I had considered myself well-read until.....

[GulPlum]

"Rachel Bray" <bray.262 at o...> wrote:
> I printed off the 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900 
> 
http://www.npr.org/programs/totn/features/2002/mar/020319.characters.h
tml  )

> After going through and highlighting all that I've read on 
> their list.....I am rather embarrassed.  I've only read 18 
> of them and 6 of those are considered "children's" books 
> (Winnie the Pooh, Cat In the Hat, Harry, etc.) and most of 
> the 18 was required reading in high school. And I'm a 
> blasted English major for goodness sake!  Tis a sad, sad 
> day indeed.  :-/  Rather depressing.

I don't know whether this will depress you any more (I hope not) but 
I counted 26 (I was helped by having had to read several of the 
French books at school, and being a Slav, I can also notch up some of 
the Russians). Not having been subject to an American curriculum, 
though, I've never read Catcher in the Rye or the Kerouac. I keep 
promising myself I should, though.

Something I found interesting was to corelate that list with the 100 
best Novels list published last year (?) by Random House:

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100best/novels.html

(I didn't do a specific study so I leave everyone to draw their own 
conclusions).

As usual, lists like these are as telling for what they choose to 
leave out. Where are Tolkein's characters? Where's Alex from "A 
Clockwork Orange"? Claudius from "I, Claudius"? Montag 
from "Farenheit 451"? And that's just off the top of my head, without 
reference to either list.

P.S. Lolita is worth the read, despite the subject-matter.