paranoia in a murderer who

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thinks he committed the perfect crime.

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It's very obviously from the poe

Society episode of Gilmore Girls,

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which is episode three point 17.

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Who can forget that one?

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Now let's talk about fall books

that feel like Gilmore Girls.

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First up is the City Baker's Guide

to Country Living by Louise Miller.

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I gave this book three out of five Stars.

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Libby leaves behind a fancy pastry chef

job in Boston for a job out of Vermont

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Inn where she falls for a local who

comes home to care for his ailing father.

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There's a harvest dinner, an apple

pie contest, and everything you would

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expect from a cozy small town fall.

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Romance.

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This book totally reminds me of

Sookie, and I've gotta say, out of

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the 1000 plus books I've ever read,

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this book feels the most like Gilmore.

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Second is well met by Jen DeLuca.

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I also gave this book

three out of five Stars.

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Emily moves to her sister's small town

to help her recover from an accident.

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There she volunteers for the local

Renaissance Fair alongside her teenage

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niece where she falls for the leader

who has a complex history with the fair.

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This book totally

reminds me of Liz and tj.

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Now let's talk about a few fall

books that Rory should read.

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First is The Dutch House by Anne Patchett,

and I am going to recommend this book

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any chance I get, including this one.

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It is one of my absolute favorite

books of the last 10 years or so.

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And one more quick tip on audio.

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It's narrated by Tom Hanks and

he narrates it so well that I

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actually had chills at the ending.

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Two siblings grow up on their

own and occasionally return to

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reminisce at their childhood home.

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Most often around Thanksgiving.

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I think Rory would love the literary

fiction writing style of his Pulitzer

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Prize finalist, and she would relate

to the very complicated family

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dynamics if we were villains by ML Rio.

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I gave this book four out of five stars.

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This Dark academia thriller follows

a group of Shakespearean actors

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at a conservatory where a night

of drunken debauchery led to death

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with parallels to Shakespearean

tragedies running throughout.

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It's a daring and ambitious

coming of age book that explores

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everything from coping with grief

to the motivations that drive us.

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And what I love about that is

Shakespearean tragedies are very

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much about motivations that drive us.

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So the parallels are fantastic.

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And I definitely think Rory would

love the Shakespeare references.

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Next is The Secret History by Donna Tart.

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I give this book five out of

five stars and a few quick notes.

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First is that this is actually

one of Jenna Bush Hager's favorite

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books, and she picked it as one of

her read with Jenna Book Club Picks,

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even though it was released many,

many years earlier, an outcast from

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California desperate to fit in at a

py New England College in the:

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becomes friends with his fellow

Greek classmates and their obsession

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with Greek has deadly consequences.

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The crew absolutely spirals as they

process the gravity of their actions.

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Obviously, Rory would love the setting

of this novel, but I also think she

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would appreciate the stellar dialogue.

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It's a modern classic, and the ending

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was the most suspenseful

ending I have ever read.

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When I tell you I was at the edge

of my seat, I truly mean it here.

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Last in this section is we have always

lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson.

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I gave the short book

four out of five stars.

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Merricat lives with her sick uncle

and reclusive sister Constance in

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an isolated New England home, hunted

by a family tragedy that once put

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Constance on trial for murder.

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When Cousin Charlie arrives, their

fragile world unravels in this

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chilling tale of secrets and survival.

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Now we all know that Rory

is a fan of Shirley Jackson.

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I think she would love how masterfully

this disturbing book was written.

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You can probably read it in one sitting,

and it definitely has super creepy vibes.

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Last, let's talk about fall

books that Lorelei should read.

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First is how to Sell a Haunted

House by Grady Hendrix.

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I gave this book Four Outta Five Stars,

and I've gotta say it was one of the

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most unique books I've ever read.

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After their parents tragically Die, Louise

and Mark reunite to sell the family home.

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Complicating things, however, is

a possessed pumpkin who has been

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part of the family for many years.

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So strange, right through this demonic

doll, they process trauma and grief.

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Pumpkin is so creepy in this book,

and I totally think Lorelai would

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reference him in her fast talk.

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Next is the only one left by Riley Sager.

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I gave this book five out of five

stars, and I'll also add that I've

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read all except his most recent book,

and this was my personal favorite.

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And I've also heard many other

fans of his books say that

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this was their favorite too.

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This is a chilling 1980s gothic tale

about a tarnished caregiver working for

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a woman accused of a gruesome family

massacre in her spooky cliffside estate.

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This Lizzie Borden of her main town,

has been rendered mute by stroke,

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but she wishes to tell her side

of the story over a typewriter.

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It is eerie, ominous, and actually jaw

dropping with so many twists and turns.

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I think Lorelei would read it

for its pop culture connections.

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This is one book that would work perfect

on a cold fall night next to a fire.

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Last is Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman.

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I gave this book four out of five Stars.

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This is the first in the bewitching series

of four books about the Owen Sisters.

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Long cursed in love.

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They live with their elderly ants in

Massachusetts where they're taunted

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for living in a musty house with

mysterious potions and black cats

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as adults, however, they escape.

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But when the men in their lives

die, they must come back together.

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Everything about this series

feels very Lorelai to me.

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The magic, the ants, the doom romances,

and the popular movie adaptation

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that, you know, she would watch.

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As I mentioned, there are four books in

this series, and you can either start

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with Practical Magic, which was the first

book that was published or you can go by

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the order in which the story takes place.

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For example, one of the books states all

the way back to the salem witch trials,

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okay, so now you know how

to read like a Gilmar.

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Would this fall

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If you wanna read one of my favorite

books that was also on Rory's list, you

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should go with Macbeth or Rebecca of the

five that I mentioned as my favorites.

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If I only had to pick one, I would

probably pick the secret history for you.

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It has all those New England Dark Academia

vibes, so we get the setting of Gilmore

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Girls, but also with some thriller

aspects that feel creepy and spooky.

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Happy fall reading y'all.

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