Sunday, March 08, 2009

English Reader = Liar?

So, what good books have you lied about reading? According to a recent Reuters article, nearly two-thirds of Britons surveyed have lied about having read particular books. Their most popular book to lie about is George Orwell's classic 1984. (I swear) I re-read that after the start of the War in Iraq in 2003, to remind myself about the concept of doublethink. Other popular unread books were War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and James Joyce's Ulysses.

I don't know what books Americans have lied about reading. Anyone care to venture the books you've falsely claimed to have read?

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

2 comments:

Joe said...

I've never lied about books I haven't read-- but I certainly have allowed people to think I've read The Great Gatsby.

I'm getting to it, I swear!

Matt Sinclair said...

Oooh, good one, Joe! I'm in the same boat on that book, actually. (I read the first several pages when I was sitting at a friend's house but never finished.) That reminds me, for years, I let people think I'd read The Catcher in the Rye, though I've since read it. And there are several Shakespeare plays I've not read.