No, I did notice that it was pretty Euro-centric -- but then, my leanings are towards Euro-lit, so I can totally admit my bias here. That said, I'm reminded of a class discussion I had, waaaay back in the day when I was teaching, and learned that the entire class had no idea that "The Little Mermaid" was a book before it was a movie. (Also that one time a student argued with me that a "Galleon" was a coin when trying to identify metaphor and simile in the poem "The Highwayman." Sometimes pop culture gives me a headache.)

I would say that the list is probably composed of books that are (a) most frequently included on high school/college reading lists or (b) books that sell well. Or some combination of both. So it's probably not so much an arbitrary list as it is a list of books that are... most frequently read, and thus it's more shocking when someone's only read six books on the list. I know, for me, most of these were required reading for high school and college. Quite a few of them I wouldn't read again if my life depended on it. And quite a few books that I love aren't included on the list.

So I think it's a good list to get a sort of... base gauge for book-readin'. And the people who read a lot of stuff NOT included on the list... well, I kinda think the exercise doesn't apply, because (a) they know they read a lot and (b) have more eclectic taste.