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Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 8, "Love & War & Snow": Pop Culture Rewatch
Episode 8 • 31st October 2025 • Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls • Friday Night Readers
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Welcome to Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 8, "Love & War & Snow": Pop Culture Rewatch ! In this podcast episode, I share the books and pop culture referenced when Lorelai first smelled snow.

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Books, Pop Culture, and Other Mentions:

Full Show Notes

Time Stamps:

  • 00:10 What Happened in Stars Hollow
  • 07:34 The Gilmores' World of Books
  • 11:35 Oy With the Pop Culture Already
  • 14:00 Book Tease

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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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Welcome back Friday Night Readers.

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We have another iconic

episode of Gilmore Girls.

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This week, it's season one, episode

eight, love and War and Snow.

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Here's what happened in Stars Hollow

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Lorelai arrives at the town meeting with

snacks as Taylor and Miss Patty Bicker.

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I believe this is our first town

meeting, and it's also the first

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time we meet Andrew of Stars Hollow

Books played by Mike Gandolfi.

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He's a familiar face to me, especially

because he remains very active in

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the Gilmore fandom, which I love.

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The Mayor Harry also appears, and

he announces the reenactment of the

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Legendary Battle of Stars Hollow

during the Revolutionary War.

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He's played by David Huddleston,

who only appears in two episodes.

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I don't know why, but we obviously do

see Taylor take on a bigger role as

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town selectmen, as the show progresses.

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Anyway, Luke isn't having it because

the 12 guys just stood in a row and the

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red coats never showed like a prom date.

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He also wants to remind everyone

that this is stolen land.

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The next morning, Lorelai awakens

with a huge grin on her face.

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Why you ask.

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She can smell snow coming.

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Yes.

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This is the famous I Smell Snow

episode, and I am so curious as to who

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thought of this for Lorelai, because

as we know, it's perfectly fitting.

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Max AKA Max Medina leaves her a

voicemail asking her out, yes, recorded

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voicemails like his, which you could

hear through the entire house, or how we

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communicated when a phone went unanswered.

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And did I mention there were no texts?

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This means your whole family

could hear your crush calling you.

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It also means teens spent a lot of time

talking to moms who picked up the phone.

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Kids these days, dunno how hard we had it.

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Rory thinks only Lorelai

can smell snow, but I don't.

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I get it.

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There's just a fresh, clean,

clear calmness in the air.

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Before snowfall, I asked my

Instagram followers, and 67%

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said they too can smell snow.

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Here's what a few of you said.

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It's a crispness in the

air, like peppermint.

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I love that one.

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The air is sharp and the

usual smells are gone.

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I agree with that one as well.

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Lorelai continues to gush that

all the best things in her

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life happened when it snowed.

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I love snow.

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Everything's magical.

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When it snows, everything looks pretty.

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On the other hand, Michel says It is

cold and gray like a fat dead pigeon,

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same snowstorm, different perspectives.

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Lane and Rory arrive at the Inn and

Lane in her marching band uniform

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announces that Rich Blumenfeld, a

man with a mane is her soulmate.

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Sookie gives Rory Rocky Road cookies

for Dean and sings probably my favorite

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line of hers throughout the whole show.

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You know it Cookies for the Dean

and the Rory and the Cookies

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for the Love and the Dean.

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It is so Sookie and it is so cute.

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Lane continues to try to get Rory's

attention about Rich, but she's too

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busy talking about books and Smooching

Dean to Care Sookie was right.

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The first snowfall of the season

and of the show officially begins.

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It's soft and it's beautiful.

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And then Emily calls.

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Despite the treacherous conditions,

she still expects Lorelai to

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come to Friday night dinner.

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They settle on just Rory

staying over after school.

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School apparently persists, and I think

it's true to the time in Pennsylvania,

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in the nineties and early aughts, it

wasn't often canceled unless the snow

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got especially bad and we had to wake

up extra early to watch a lengthy

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alphabetical ticker tape scroll across our

screen to see if our school was listed.

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I can still picture those moments of

waking up and jumping to the window to

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see what, if anything had accumulated.

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Obviously it felt best when you

saw your school's cancellation and

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could jump right back into bed.

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The Revolutionary War Reenactor

take their place and we see Luke be

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the grumpy to Lorelai's sunshine.

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She just refuses to get past the idea

that snow is nature's present to her.

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I can't say I disagree.

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These scenes with her periwinkle

scarf, Barry lipstick and knit hat

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amidst the snowflakes are just about

the prettiest she's ever looked.

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Snow certainly suits her.

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Next lane takes one.

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Look at Rich's Majestic blonde mocks and

can't help but run her hand through them.

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Then run away like Rory did in Kiss

and Tell after Dean kissed her.

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There's a trend here with these stars.

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Hollow Teen Girls.

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And what do you know?

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It's Max and Stars Hollow again.

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Does anyone besides me think this

may not have been serendipitous

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but planned since Cinnamon's wake?

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There's just something about Max.

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I don't totally trust.

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Emily freaks out when she learns her maid

can't come to work, and she offers us this

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episode's edition of Emily Savage Burns.

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These Friday dinners are the only

proper food that child eats all week.

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Rory confirms she's adequately

nourished and finds a frozen pizza,

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which Emily says is food for a

carnival or a Turkish prison.

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Nonetheless, they agree on heating it up.

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Back in Stars Hollow, we learned that

Max was once close to marriage and that

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Christopher also once proposed to Lorelai,

albeit when they were in high school.

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Rory plays with Lorelai's Dollhouse,

which I still think looks like

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her current house, and finds

old pictures of her and Chris

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lane calls upset that Rory's not around

when she needs her most, including

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when she touched Rich Blumenfeld hair.

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She is crashing out.

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Then Lorelai and Max watch a

movie at Black, white, and Read.

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Has it occurred as odd to anyone

besides me that Stars Hollow,

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technically has two bookstores?

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Maybe not.

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I mean, Rory Gilmore

lives there after all.

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Back at Emily's and Richards.

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Rory teaches her grandparents to greet

Parmesan cheese over their frozen pizza.

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And even Princess Emily grows

to love this lowbrow delicacy.

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I love Emily so much, and this

scene gives me all the feels.

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She's quintessentially herself while

still allowing herself to show some

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vulnerability with her granddaughter.

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This scene got me wondering how you

like to eat frozen pizza around here.

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My husband always requests that I cook

mushrooms and truffle oil and add them.

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I asked my Instagram followers

and the most popular comments

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were olives and roasted veggies.

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No one said Parmesan cheese.

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We learn of Emily's sister, Hopie,

and I've heard the picture they

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show here is actually Kelly Bishop.

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She's so pretty.

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I actually think she bears

some resemblance to Rory here.

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Back in Stars Hollow.

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Luke softens up and brings

the war reenactors coffee.

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Then he sees Lorelai

at her peak of beauty.

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With Max, obviously he's

jealous who wouldn't be?

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Lorelai is a 10 in this episode.

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Max wants to be invited inside and

his most persuasive argument is that

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it's quote, fate, persuasive or pushy.

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I think he's pushing it.

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He kisses Lorelai, but Lane

appears seeking her advice.

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Lorelai offers these words to remember.

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Everybody screws up.

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That's what happens, lane.

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It's what you do with the screwups.

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It's how you handle the experience.

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That's what you should judge yourself by.

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Consider that your free

therapy session of the week.

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She allows Max to stay on the couch while

she sleeps upstairs in her monkey pajamas.

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Rory arrives home the next

morning to find him asleep there.

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Lorelai blames it on the snow

being like catnip to her.

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She and Rory make up and

Rory and Lane Makeup.

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However, Rory Sneaks a glance at that

old picture of her mother and father

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yearning the Gilmore's world of books.

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Let's break down the

Gilmore's world of books.

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This episode's most iconic

literary references for those

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taking the Rory Gilmore Reading

Challenge with us on Friday night.

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readers.substack.com

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where we read from the list of

books mentioned on Gilmore Girls.

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Only one book is featured.

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In this episode, Dean kind of admits he

enjoyed the copy of Pride and Prejudice

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by Jane Austen that he borrowed from Rory.

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Yes, I did confirm that, that Jane

Austen book is Pride and Prejudice.

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Now of course, Jane Austin

is the unofficial founder

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of women's romance novels.

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This English novelist was known for her

social commentary in wit, in portraying

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women's lives in the early 19th century.

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Pride and prejudice is

undoubtedly her most popular work.

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This 1813 love story of mistaken

first impressions continues

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to resonate with readers.

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Though I've heard that the advent of

our smartphones and AI is making it

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harder for even Ivy League College

students to read it, even though it's

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considered for high school readers.

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I've linked an article on that

for you in the show notes, and

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I hope you take a look at it.

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Y'all.

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This is why I do this reading challenge.

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Classic literature matters and

it makes us better at life.

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I hope you'll read like

Rory and even Dean with us.

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Yes.

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While Dean gets a lot of hate, I do

love the fact that Dean is willing to

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tackle a quote woman's classic for Rory.

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A few tips on this book.

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First, I recommend reading the Audible

original of the book, which is beautifully

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narrated by Rosamund Pike, who starred

as Jane in the:

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I am always recommending these audible

originals of the classics to readers

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in the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

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because actors have such a natural

knack with performing these words,

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and it just makes it so much more

immersive and engaging to read the text.

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You can even pair it

with the original text.

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That's what I'm doing right now with

Frankenstein and it's really helping me

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focus and take in and understand better

than I would be able to do on my own.

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Speaking of the 2005 movie

adaptation, starring Keira Knightly

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is excellent and one of my all

time favorite movie adaptations.

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Note, however, that many do prefer the

:

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I've never seen it, but I've heard so

many people say they love that version

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even more than the 2005 version.

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Also, stay tuned for an upcoming Netflix

adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

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That's gonna be great.

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The 2005 adaptation soundtrack makes for

perfect focus music for reading this book.

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I actually listen to this soundtrack

when I'm working at my computer or

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other times I need to focus as well.

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It is a great classical music soundtrack.

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You can also pair this book with the

popular modern retelling, Bridget

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Jones Diary by Helen Fielding

either the book or the movie.

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The book is also on the

Gilmore Girls book list,

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though there are no more books

mentioned in this episode.

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A few authors are first, Emily Dickinson.

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Max says he's grading the paper.

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Emily Dickinson Get a Life.

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I too have heard that this mid 19th

century American poet is difficult.

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I've only read her most popular poems.

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Hunter s Thompson.

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This is the American journalist whose

work Dean thinks Rory should read.

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Ironically, Jess is later seen

bringing this author's book, fear

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and Loathing in Las Vegas to Stars

Hollow in season two, episode five.

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That's Nick and Nora, Sid and Nancy,

his first episode on the show.

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Charlotte Bronte.

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Rory suggests this English novelist

known for the Gothic Classic Jane

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Eyre, which is still on my TBR list.

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I promise I'll get to it soon.

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Lastly, Judy Blume

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lorelai says that Lane's having a

moment like this children's author

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known for teaching kids about the birds

and the bees in really relatable ways.

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We only get a few references to her in the

series, which has always surprised me as

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she has appealed to so many generations,

including both Lorelai and Rory's.

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Curious about every single book mentioned

in this Gilmore Girls' episode, even

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the obscure references most people miss.

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How did this episode's

page at Friday night?

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readers.substack.com

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paid members get principal episode

guides for every Gilmore Girls episode,

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which are perfect for tracking your

own Rory inspired reading journey.

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Oy.

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With the pop culture already now,

because I want you to understand even

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more of the Gilmore Girls fast talk.

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Here's what some of this episode's best

pop culture references mean fashion.

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Rory Stripes scarf is

very well known to me.

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It was from the Gap where I worked.

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These multicolored stripes were

called Crazy Stripes, and every winter

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season when we got the new version,

they sold out almost immediately.

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It was usually like a 24 hour thing,

so our little Chilton girl was.

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Actually pretty hip to the times.

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Next we have to talk about

lane's, fair aisle sweater.

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I can't place the store for sure,

but it feels very American Eagle

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to me since I spent so much time

at the mall during those years.

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I know a lot of the stuff even beyond

Gap, and Rory wore it in the deer hunters.

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Movies, Lorelai and Max Watch House on

Haunted Hill at the movie theater, which

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is actually a 1959 adaptation of a Shirley

Jackson book that's been on my list.

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It's about a millionaire who

invites several guests to spend

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the night in a supposedly haunted

mansion, offering them a cash prize

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if they survive until morning.

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There's also a much more recent Netflix

series about the book, famous people when

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trying to get out a Friday night dinner.

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Lorelai likens herself to the

female comic superhero Wonder Woman.

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Well, uh, gee, mom, I don't know.

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Let me see.

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Black Ice.

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Treacherous Rhodes.

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I'll just put in my red,

white, and blue leotard.

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Grab my golden lasso and fly

the invisible plane on over

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next.

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We also learned that Emily had

a crush on Errol Flynn, whom

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I've never heard of before.

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Rory calls him the pirate guy, and

indeed he was an old actor known

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for his pirate roles music, Lorelai

calls Lane Sergeant Pepper when she's

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dressed in her marching band uniform.

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Um, this is a pretty funny quip actually.

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She's referring to the

Beatles, Sergeant Pepper's.

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Lonely Hearts Club Band was their

famous album about a fictional band.

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Sergeant Pepper himself is

an imaginary band leader.

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Please tell me you already know this.

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If not, I demand that you immediately

go and binge listen to the Beatles.

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I've actually linked this album for

you in the show notes so you can

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see what Sergeant Pepper looks like.

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And like I said, please go and listen.

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Next we hear Ricky Lee Jones, rendition

of the Gershwin Broadway Classic.

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Someone to watch Over Me when

Lorelai is with Max in the Snow.

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It's a beautiful version.

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Lastly, lane listens to pictures

of you by the Cure in Rory's room,

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and it's just a really solid song.

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Both of these songs made my best of

music on Gilmore Girl's playlist.

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I'm going to link that in the

show notes for you as well.

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It's really fun to listen to.

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Book tease.

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Lastly, the time has come for me to be

what just called Rory, a book tease.

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Tune in next week when we dive into

yet another very iconic episode 1.9,

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Rory's Dance and books like The Portable

Dorothy Parker, which Rory and Dean

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very famously fall asleep reading.

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See you next episode.

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