If you’ve been paying attention to this space over the last couple of months, you already know that we’re fascinated by the reading habits of our favorite fictional characters. But what’s better than a simple reading list? A little informed dialogue, of course. Or even a few well-placed snarky comments. Recently, we spotted this excellent clip of The Wire‘s D’Angelo talking about The Great Gatsby over at Open Culture, and it inspired us to round up a few more clips of some of our favorite TV characters waxing poetic about their favorite (or least favorite) books. From simple proclamations of Dr. Seuss’s brilliance to Boardwalk Empire‘s very physical commentary on David Copperfield, we love seeing books we love figure into the drama. Click through to watch — and hey, you just might learn something.
D’Angelo’s prison book club on The Great Gatsby in The Wire.
Lindsay and Kim on On the Road in Freaks and Geeks.
The ladies of Sterling Cooper on Lady Chatterley’s Lover in Mad Men.
And Bert Cooper himself on Atlas Shrugged , also in Mad Men.
Brian Krakow and Jordan Catalano on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 in My So-Called Life.
Chalky White on David Copperfield in Boardwalk Empire.
Mr. Garrison, Cartman, Kyle and Stan on The Catcher in the Rye in South Park.
Stewie on The Da Vinci Code in Family Guy.
Dr. Dick Solomon on Fox in Socks in 3rd Rock From the Sun.
Rachel and Phoebe on Wuthering Heights in Friends.
Bonus: Rory Gilmore in all her bookish glory.