Real talk: I believe the reason people find Joe Goldberg sexy even though he's an actual sociopath is because he loves books so much. (Okay, the part where he's played by Penn Badgley doesn't hurt either, but I maintain it's mostly the books.) After all, there are few things sexier in this world than a man who reads, and Joe reads a lot. The good news is if you happen to be a bibliophile with a soft spot for Joe's many literary references, then you've got plenty of reasons to be excited, because Season 3 of You is basically catnip for book lovers.
This time around, Joe gets his literature fix by volunteering at Madre Linda's local library where he repairs rare books and becomes infatuated with the librarian, Marianne. As a result, this season is so packed with books it deserves its own reading list. Whether it's Marianne waxing poetical about The Little Prince or Theo shocking Joe with his knowledge of David Yates, the list of books mentioned in Season 3 is long and full of classics.
If you want to read along with Joe and his new neighbors, then check out the list below for a rundown of all the books that were referenced this season.
Episode 1: "And They Lived Happily Ever After"
Joe kicks off the season with a little bit of light stalking of his neighbor Natalie, and reading The Great Gatsby to his newborn son, Henry. This leads to a weird mishmash of novels being name-dropped in the premiere including Gone Girl and The Adventures of Frog and Toad.
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
- The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin
- The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin
- Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
- Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Adventures of Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Episode 2: "So I Married an Axe Murderer"
In the wake of cleaning up Love's mess, Joe doesn't have much time for reading, but he still manages to swipe two books from the library's rare book collection. One is for him to repair and send to Ellie for cash, and the other is to impress Marianne with his restoration skills.
- Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen
- Wildflowers of New York by Unknown
Episode 3: "Missing White Woman Syndrome"
When Henry faces a medical emergency, Joe contemplates the nature of being good and whether or not his son is suffering for his sins. And he does all of this while looking to a certain famed Harper Lee classic for advice on being a caring father.
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Episode 4: "Hands Across Madre Linda"
With all of Madre Linda's most prominent residents heading to the woods to search for Natalie, there's not a lot of time for book talk in episode four. However, Marianne does use Charles Dickens as an excuse to get her flirt on with Joe.
- Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Episode 5: "Into the Woods"
The Marianne and Joe flirting intensifies as they discuss their favorite books they read as kids. Meanwhile, Theo proves men can like books and not be serial killers when he drops a Yates reference.
- Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Revolutionary Road by David Yates
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Episode 6: "W.O.M.B."
Between the flashbacks to Joe's troubled childhood and the sprinklers going off at the library, there are a ton of books mentioned in the season's sixth episode. But the one Easter egg you have too look out for occurs as Joe is shelving books. As he and Marianne discuss her terrible ex, you can see a book called Avenging Angel (how Joe sees himself) on the shelf, and then as she circles around to talk to him it's covered up by Truly Madly Guilty (a perfect summation of how he feels as he gives in to his latest infatuation).
- The Perks of Being a Teenage Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown
- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
- Avenging Angel by Bill Zahren
- Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Episode 7: "We're All Mad Here"
This episode's titles come courtesy of Joe breaking into Marianne's ex-husband's place, and an Alice in Wonderland-themed gala that gets tense, fast.
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- The Complete Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
- The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
- The Science of Addiction by Carlton K. Erickson
Episode 8: "Swing and Miss"
In episode eight, Joe prepares for a polyamorous encounter the only way Joe knows how: by consulting a book for advice.
- More Than Two by Eve Rickert and Franklin Veaux
- Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
Episode 10: "What Is Love?"
Joe finally leaves suburbia behind in the finale, but before he goes, he takes the time to drop a Shirley Jackson quote in his inner monologue.
- The Lottery & Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
There you go, You fans, now your TBR should be good to go at least until Season 4 premieres.
Images: John P. Fleenor/Netflix; Netflix