This Is What Our Favorite Fictional TV Characters Would Read In Real Life

Dr. Mindy Lahiri: Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

So, I just started The Mindy Project and am only truly familiar with season one Dr. Lahiri but that’s neither here nor there. The quote from the episode “Hooking Up Is Hard” will tell you a great deal about her personality and literary tastes: “People seem to be having these awesome sex lives, and I’m just trying to find a life partner to go apple-picking with. What’s wrong with me?” Lol, same girl. Mindy would definitely be reaching for Modern Lovers for the same reasons I did: the cover is a bright and fun turquoise (go ahead, judge us–Mindy has a medical degree and I have a monthly MetroCard!) and the term “love” is in the title so BOOM-INTRIGUE. This novel is enticing in its concepts regarding young love, intellectual property, and how to maintain your own autonomy after having children. She’d be into it.

Leslie Knope: My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, and Wendy W. Williams

If Parks and Recreation were still on today (as it should be–it should be on until the day I leave the earth) there is no way that the queen of the supreme court and Leslie Knope would NOT have a play date. I just watched the episode of Parks and Recreation last night when in the infancy of their relationship, Leslie and Ben are role playing and things get PARAMOUNT when she channels her version of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Honestly, Leslie Knope and Parks and Rec can do no wrong..ever, so I’m glad we had this talk.

April Ludgate: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

April is like a human rubix cube. She’s all “I’m going to murder you with my bangs and witchcraft” to your face, but has an immensely caring and loving spirit buried underneath. She’s quite intelligent and would definitely be reading Kaur’s emotional and semi-dark poetry collection. She would never let anyone know, though. This is the woman who once asked if they were going to kick off Leslie Knope’s bachelorette party by taking a blood oath and murdering another person. She would keep her poetry habits to herself.

Meredith Grey: Behind The Gates of Gomorrah: A Year With the Criminally Insane by Stephen Seager

Meredith is a lil baby genius. She went to Dartmouth and figured out it was George O’Mailey who got hit by the bus!! Grey’s Anatomy has been around for approximately 47 years, and Meredith has survived the Kyle Chandler bomb thing, a man with a mustache shooting her husband in front of her, her aforementioned husband’s death by the hands of an eighteen-wheeler (addendum: someone should really check on Shonda Rhimes), aaaand the constant rainy climate of Seattle. With all that being said, Meredith can not only handle a dark and challenging caliber of literature; she welcomes it. This is the queen of dark and twisty, and I just remembered the time she told McDreamy’s mother that she was “the kind of crazy person who feels bad for serial killers”. This was the episode when she stood in front of Patrick Dempsey and scream-cried “I KNOW YOU DON’T GET ME, I DON’T EVEN GET ME.” Lol, same again.

Cristina Yang or April Ludgate: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

This sixty-page psychological brain twisty is right up Dr. Yang’s alley. She has an MD and a PhD, so she would most likely read and predict the TWIST to this one in about 24 minutes…on a lazy day. I don’t even think it would take her 24 minutes. Whatever. It’s enticing and unapologetic, just like Dr. Yang.

Issa Dee: Why Not Me? By Mindy Kaling

Insecure is one of the best shows on television. It’s entertaining, authentic, and HILARIOUS. What makes Issa Dee so lovable is that she is so outwardly human. When she fucks up and panics about fucking up, we are reminded of the times when we fuck up and panic about fucking up. She’s attempting to walk the line of doing meaningful work at her nonprofit job while resisting the urge to kick her naively racist co-workers. She’s approachable, intelligent, and looking for more–which is exactly what Kaling exhibits in her second book.

Molly Carter: Lucky You by Erika Carter

Molly is walking brilliance and beauty. She has no time for bullshit and has an excellent sense of humor. Molly’s loyalty to Issa throughout the first season of Insecure proves just how much she values genuine friendship. Molly would pick up Lucky You for its unique sense of humor and
psychologically-infiltrating content.

Jessica Day: What Color is Your Parachute? By Richard Nelson Bolles

Jess is zany as hell. You never know what she’s going to do next. She literally is your friend who has been a seventh grade teacher for a decade but informs you one day that she’s considering astrophysics as her next career-move. Whatever. You gotta respect it. Jess would be reading this because she’s naturally curious and one of those people who wants to do what she loves and love what she does, YOU KNOW?

And that is what I imagine some of our favorite leads would be reading. They’re like us in that they’re constantly searching for challenges, but also searching for escapism. They want to be better. Sometimes they want to be saved; sometimes they want to save themselves. They’re unique and possess great depth, as do the books that I believe they would enjoy.