Gilmore Girls and fall just go together. In fact, Lauren Graham (a/k/a Lorelai Victoria Gilmore) famously said at the 2025 Emmy Awards that Gilmore Girls “took the season of fall hostage” from the moment it premiered. Heck, even Richard defines himself as “an autumn.”
So, naturally, the Gilmore Girls Reading List is filled with iconic seasonal reading! I know this well, as the host of a Rory Gilmore reading challenge and author of the Unofficial Guide to the Books on Gilmore Girls. Here, you’ll find everything from eerie classics to spooky thrillers. Pick the ones that resonate most with you below, read them while you burn a delectable fall candle, and pair them with the fall episodes of Gilmore Girls!
Fall Books on the Gilmore Girls Reading List
Carrie by Stephen King
My review: ★★★★☆
Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, takes us back to school—first period, horror. An unpopular high school student, Carrie White, struggles with her mother’s religious fanaticism. But she’s hiding a big secret: she can move things with her mind.
This power can be both empowering and dangerous. After she receives an act of kindness, she feels normal. But then a cruel prank turns her gift into a weapon of horrific destruction in the town. As the suspense builds to an epic climax, the town is left forever changed.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.13
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
My review: ★★★☆☆
Miller referred to his classic play The Crucible about the Salem witch trials as depicting “one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.” A parable and a short book you can read in a weekend, it conveys the harm that violence sanctioned by society can cause. Essentially, after a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, hysteria ensues, and the church leaders and townspeople insist that she be tried.
Written in 1953, it was also inspired by the anti-communist hysteria that Senator Joseph McCarthy sanctioned. (Also the basis of Alice Hoffman’s new title The Witches of Cambridge) Miller noted how, “Political opposition…is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.”
Gosh, the thing about parables is how true they ring today, from the current state of politics to true crime on TikTok. It also shows the lengths people will go to for their own benefit, without concern for others, and reads like a wild episode of Dateline.
Plays are always hard to read, so I paired this one with the 1996 Winona Ryder movie adaptation, which was good!
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.07
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
My review: ★★★★★
You know the story of this fall thriller: a young scientist creates life in Frankenstein through unnatural means and must face the tragic consequences of his ambition.
Don’t let the science scare you—the prose is quite beautiful and easy to read for a classic. That said, the theme of creating without ethical considerations will certainly give you chills, since it still holds true today.
I read the illustrated, interactive MinaLima edition and occasionally followed along with an audiobook. It’s literally perfect for a blustery night. The recent Netflix adaptation of this one was also quite good.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 2.16, 3.16
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
My review: ★★★★★
Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts is marked by change in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as Harry becomes more mature and his quest becomes darker. Published after 2000, it’s also the most modern book on this list.
The novel begins at the Quidditch World Cup, then shifts to the Triwizard Tournament hosted by Hogwarts, where students from multiple wizarding schools compete. With help from Professor Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, Harry is set to compete on behalf of Hogwarts alongside student Cedric Diggory.
As Harry and his friends grow up, the tone of his quest shifts from magical and adventurous to violent and dark. After all, this is a battle of good versus evil.
In the competition, Harry is transported to a graveyard where Voldemort’s supporters convene. There, Harry learns a devastating truth and must fight for his life.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.02
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
My review: ★★★★★
One of the most popular books of all time, and one that shaped me and probably most of you, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone introduces the reader to an 11-year-old orphan who is whisked away from his unloving aunt and uncle’s home to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is marked by both fun and fighting, from playing Quidditch to battling Voldemort.
Whether you’ve already read it or not, I recommend checking out the graphic and interactive MinaLima edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for added dark academia vibes. And, naturally, the book-to-movie adaptations are fall perfection.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 3.03, 3.19, 6.03 (the adaptation), 6.20
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
My review: ★★★★★
After three witches predict he’ll become king, Macbeth and his cunning wife decide to speed destiny up. One royal murder quickly snowballs into more, leaving hallucinations, paranoia, and a kingdom ruled by fear in their wake, as Macbeth desperately tries to outrun the consequences of his own ambition.
My take? This must read classic Shakespearean tragedy is excellent. In many ways, Lady Macbeth is actually the star of the show, and she’s as darkly ambitious as the witches are autumnally spooky. Both truly drive the titular character’s story, and it’s a wild one.
The 2022 movie adaptation starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand really helped me understand this one. I also always recommend No Fear editions of Shakespeare.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.13, 2.09, 3.03, 3.12, 4.18, A Year in the Life: Winter
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
My review: ★★★★★
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”
So begins the slow-burning, atmospheric thriller about a woman the reader never meets— Rebecca died before the story begins. This mystery transports us to a grand English estate, where her wealthy widower has just married a lower-class servant.
But this isn’t your average fall romance. There, the “ghost” of Rebecca lingers through the actions of the adoring staff, who can’t let go of her memory.
Turns out, there’s so much more to the truth behind Rebecca’s tragic death. The suspenseful final 100 pages will particularly leave you wanting more, more, more plot.
The Netflix adaptation reviews were mixed, but I really enjoyed it.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.11
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
My review:★★★★★
One of Time Magazine’s 100 best mystery and thriller books of all time and a Read with Jenna celebrity book club pick, The Secret History defines dark academia. It follows an outcast from California who is desperate to fit in at a preppy college in Vermont in the 1980s. He becomes friends with his fellow Greek classmates, and their obsession with the classics has deadly consequences. The crew completely spirals as they process the gravity of their actions.
This literary fiction book has it all, including some of the best dialogue I’ve read, and the ending makes your heart pound with suspense. It’s a modern classic. I dream of an adaptation.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 5.14
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
My review: ★★★☆☆
Filled with fall imagery and magic, Something Wicked This Way Comes tells the story of two young boys’ obsession with a Halloween-night carnival that brings dark, strange things to their town.
Fun fact: It was named after the famous line from Macbeth:
“With the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes.”
Behind this spooky tale are coming-of-age themes and another classic battle of good versus evil. There’s an older live-action Disney adaptation with all the fall vibes for family night, but watch it with older kids so they aren’t scared.
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 1.13, A Year in the Life: Fall
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
My review: not yet read
The New York Times Book Review called The Witches of Eastwick “a comedy of the blackest sort,” which feels perfect for Gilmore Girls fans. It’s also set in New England, so there’s that as well!
It follows three newly single female friends in a small Rhode Island town—Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie (like Sookie!)—who discover that they share supernatural abilities. Their lives grow increasingly unconventional when a charismatic man, Darryl Van Horne, arrives in town and begins relationships with all three women. So, just as the women embrace their freedom, they become entangled in Darryl’s increasingly disturbing influence.
I hear it’s darker than the 1987 movie adaptation, which is officially on my fall watch list now that I know it stars Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, and Jack Nicholson!
Find it on Gilmore Girls: 4.11
Prefer something short and sweet? Try some Edgar Allan Poe, as the Poe Society did: The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, or The Tell-Tale Heart.
