When I was in high school, my mom and I had a tradition of watching every marathon and every new episode of “Gilmore Girls” together, without fail. Growing up, all of my siblings had left the house once I was a teenager, and it was just my mom and I. We were pretty close, and we related to the mother-daughter duo in “Gilmore Girls” (even though my mom hated Lorelai — which is pretty shameful, I know).

I thought this was unique to my mom and me, and it wasn’t until college that I encountered scores of people (women and men) who had this same tradition of sitting down every week with their mom to enjoy a show about a fast-talking pair of blue-eyed brunettes.

With the popularity of the show, it moved to Netflix, and after almost a decade of being off the air, a series of four films have been released: “Winter,” “Spring,” “Summer” and “Fall.” Now new generations of mothers and daughters are doing the same thing my mom and I did. Mention “Gilmore Girls” in a semi-populated room and see what happens. I guarantee there will be at least one person who exclaims, “I LOVE that show!”

“Gilmore Girls” taught me several of life’s lessons that I still carry with me today: Reading an extraordinary amount of books is cool; touching a strange boy’s hair (without his permission) is weird, but you’ll eventually get over the embarrassment; and it’s never a good idea to steal some rich guy’s boat, because then you’ll drop off the face of the earth and forget who you are, and all of your dreams, hopes, and ambitions and oh my gosh, Rory, get your stuff together already and quit being so selfish.

Wait. What was I talking about again? Oh yeah. Lauren Graham. The actress who successfully made everyone fall in love with not one, but two TV moms: Lorelai Gilmore from “Gilmore Girls” and Sarah Braverman from “Parenthood.” You probably recognize her from either of those delightful shows, but did you know that she has written not one, but two books? Yeah. Girlfriend is pretty talented.

The first book — “Someday, Someday, Maybe,” released in 2013 — is a novel loosely based on Graham’s own experiences as an actress working in New York City. The main character is a frizzy-haired (curls, am I right?) aspiring actress named Franny Banks, who makes a deal with herself to “make it work” in NYC in only 6 months, or she’ll pack her bags and move back home. With a cast of characters that are suited to a Nora Ephron movie, this book is incredible if you need a pick-me-up. I read it years ago, at a time in my life where I found it hard to smile, let alone laugh, and this book sparked some kind of light inside from its sheer enjoyability. I will forever be grateful for that.

Most recently,Graham published her long-awaited memoir: “Talking as Fast as I Can: From ‘Gilmore Girls’ to ‘Gilmore Girls’ and Everything in Between.” Like the title says, she discusses her experiences working on the set of “Gilmore Girls,” the original series, as well as the reboot. While these sections of the book are wonderful, and it’s great to hear her opinions on her soulmate co-star, Luke Danes (spoilers, sorry), the book really shines when she gets more personal about her life experiences. She spent part of her childhood on a houseboat (her dad was going through a phase), she met her now-partner Peter Krause (they co-starred on Parenthood) at an awards show, and she’s invented an alter-ego for herself named Old Lady Jackson that isn’t great with technology but is pretty good with dishing out meaningful advice.

I snorted with laughter reading sections of her memoir and openly cried during others. Not only is she talented on screen, but Graham can write (she was an English major, it makes sense). Listening to the audiobook was like sitting down and having a cup of coffee with Lorelai herself, where she made me laugh, cry, sometimes laugh-cry, and mostly I finished the book wishing there were more.

Graham has proven that she is more than her TV characters — she has brought so much to these roles that we have all fallen in love with. Much of Lorelai’s quirkiness and likability was just Lauren Graham being herself. Even if you’ve never watched “Gilmore Girls” (were you just asleep during the entire early 2000s or what?), I suggest you pick up her novel and especially her memoir. It never hurts to have an extra pick-me-up, or a new friend in book format.

-Kimberly Lopez is a reader’s services assistant at the Lawrence Public Library.