Books We Lie About Having Read

[Xanthe]

For me, it was "Main Street" by Sinclair Lewis. I was supposed to read the book and write a report on it in high school, but I could not get into the book at all, the characters annoyed me, and I was just not in the proper mindset to get anything at all from the story.

So, I read the first chapter, the last chapter, got the Cliff's Notes version of the book to find out what it was supposed to be about, and then used a middle chapter to pull the quotes out that I needed to back up the important points of the story.

Got an A on the paper.

As an adult, though, I have no compunction about admitting I haven't read a book to completion or staring blankly when people mention a book I'm unfamiliar with. None of my real-life friends have the same reading tastes that I do so I'm used to getting the blank stares from them, so I just return the favor.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Having said that, there are a few books I'm not that keen to admitting having read though. I'm not sure I'd deny it in the unlikely event someone would ask, but I sure wouldn't bring them up myself. (No, I' won't tell you what books!)

This is me.

Though I take it one step further, there are books I will never admit to having read.

[ProfCrash]

hehehe those books depends on who is asking...

I read everything for school, I was a goodie two shoes.

[Scott Nicholson]

The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Great Expectations.

Funny, once I got out of school, I never had to lie again. I would just stop reading after four pages...

[elemenoP]

I can't imagine a situation where I would want to lie about having read a book (and I didn't do it in school either... what can I say? I love to read).

When my (now-) husband and I were courting, I went to his apartment and his bookshelves were full of literature (including Ulysses). This was very attractive to me. It wasn't until MUCH MUCH later (when it was too late, lol) that I found out he hadn't read most of those books. He never lied about it, he bought them intending to read them, and just never got around to it. You can see how the magnitude of this only comes out over the course of years: I never grilled him on all the books, but every once in a while, I would say, "how was this book?" and he would say, "oh, I haven't read that one yet."

Ten years later he has still never gotten around to reading those books.

eP

[ProfCrash]

I'll get that and say "I stopped reading because ...." for many a book. I just cleared out four boxes of books most of which where classics that I had not read or would not re-read but had there because they looked good.

I could not give up all of my Poli Sci books. I read all of those in graduate school and just can't fully give up that part of my life.

[winkler]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I never believe anyone who says that they finished James Joyces's Ulysses. (sp) Everyone of my College Profs told me that they either barely finished it or never made it past the first quarter.

A pretty high percentage of the first editions of Ulysses have many or most their pages uncut, meaning no one has ever even opened those pages, let alone read the words on them. Hemingway claimed to be a big fan, but his copy is in a library in Boston with its pages uncut after the first few chapters.

In the novella Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, both members of the couple at the center of the book lie to each other about having read and loved Proust's In Search of Lost Time. They then decide to "re-read" the novel together and have to struggle to hide their bafflement from each other. It's an effective little section.

Oh, and lying about books you were supposed to read for school is in a different category of lying. It's like lying about having done your math homework, rather than claiming that you just love Dostoevsky, especially in the original French!

[winkler]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

When my (now-) husband and I were courting, I went to his apartment and his bookshelves were full of literature (including Ulysses). This was very attractive to me.

The worst thing about ebooks is that they're useless for wooing purposes.

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by Phogg

1984 was a decent book, and not that awfully long anyway.

Personally, I preferred Animal Farm.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The Bible

Actually I read that one cover to cover. It lets me have great fun pointing out to some people that what they believe isn't really what's in the bible.

[ebusinesstutor]

I don't have the issue of feeling left out when others talk about literary works they've read because I only read good books - science fiction and fantasy.

So I leave the book snobs to their boring pursuits while I visit other worlds. Poor souls.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

Actually I read that one cover to cover. It lets me have great fun pointing out to some people that what they believe isn't really what's in the bible.

The book that I believed every word of, until I read every word. :-)

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by frquixote

Personally, I preferred Animal Farm.

Really? I read 1984 in high school (no lie!) and loved it so much that I anxiously rushed to read Animal Farm, which kind of turned me off. Maybe I should try again, I'm more into the political now, so maybe it'd hit me differently if I were to read it today.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Scott Nielsen

How peculiar. Why does that make you proud?

I'm an entertainment snob.
I am pleased to thumb my nose at high culture if the stories are dull.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The Bible

That was actually an interesting read (the Old Testament in particular). Quite a lot of intrigue. I skipped/skimmed a bunch of the boring parts, though.