Read on for my reading recommendations for You’ve Got Mail characters! (And a little bit of fanfiction about what they’re up to 22 years after the events of the movie.)
Reading Recommendations for You’ve Got Mail Characters
Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan)
Joe Fox (Tom Hanks)
Patricia Eden (Parker Posey)
Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear)
Kevin (Dave Chappelle)
George (Steve Zahn)
Christina (Heather Burns)
Birdie (Jean Stapleton)
And that’s it! Once you’ve read your way through all these reading recommendations for You’ve Got Mail characters, you might try reading more enemies-to-lovers stories. Or just escape back into the world of 1990s Upper West Side by rewatching the movie. In my biased opinion (as a former bookseller named Kathleen who now works in children’s publishing), the movie does still hold up thanks to Ephron’s sharp dialogue and the chemistry between Ryan and Hanks. And don’t cry, shopgirl, because bookstores are opening up again post-COVID and we’ll be able to wander in them (and blush at cute strangers) to our hearts’ content.
So what do I think Kathleen needs to read in 2021? I wouldn’t recommend her a children’s book (she’s read them all!), but Uzma Jalaluddin’s Hana Khan Carries On, a charming adult novel inspired by You’ve Got Mail and set in the restaurant world. Hana works at a halal restaurant — the only one in her neighborhood — and dreams of becoming a radio broadcaster. Right now, she’s working on her podcast and developing a friendship with one listener in particular. When a new halal restaurant opens in the area, complete with a handsome young owner, things get complicated. And when Hana’s aunt and cousin arrive from India for a visit, well, they get really complicated.
I’d recommend Joe read something that takes him out of his narrow rich white man perspective. I’m thinking They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib: very smart essays that seek to better understand our world through music and other forms of pop culture.
So what’s a successful business lady who’s read everything going to read in 2021? I think Patricia needs something that will encourage her to question her assumptions about her industry. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris is just the thing. Harris’s buzzy debut is an electric thriller set in the publishing world. It’s about Nella, an editorial assistant in her 20s who’s both used to and fed up with being the only Black employee at a prestigious publishing house. But when Hazel, another Black woman, is hired and a series of events make it clear that the new girl is becoming the office darling, Nella starts receiving notes telling her to leave her job. As she digs into what’s going on, she discovers there’s a lot more at stake than just a job.
For Frank, a journalist who seems ready to question authority, I think Ijeoma Oluo’s Mediocre would do nicely. Oluo investigates the last century of American history and how white men have created systems that disadvantage women and people of color. This book might even get Frank to reflect a little on his own privilege.
Kevin is quick-witted and tolerates Joe’s shenanigans, but we don’t know much about him. I’d love a version of You’ve Got Mail from his perspective…but without that, all I have to go on is the dating advice he gives Joe and his incredulous reaction to the whole “I accidentally fell in love with my archnemesis” thing. Kevin seems like someone who appreciates the absurdity of the people around him, and he’s one of the only Black characters in this movie, so for him I suggest You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by sisters Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. Amber lives in New York and Lacey lives in their home state, Nebraska, where she endures ridiculous and problematic encounters with people wanting to touch her hair or mistaking her for other Black women. The sisters share their stories in this hilarious essay collection.
His book recommendation is The Midnight Library, a book lover’s book. Imagine a library with an infinite number of books. Each one contains the story of another life you could have had. What would you do if you could read them and find out what else is possible? Nora Seed is faced with this choice as she travels through the Midnight Library, looking for answers about what would make her life truly fulfilling.
Based on this, I’m recommending Christina a novel about bookstores, starting over, and falling in love: The Bookshop of Second Chances. Thea has been left by her husband and fired from her job. Deciding she needs a chance, she heads to Scotland, where a distant great-uncle has left her an antique book collection and his home. The cottage is quaint, the scenery is beautiful, and the locals are welcoming. All except bookshop owner Edward, to whom Thea was hoping to sell some of her uncle’s collection. As they bicker, Thea realizes that she’s starting to feel more alive than she has in a long time — but does that mean her temporary getaway should turn permanent?
Birdie is very rich, according to her, so after the shop closes I think she just enjoys her cozy New York life and continues to give Kathleen (and now Joe) both maternal comfort and wacky stories. What does a woman with tons of her own interesting stories need to read? A novel that combines eternal life with bookstore intrigue, of course! The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows Addie, a young woman who makes a desperate bargain in 1714 and is granted to eternal life — but cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Addie spends the next few hundred years having adventures across continents, determined to leave her mark somehow, until she meets a young man in a bookshop who remembers her. A novel about adventures spanning oceans seems perfect for wise Birdie.
