About Our Project

We’re a mom and daughter reading through all 339 books referenced on the Gilmore Girls together. And you’re invited to join us!

We created this book club because we need something hopeful. Something that’s sheer fun to focus on. (Maybe you’re with us on that.) We’re also starting this project because we love watching cheesy television together. Because we love junk food and coffee and martinis and wine and fancy desserts with names we can’t pronounce. 

But, most of all, we created this book club because stories matter. They tell us who we are and where we’ve been. They tell us who we might be and who we should never be. Stories help us dream and live better. They show us who we can become. And these stories are some great ones. A few we’ve read before and we can’t wait to find them again like old friends. But many are new to us. Some we’d never have picked up on our own and that’s good, too. In all this, we can’t wait to learn and laugh and cry and drink plenty of good coffee together. Please read along with us. The more, the merrier!

About Us

One of my favorite things to do growing up when I wasn’t climbing trees was to read. I read voraciously—everything I could get my hands on. And so when Torey was born, I couldn’t wait to pass on my love of stories. I read her the Little House series, the Chronicles of Narnia, and Strawberry Girl. Then we became one of those awkward home school families until she finished fourth grade which meant I actually got to teach her how to read. Our favorite lessons were history. We would put on “time travel” helmets and travel to ancient Egypt, Rome, and South America. 

Then Torey went to public school and we read together less. But we both kept on loving stories. Then she became a teenager and her dad and I put her in a private school where we hoped she’d get a better education than we’d had in our public school. And Torey got exposed to even more classic literature that I’d missed out on. (In my high school, we watched a film version of Julius Caesar instead of reading the play. No, I’m not kidding.) 

But she was a teenager. So we weren’t exactly having long heart to hearts about all the great books she was reading. But on the day she defended her high school thesis, I made her stop practicing for the millionth time and dance to Michael Jackson with me. Trust me, my dancing is always funny. And that’s when we started to be friends again. 

Today, we’re best friends and mother and daughter. So when I finally watched my way through her favorite show when it made it to Netflix, I started seeing why she loved it so much. And then when I saw that someone had compiled a list of all the great books featured in the show, I knew exactly what we needed to do…

Torey McDaniel Tipton

Torey works with the non-profit Allies Against Slavery, an organization committed to eradicating trafficking one city at a time. She has a master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from the Bush School at Texas A&M University. She’s married to Craig and they have a sweet rescue pup named, of course, Rory. She’s a 7 on the enneagram. Her favorite book from the GG reading list so far is Brave New World.

Terra McDaniel

Terra is a pastor, spiritual director, and writer. She has a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Houston and will complete an MDiv. with an emphasis in spiritual formation spring 2017. She’s married to Torey’s dad, Kyle. They have a maltese-javanese mix named Edie . She's an enneagram 4. Her favorite book from the GG reading list so far is Pygmalion.