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Listopia > The Books People Lie About Having Read
"You might expect hefty Russian tome War And Peace to be the book that Britons are most likely to have lied about reading.
But children's favourite Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is responsible for the most literary fibs, according to a BBC survey."
Inspired by a 2013 survey. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...
2016 survey
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what...
How many have you read? The top 20 lied about books
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
1984 - George Orwell
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy - JRR Tolkien
War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Harry Potter (series) - JK Rowling
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Diary Of Anne Frank - Anne Frank
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Fifty Shades trilogy - EL James
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
The Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger
But children's favourite Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is responsible for the most literary fibs, according to a BBC survey."
Inspired by a 2013 survey. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...
2016 survey
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what...
How many have you read? The top 20 lied about books
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
1984 - George Orwell
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy - JRR Tolkien
War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Harry Potter (series) - JK Rowling
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Diary Of Anne Frank - Anne Frank
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Fifty Shades trilogy - EL James
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
The Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger
Derya
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72 friends
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132 friends
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130 books
3 friends
3 friends
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4163 books
62 friends
62 friends
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364 friends
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678 friends
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Lisa
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Jan 27, 2017 07:09PM
Do people lie about having read 50 shades, or about having not read it?
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Lisa wrote: "Do people lie about having read 50 shades, or about having not read it?"Maybe when they express their opinions about this book (and it seems everyone has some) someone asks if they'd read it. And then they have to say they have, even though it's not true!
I dunno. I haven't.
I've read 15 out of 26 (or 12 out of the 20 mentioned in the description) and six more on my TBR list. And I never lie about having read a book :-) I haven't counted the bits of Ulysses I've read, nor the first part of Fifty Shades of Grey (which, by the way, was more than enough for me).Why should one lie about something like this anyway?
16 of 26 and 6 are on my to read list, will never go near 50 shades though
I don't see the point in lying about having read something. You either have or haven't; what is to be gained in lying about reading? Do you want to seem more intellectual or is it about fitting in with a group? I'll admit it: I've NEVER READ HARRY POTTY and I NEVER WILL. I read the first two books, was totally disinterested, and never read another. And although I've read bits and pieces of Alice in Wonderland, I won't put it on my Read shelf because I didn't actually read it cover to cover. I've also never read Anna Karennina, War and Peace (though I saw the movie), 50 Shades of Whatever, The War of the Worlds or Dangerous Liaisons (though once again, I saw the movie).Don't lie about reading books; there's really no point, and it will only alienate you from people who actually have read something and really want to talk about it.
Rachel Adiyah wrote: "Don't lie about reading books; there's really no point ..."I agree, there is no point. But I must say I've read several of the books you mention and liked them (a lot), for different reasons.
There are some books I've never finished, although I'd like to finish most of them. Again, for different reasons.
~☆~Autumn♥♥ wrote: "Rachel Adiyah wrote: "I don't see the point in lying about having read something. You either have or haven't; what is to be gained in lying about reading? Do you want to seem more intellectual or i..."When I was in college - and graduate school, for that matter - I never skimmed a single book. I either read it or I didn't, and if I didn't I just never said anything in class. But I would say that 90% of the time, I would read what I was assigned. Getting top grades was more important to me than anything else. If you lie about reading a book, how are you going to analyze it if you have to apply literary criticism? How are you going to write about statecraft in East Asia if you haven't read the assigned texts? I'm a very competitive student and I never rely on "notes". For that matter, I have a good memory and except in Japanese language classes and the few science and mathematics classes I took (not that many) I never took notes.
~☆~Autumn♥♥ wrote: "What if you have to read 30 hard tomes in one semester? What do you do????? I have had to skim. Ever skimmed?"If you're in college and you want a future you'll just get down to it. You picked those classes, now you're going to have to read the material, participate in discussions, and do anything else to get that A. You'll read at least 25 of those 30 tomes. Your social life can come later. It all depends on this question: what kind of student do you want to be? This is especially relevant if you want to go to graduate school and your college grades will matter greatly.
Rachel Adiyah wrote: "If you're in college and you want a future you'll just get down to it. You picked those classes, now you're going to have to read the material, participate in discussions, and do anything else to get that A. You'll read at least 25 of those 30 tomes. Your social life can come later. It all depends on this question: what kind of student do you want to be? This is especially relevant if you want to go to graduate school and your college grades will matter greatly. ..."I was thinking exactly the same thing myself... Well said.
@~☆~Autumn♥♥ " ... don't assume that everyone on here is young! ... "
Well... Although I'm not quite your age, I'm certainly not what would be considered 'young'...
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