The Gilmore Book Club

 If there’s one thing that can help keep the Gilmore Girls nostalgia alive—outside re-binging the series in the fall, of course—it’s tackling the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. That’s all we’re about here at the Gilmore Book Club! With more than 400 books mentioned on the show and making up the challenge’s comprehensive list, from classic yet demanding titles like Anna Karenina to easier and more contemporary reads like He’s Just Not That Into You, this task can be rewarding—but it can also be difficult. 

Fortunately, you can make tackling Rory’s reading list more manageable with just a little bit of strategizing. In particular, this guide to the challenge recommends tracking your progress and joining reading communities like book clubs to motivate you and help you more fully appreciate the impact each book has to offer. However, it’s important to plan for your health and comfort, too. 

That’s especially true since reading all these books means you’ll be doing a lot of close work. Doing so will essentially lock your eyes in the same period for longer—and that makes you more vulnerable to eye strain. Also known as asthenopia, this can lead to tired, sore, and aching eyes. The discomfort and possible pain this condition may cause can take away from how much you enjoy completing the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, so you may want to take steps to prevent it. Try the following to keep your eyes comfortable:

Watch your posture 

Maintaining poor posture while reading can lead to more than just neck aches and back pain. Without natural spine alignment, you’re more prone to bodily fatigue, and the eyes are no exception. If you’re looking at a book at the wrong position and angle, you put unnecessary pressure on your eyes, which can lead to strain. That’s not to mention that poor posture can worsen blood circulation. As a result, your eye muscles will receive less of the oxygen and nutrients they need, and they’ll tire more easily. 

To prevent that, try to watch your back as you go through Rory’s long list of books. If you’re sitting at a desk, Harvard Health recommends preventing poor posture by pushing your shoulders down and back, aligning your head with that new position, and engaging your core muscles by pulling your belly button toward your spine. From here, experts recommend holding your book at a 60-degree angle and at least 15 inches away from your eyes. That’ll make it even easier to maintain good posture as you read.

Light your reading space 

This one’s pretty straightforward: if you don’t have enough light to see your book by, your eyes will strain just to see what’s on the page. You’ll thus want to have the best lighting possible. Of course, this will depend on the reading space you have. If you’re taking your book outdoors, overhead lights—including sunlight—will get the job done. At your desk? Consider a shaded lamp that focuses on the page so the bulb’s glare doesn’t cause you further eye discomfort at close quarters. And if you’re just chilling on a couch or armchair in the living room, try positioning a standing lamp directly behind where you’re seated. 

But what if you love reading before bed? That can be a bit more challenging, especially if you sleep next to someone who often turns in before you do. In that case, try an illuminating book light. This device attaches directly to your tome to provide better visibility of every page. Models like MEMSLUX’s AwesomePré even leverage a patented Magic Lighting Plate™ technology to direct light where you need it most, creating an almost private lighting environment that won’t disturb others. At the same time, it only emits 30 to 40 LUX of light compared to the 50 to 100 LUX from regular lighting fixtures, meaning it’s specifically designed to prevent eye strain. If you prefer e-books, you can also pick up an e-reader like the Kindle Paperwhite to similarly benefit from warm lighting features and adjustable brightness levels.

Don protective eyewear

In fact, tackling the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge with an e-book device isn’t a bad idea. It’s a great way to easily carry, hold up, and ultimately make your way through longer books on the list—like Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, which comes in at a whopping 753 pages. As mentioned above, it’s also a good gadget for reading in different light conditions. As with all screens, however, it also emits some blue light. Even if e-ink devices are backlit (unlike smartphones and tablets, which is why they can strain your eyes more easily), you’ll still be exposed to wavelengths of light that researchers at UC Davis Health closely associate with causing eye strain. Your risk of fatigue can be exacerbated if you pick up an e-book reader after spending time outdoors or using other digital devices for school, work, or leisure. 

That’s why it’s worth considering getting blue light glasses to protect your eyes as you make your way through Rory’s list. As their name suggests, these use blue light-blocking lens filters to prevent fatigue and discomfort even after long periods of using digital devices. The Ray-Ban 0RX7017, one of the bestsellers in Target Optical’s blue light glasses catalogue, shows that this eyewear can also accommodate these filters on both prescription and non-prescription lenses. That makes them particularly easy to procure and use in your everyday routine. Arguably the best part is that the filters on these glasses are potent enough to block blue light from even its biggest source: the sun. So whether you’re reading before bed or outdoors, you can prevent eye strain by simply donning this protective eyewear.

Take more breaks 

Another way to avoid eye strain while reading is to simply give your eyes more breaks from locking in on a book for too long. That’s why we highly recommend dividing reading sessions into chunks. By creating a schedule that breaks your reading goals down into smaller and more achievable tasks, you can make Rory’s reading list less overwhelming and even easier to accomplish. For example, you can simply set aside 30 minutes to an hour to read every day. That can help keep you on track throughout the challenge, especially if it’s time to tackle more challenging works like Proust’s Swann’s Way—which even Lorelai couldn’t bring herself to finish. This strategy also has the added benefit of ensuring your eye muscles are only locked into place for a specific period, preventing strain and fatigue. 

If you’re on a roll, though, you can also give your eyes more breaks even in the middle of your next binge-reading session. In particular, eye care experts from the American Optometric Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommend using the 20-20-20 rule. It’s a quick and simple procedure: look away from your book every 20 minutes and stare at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Doing so helps your eye muscles move more as they adjust from near to far vision, keeping them strong and less likely to tire so easily. Following the 20-20-20 rule can be as simple as setting a timer on your phone, so this tip is definitely worth a try if you want an easy way to keep your eyes comfortable.