Gift Guides, Movies, Book Recommendations

What’s in the book nooks of your favorite characters’ dreams

A guide to the great books they would live and pitch-perfect accessories

By Jesse Shamon December 7, 2018

Attribution: Design credit to Clara Echeverria-Ng, Property of The Tempest, Inc. [Image description: A collage of images featuring characters from Scandal, Legally Blonde, Jane the Virgin and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina with books, wine glasses, mugs. ]

I often wish I could live in a TV show or movie, just to spend more time in that world. The best characters can become so ingrained in our lives and consciousnesses that they begin to feel real, like any other friend you might text or get coffee with or maybe even swap books with. As an avid reader myself, I like to think that all of my favorite characters would also love reading, even if it’s not specified. So in the spirit of spending more time in the lives and universes of great characters, here are the books and reading essentials for 5 of them.

Leslie Knope- Parks and Recreation

[Image description: A smiling blonde woman sitting at a desk with an official seal and awards in the background, she turns her head and smirks] via NBC

The question is not if Leslie would buy Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, but how many copies she would buy for her galentines, coworkers, mentees, friends and waffle suppliers.

[Image description: cover of Michelle Obama's memoir titled Becoming. Michelle Obama is smiling with her chin on her palm on a light blue background.] — [Image description: Cover of Michelle Obama’s memoir titled Becoming. Michelle Obama is smiling with her chin on her palm on a light blue background.]

Becoming by Michelle Obama on Indiebound

Leslie would no doubt make time to read it even with her busy DC schedule, probably while being shuttled between meetings with this Notorious RBG travel mug in hand.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing a crown and text reading "Notorious RBG"] — [Image description: Metal travel mug with the image of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wearing a crown and text reading “Notorious RBG”]

Notorious RBG mug on Etsy

Jane Villanueva- Jane the Virgin

[Image description: A brown -haired latina woman wearing a flower in her hair smiles.]

Jane and books go way back, but her life can get a little hectic, meaning that she has to work to carve out time to read her favorite author.

[Image description: Cover of Isabel Allende's novel In The Midst of Winter. It shows a city street blurred by snowfall with pink flowers in the top right corner.] — [Image description: Cover of Isabel Allende’s novel In The Midst of Winter. It shows a city street blurred by snowfall with pink flowers in the top right corner.]

Despite her Miami roots, Jane has a soft spot for snow or at least the idea of it. This snow and pine soy candle would round out Jane’s literary fantasies while she reads Isabel Allende’s 2017 novel, In the Midst of Winter.

P.S. Did you know you can read the romance novel Jane spent the first three seasons writing? Check out Snow Falling, by Jane Gloriana Villanueva here.

[Image description: Soy candle in a glass jar with metal lid]

Elle Woods- Legally Blonde

[Image description: A blonde woman in a polka dot top and a blazer makes a concerned face.] via MGM

Elle Woods is a woman of many interests, as her application video showed, which is why I think after a long day in court she’d love curling up with a good book.

Elle is no stranger to productive anger, so she’d certainly resonate with Rebecca Traister’s newest book, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.

Good and mad 9781501181795 hr — [Image description: Cover of Good and Mad which has bold red font over a white background with repeating gray text that says “F*CK”.]

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger on Indiebound

The beautiful heels with which she crushes The Patriarchy aren’t so easy on the feet. She’d put her feet up in style, on this pouf– in pink of course.

[Image description: Crocheted poufs on the floor in yellow, orange, gray and pink.]

Olivia Pope- Scandal

[Image description: A black woman with wavy hair walks confidently down a a hallway wearing a black and white pantsuit.]

Olivia Pope is a brilliant fixer, so in her rare downtime, she’d want to read something equally brilliant that needs no fixing. Toni Morrison’s moving and complex novel Sula grapples with good and evil, adultery and trust, all themes Olivia is very familiar with.

[Image description: Cover of Toni Morrison's Sula. A black woman dressed in a floral dress, fur stole and hat stands in front of a yellow background with birds taking flight behind her.] — [Image description: Cover of Toni Morrison’s Sula. A black woman dressed in a floral dress, fur stole and hat stands in front of a yellow background with birds taking flight behind her.]

Sula by Toni Morrison on Indiebound

While reading she’d obviously want a glass of wine in a glass as modern and stylish as she is, like these modern wine glasses.

Arris 8oz Wine, Pair — [Image description: A pair of angular wine glasses with opaque gold matte bottoms but clear tops and stems]

Sabrina Spellman- Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

[Image description: A blond girl in a white dress sits in front of a cake covered in candles. She smiles.] via Netflix

Between two high schools, family obligations and the Dark Lord always after her, Sabrina’s got a lot on her plate, but she’s handling it fearlessly.

Though not on the list of banned books that she and her friends are eager to dive into, Sabrina gets a lot out of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. Like the main character, Sabrina is navigating moral dilemmas and secret worlds without the guidance of her parents.

[Image description: Cover of The Goldfinch which is offwhite and has the illusion of being torn in the middle to reveal a painting of a goldfinch.]

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt on Indiebound

Considering Greendale is riddled with cold breezes and given Sabrina’s penchant for sweaters, this knit blanket would no doubt be a reading time essential.