Quote: Richard and Rory Gilmore

Richard: Now, what do you know about golf?

Rory: That it's a good walk spoiled.

~ Richard and Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore, Gilmore Girls season 1 episode 3: Kill Me Now

(Gilmore Girls season 1 episode 3: Kill Me Now)

Characters Reading: Emily and Richard Gilmore

In the Gilmore Girls episode "We've Got Magic to Do", Richard Gilmore was reading "Molloy" by Samuel Beckett. I don't know what book his wife Emily was reading but whatever it was she really wasn't concentrating on reading it because she was so worried about Rory running the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) charity event. She was so concerned she was making it impossible for Richard to continue reading his book.

I think it's really cool when couples spend time together reading and Emily and Richard Gilmore did that quite often. However, they would have had even more time to read together if they were not constantly meddling in their daughter Lorelai, their granddaughter Rory and other people's lives. Just imagine how much free time they could have had to enjoy if they simply minded their own business. But then I guess, they wouldn't be Emily and Richard Gilmore, two of the most meddlesome characters on the show.

(Gilmore Girls season 6 episode 5 "We've Got Magic to Do")

Three "Gilmore Girls" Characters Besides Rory Gilmore Who Like to Read

I know Rory Gilmore is considered the Ultimate Book Nerd (which I will discuss in another post) but there were other characters on the Gilmore Girls TV series who also had an interest in reading. Lorelai Gilmore, Richard Gilmore and Jess Mariano represent the average reader to the book worm and I wanted to focus a little on what I observed about them.


Lorelai Gilmore - The Average Reader

As a single mom working a full time job as well as at one point taking college courses (in which she graduated from a community college with a business degree), Lorelai didn't have a lot of free time to sit around reading. However, she found the time for it because throughout the series you could occasionally see her reading various books. Although, she didn't read as much as Rory (but who did) you can tell that she enjoyed reading just as much as her daughter did. Lorelai is more or less the average reader who reads for pleasure.

Richard Gilmore - The Balanced Reader

Richard is an avid reader, for instance he reads several newspapers daily while also constantly staying up-to-date with business/Insurance industry news. He also had a love of reading books and he enjoyed recommending various ones to his granddaughter Rory and wanting to discuss them with her as well. He might have been a bit stodgy and reserved but I noticed that whenever he found an interest in something and wanted to discuss it, it seemed to break him out of his stuffy shell at least temporarily. Richard is what I would consider to be a balanced reader because he reads for both business and pleasure.

Jess Mariano - The Book Worm

The thing I found so annoying about Jess was when he first arrived in Stars Hollow, he showed up angry and he wanted to take out his frustrations on his Uncle Luke and the town the minute he showed up there. Jess wasn't going to his classes and was constantly causing trouble at school and throughout the town.

Another thing I found annoying was that he used his troubles to mask his intelligence. Initially the only person he let know that he loved to read was Rory. He's a big reader and can become totally engrossed in a story. He has a good understanding of what he reads which you notice when he is discussing a particular book or books in general. Jess eventually wrote a book and opened a bookstore which totally marks him as a book worm.