It's amazing how you can fall in love with a book character. I love Ellie Arroway as well, and I love her most for taking apart that radio, for trying to teach the alphabet to the ants. It's amazing how you can fall in love with strangers and fit them to your preconceptions and ideals you've created from those wonderfully written books. Contact still ranks as my all time favorites. To me, it's a book more about religion and science and faith than anything else... And as an atheist, clear views on the subject are hard to come by...