Coffee at Luke's: An Unauthorized Gilmore Girls Gabfest

Novelist Crusie resumes editorial duties in this follow-up to her previous Smart Pop series entries (Flirting with Pride and Prejudice, Totally Charmed), a collection of essays on the television series Gilmore Girls, a small-town mom-and-daughter dramedy known for clever, rapid-fire dialogue and rich relationships. This title arrives just in time for grieving fans-after seven seasons, Gilmore recently aired its final show-but is a typically mixed bag. Charlotte Fullerton's defense of the show's cantankerous elder stateswoman, Emily, is an insightful look at ""a fascinatingly complex, layered fictional human being."" Sara Morrison's ""Your Guide to the Real Stars Hollow Business World,"" in which she compares the Connecticut town of her teenage years with Gilmores' setting to determine which businesses would survive, is amusing but aimless. Further off the mark is Jill Winters' exploration of the static life of a fictional town (""Stars Hollow does not seem to be a place where one can evolve"") in which she seems to forget that she's discussing a comedy-drama, not real life-a mistake she's not alone in making. This title may not have a long shelf-life, but disenfranchised Gilmore devotees-likely the most bookish TV fans a bookseller could hope for-are sure to give it attention.