1. Adam Trask, Kino, Mack, Tom Joad, and Rosasharn. Sinclair Lewis John Steinbeck John Dos Passos William Carlos Williams

2. Rachael Robinson, Sheila Tubman, Margaret Simon, and Fudge. Dorothy L Sayers Susan Isaacs Harper Lee Judy Blume

3. Ashenden, Philip Carey, Mildred Rogers, and Larry Darrell. Somerset Maugham Carol Shields Evelyn Waugh John Cheever

4. Jacqueline Kirby, Vicky Bliss, Amelia Peabody, and Ramses. Elizabeth Peters Mark Twain Agatha Christie William Peter Blatty

5. Carmen Sternwood, Moose Malloy, Joe Brody, and Philip Marlowe. Ross Thomas Lillian Hellman Dashiel Hammett Raymond Chandler

6. Bob Dollar, Quoyle, Aunt Agnis, and an accordion. Margaret Mitchell Annie Proulx Ngaio Marsh Dorothy Parker

7. Mulvaney, Mahbub Ali, Disko Troop, Stalky, Kimball O'Hara, and Baloo. Rudyard Kipling H. Rider Haggard Edgar Rice Burroughs Anthony Hope

8. Sgt. Milton Warden, Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Angelo Maggio, and Big Un. Norman Mailer James Jones Upton Sinclair Philip Roth

9. Aunt Gin, Robert Dietz, Kinsey Millhone, Henry Pitts, and Rosie the tavern owner. Diane Mott Davisson Sue Grafton Mary Higgins Clark Linda Howard

10. Liz Headleand, Alix Bowen, Esther Breuer, Alison Murray, and Rosamund Stacey. Guy de Maupassant Tom Clancy Kurt Vonnegut Margaret Drabble

11. John Watson, Professor Moriarty, Professor Challenger, and Sir Henry Baskerville. Arthur Conan Doyle Bram Stoker Oscar Wilde P.G. Wodehouse

12. Lazarus Long, Valentine Michael Smith, Podkayne, and Andy Libby. Arthur C. Clark Steven King Robert A. Heinlein Danielle Steele

13. Thomas Fowler, Alden Pyle, Major Scobie, Wormold the vacuum cleaner salesman, and a whiskey priest. T. S. Eliot Gerald Durrell E. M. Forster Graham Greene

14. Aunt March, Laurie, Professor Bhaer, Demi and Daisy. Harriet Beecher Stowe Emily Murphy Margaret Sanger Louisa May Alcott

15. Bernie Rhodenbarr, Matthew Scudder, Evan Michael Tanner, and Martin Ehrengraf. L. Ron Hubbard C. S. Lewis Laurence Block J. M. Barrie

16. Chet Morton, Iola Morton, Callie Shaw, Fenton Hardy, and Aunt Gertrude. Roberton Davies Robert Baden-Powell G. A. Henty Franklin W. Dixon

17. Robert Jordan, Frederic Henry, Catherine Barkley, Jake Barnes, and Nick Adams. F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway William Faulkner Willa Cather

18. Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Dirk Gently and the Vogons. Ian Fleming John Updike Max Brand Douglas Adams

19. Wackford Squeers, Mr Pecksniff, Mrs Gamp, Joe Gargery, and Mrs Jellyby. Charles Dickens Sir Walter Scott W. M. Thackeray R. F. Delderfield

20. Jerle Shannara, Ben Holiday, Questor Thews, and Wil Ohmsford. Terry Brooks Jim Davis Terry Pritchard A. E. van Vogt

21. Sam Cayhall, Rudy Baylor, Mitch McDeere, Darby Shaw, and Reggie Love. Laurence Sanders Sandra Brown Nancy Taylor Rosenburg John Grisham

22. Susan Silverman, Hawk, Jesse Stone, Spenser, and Sunny Randall. Dennis Lehane Linda Barnes Jeremiah Healy Robert B. Parker

23. Peter Brownrigg, Kit KIrkstone, Elfwyn, Sue and Bill Melbury, and Mark Apperley. Henry Treece Geoffrey Trease Enid Blyton Frances Hodgson Burnett

24. Travis McGee, Meyer, Chookie McCall, and the Alabama Tiger. Dom Delillo John D. MacDonald Tom Robbins Ken Kesey

25. Dorothy Hare, Winston Smith, Mr Jones, Napoleon, and Snowball. Aldous Huxley George Orwell H. G. Wells Anthony Powell