Recs if you like The Secret of the Old Clock ...

Books of the millennial reader's childhood (not just scholastic book fair). Sticking with chapter books, and not picture books :) All books pre-2005 Taking recs!

This list gathers over 300 books mentioned or read on the show so you can sip coffee, order in, and read along with Rory Gilmore and the other Stars Hollow residents.

chapter books you probably read in elementary and/or middle school and you probably took the AR test as soon as you finished. cue nostalgia

I love finding mysteries that have cutesy names or are so nice and cozy you can just jump in. So I thought I'd add a little small town/cozy character mysteries so they are easy to find

Every book from the main Nancy Drew series. (Does not include spinoffs.)

A list of written works entering the Public Domain in the United States on January 1st, 2026! Go find a copy and get thee reading!

Look, if you are taking out racist nonsense, sure. But if you are adding texting for no reason, get out here with that bullshit.

Be sure to check which edition of these books you read if you don't want to be jump scared by weird incongruity. Recommendations heartily welcomed.

Bring on those Gen Y memories! A list of books likely to give people born between 1981 and 1996 a lot of feelings.

This list is for those of us who grew up eagerly awaiting the Scholastic Book Fair, watching Reading Rainbow (or Wishbone!), and dreaming of a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

Note: these are not books published in 1981-1996, but books that had a hold on the millennial generation.

Also check out the Dear America series, American Girl series & Royal Diaries series.

Classic novels for your (inner) child, with some modern staples in the mix. For reading yourself, reading aloud to little ones, and for those learning to read. Suggestions welcome, as always!

because sometimes they can do what proper detectives cannot 🤔 here’s a list of ya/mg (murder) mystery books where crimes get solved the right way!

books that remind me of my Gen Z childhood, not necessarily books published 1997-2012. i haven’t read all, but most.

feel free to leave recs in the comments!

A collection of slightly dark, spooky, or existential books for children whose imaginary friend just might have been a ghost, who fantasized about being an orphan, or who would have appreciated the Well for Sensitive Boys to gaze into. A mix of titles from my millennial childhood with some newer additions.

we have crime! we have thunderstorms! we have quicksand! we have romance sub plots! we have old timey investigators! we have some sexism and racism that definitely needs to be addressed by modern audiences…

a list of books about 'girl detectives'. for this list i specifically mean characters that are children or teenagers, not just female detectives.

now get that spyglass, sneak into that house and crack that code because the game is ON!

Keeping up with the 700+ books featured on Overdue since 2013

There was a period of time in the 90s when a specific trope was EVERYWHERE: The Weird Girl(s) Do Something Interesting. Me and my friends read. them. all. Which was fine because many Weird Girl Books were Part of Weird Girl Series with 50+ books. -- Due to the limitations of publishing in the past (and the present, lbr.), all of these protagonists will be presented as cis girls, and they will likely be white. If anyone knows of diverse picks for this list PLEASE suggest them in the comments!

all books that have been adapted to another medium. mostly film and TV but other adaptations might get mixed in.

classic literature for children that's worth reading as an adult

middle grade and young adult