I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot.

That's Holden Caulfield, of course. When Salinger died on Jan. 27 of this year, I pulled out my worn high school copy of Catcher and read it again. I enjoyed it almost as much as I did the first time I read it. You can't help but shake your head right along with Holden about all the phony, stupid, sad things going on. And he makes me smile.

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though. I wouldn't mind calling this Isak Dinesen up."

I don't think Salinger would've taken Holden's call. If it's been a while, you should read Catcher again.