I have been re-watching Friends for the hundredth time (no joke!) and I have noticed that there are actually a lot of book references. I thought it would be fun to talk about which books the characters talk about in the show and which books I think they would each love!
Monica
Magical Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Monica is definitely a neat freak so I think she would absolutely love The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but let’s be honest, she probably could have written this book!
Jules & Julia by Julie Powell
Monica is a chef, and is constantly cooking! I think she would be inspired by this novel and maybe even take the challenge of cooking a Julia Child recipe every day for year on for herself!
Ross
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
This is an obvious one! Ross is a paleontologist and he loves all things dinosaurs! He would be all about Jurassic Park!
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
There is an episode where Ross makes a reference to Lord of the Rings and Gandalf. I definitely think Ross would be a huge Lord of the Rings fan. I actually think he would love a lot of scifi/fantasy novels like Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Games of Thrones.
The Man’s Guide to the Art of Divorce by Michael E. Young
Is this too mean? Oh well! The man has been divorced three times! I am sure he has read this…
Chandler
Chicken Soup for the Soul
I think this picture says it all!
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Chandler can be such a Holden Caulfield! They are both sarcastic, and often pessimistic, though I much prefer Chandler as a characer! Chandler would probably relate to this book. Ironically, Holden’s sister in the book is named Phoebe!
Pheobe
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Can you not just picture Phoebe being very in to The Secret? She is spiritual in her own way and I can see her trying to follow The Secret. Whether or not she would be successful at it is another story!
Jane Eyre
In the episode ‘The One With Ross’s Sandwich,’ Phoebe and Rachel sign up for a literature class. One of the books that they are supposed to read (Rachel doesn’t) is Jane Eyre. It seemed as though Phoebe really enjoyed it and had a lot of interesting insights! I am sure she would enjoy a lot of other classics, such as Jane Austen, as well.
Rachel
Little Women by Louise May Alcott
There is an episode (The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends) where Rachel and Joey decide to read each other’s favourite book! Rachel has Joey read Little Women, which he ends up loving as well! I adore Little Women and it was cute the see them talking about it and getting emotional.
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Rachel works at Bloomingdale’s and then for Ralph Lauren. From the very beginning she has had a huge passion for fashion! She has even had some pretty horrible bosses so I think she would relate to The Devil Wears Prada and would find it hilarious!
Joey
The Shining by Stephen King
In the episode where Rachel and Joey exchange their favourite book, he makes her read The Shining! When it gets too scary for him he hides the book in the freezer, which I think is hilarious and adorable. Little Women ends up being so sad that he has to hid it in the freezer as well!
Comic Books
There are a lot of references to Joey reading comic books throughout the series. In one episode he says he reads comic books exclusively, in another he goes over to Rachel’s apartment to read his comics books because Monica and Chandler are at his place and he can’t concentrate, and he even dresses up as Superman in a Christmas episode!
I had so much fun doing this!! I might have to try something similar for other TV shows that I love as well! Do you love Friends too? Do you agree with my choices? I would love to hear what books you think each of these characters would enjoy!
