Top 100 characters in books I don’t want to read

I really don’t get why the NPR list of the 100 best characters in fiction since 1900 is currently at number 11 on daypop—my only real interest in characters in literature is when someone writes series about one really good character and one not-quite-so-good, so that I want to separate the Thomas Black from the Mac Fontana—but since Meryl asks, I’ll admit to my even-more-shameful 26% read score. When I first glanced at the list, I would have guessed much higher, but faced with counting the ones I had actually read, I realized that mostly I have a Cliff’s Notes level familiarity with them, from reading excerpts or criticism, but I haven’t ever sat down and plowed through them. Unlike the Random House top 100, this list doesn’t even give me the feeling that I should read the ones I’ve skipped.

4 Comments

Comment by ruzz #
2002-03-23 21:32:49

I love lists like this for two reasons:

1. They remind me how much time I DONT have to read anymore.

2. Remind me how many great books Ive read back when I DID have time.

sigh.

 
Comment by Shannon #
2002-03-25 22:59:43

Phil, shame on you. What happened to my ”one post a day” promise? Even if it’s some random geek stuff that I won’t understand, don’t leave me hanging.

Think about the kittens, Phil.

 
Comment by Phil Ringnalda #
2002-03-25 23:06:27

I was turning into something between a fan-boy and a stalker. Next time, before I declare ”__ Week”, I’m making sure I’ve got a week of stalker-free material. But, notice the new Googling you post?

 
Comment by Shannon #
2002-03-26 07:12:34

Fan-boy. I envision you waving palm fronds. Yes, I like that.

And by the way, I didn’t mean about me, dumbass, just in particular. But hey, if you want to stalk, I’ll sharpen my Ginsu knives and we can turn this motherfucker up right now. Heh.

 
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