West High has various clubs ranging from sports, beauty and academics. A new and unique type of club has surfaced on our campus, the Rory Gilmore Book Club. Inspired by the American comedy-drama television series called “Gilmore Girls,” the club was formed in order to complete the Rory Gilmore Challenge, which was created by an Australian writer Patrick Lenton. Throughout all seven seasons the main character, a book loving girl, Rory Gilmore has either read or mentioned 339 books. In 2013 Lenton created a massive list of all the books referred to in the series and set out to read every single book on that list to complete the challenge. The list includes well-known books such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, etc. Many of the books found on the list can be checked out in our school library including Fahrenheit 451, Night, Lady Chatterleys’ Lover, etc.

Having shared the common interest in reading books and the television series, English teacher Ms. Marna Bynum and some students decided to create this club so book enthusiasts could come together to read and talk. When asked about their goal as a club, Bynum said, “to get as many people to read books and enjoy the excitement of books.” They are planning on achieving this goal by getting as many members as they can, so they could help create a book friendly environment in West High. “[The students] will be culturally literate,” Bynum said when asked how the club would benefit the students. Hoping to encourage the West High students to be as infatuated with literature as Gilmore, the club welcomes all students to join as they began their journey to read all books that have been mentioned in the series.

Though the club has recently started, they have already gained some members including senior Asha Birdi, who believes that joining the club is better than reading alone for it helps her share her love for reading with others. “I would’ve read these books eventually on my own, but now I have people to talk about them with and bask in their bookish glow,” said Birdi when asked on what she would hope to achieve from this club. They are currently reading the book Wicked:The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. The club meets every first Thursday of every month right after school in Bynum’s room in H-12. They are hoping that through this club people would be more interested in reading, “…We’ve already turned a non- reader into a lover so hopefully more will follow.”