So, I was browsing through facebook yesterday, like I do every day when I'm not reading, and I stumbled upon a really interesting article written in Telegraph Culture website, called The book most people have lied about reading – and it's not War and Peace.
What was interesting for me was the number of people who lie about reading a certain book. The bookworm that I am, I find it pretty stupid to lie about such things.
First off, books are written to be read, but I don't think every single book should be read by everybody. It's impossible and it's not something necessary. Even if a book is really popular or a well know and well loved classic, it does not mean you're stupid for not reading it...
What makes you look stupid is saying the opposite.
What I want to ask you is have you ever lied about reading or not reading a certain book?
Personally I've never lied about this and I don't see the point in doing it. Which reminds me a really awkward situation in high-school and my literature teacher. She asked me if I've read one of the works we had to discuss and I said no, but she continued asking me questions about the story and I was like
Why was she torturing me, I don't have a clue...
And another question!
Which of the top 20 lied about books have you read?
I've read a total of 6, which is kind of embarrassing, but I am planning on reading some of the other books in the list soon. If you are up for a buddy read on any of my unread books, leave a comment.
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
You're better than me! I've only read one and 3/4! (To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice) I normally say that I've read Pride and Prejudice because I only had about 50 so pages left, but I don't consider that lying per se. However, I think I was just too young to fully appreciate Pride and Prejudice, so I am thinking of rereading it this year or the next. Great post Zhana! It was so original. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you ^.^
DeletePride and Prejudice is by far the only book I can say is exactly like its movie adaptation. Everything in the TV mini-series of Pride and Prejudice is exactly the same as the book. It's short and fun to read book, so good luck with the reread ;)
Thanks Zhana! I've heard amazing things about the movie and TV mini series, and I thankfully haven't spoiled myself!
DeleteIt didn't even occur to me that people lie about what they read or not ... like, what's the point of it?! Okay, in school I did that too when we had to read some boring books but it had the exact same outcome as for you - I was asked questions that I couldn't answer, ugh.
ReplyDeleteAs of the list, I'm not even as good as you - I read 4 books: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter (although so far only the first 3 1/2 books) and The Diary of Anne Frank. Oh well, some others are on my TBR list though. :D
Yvonne @ A World Between Folded Pages
I know right. I don't understand those people...May be because we are bookworms and like reading, instead of pretending to have read something :D
DeleteYAY ZHANA, YOUR FIRST DISCUSSION!! *dances around excitedly*
ReplyDeleteAND ITS SUCH A GOOD TOPIC TOOOOO! :D
I've actually only lied about one series there...JRR Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings trilogy! I've read most of it... I just skipped like most of the middle section of the last book! >.<
Great discussion, Zhana - not something a lot of people think about, I reckon! :D
Thank you ^.^
DeleteThe Lord of the Rings trilogy is massive. I totally understand why you skipped parts of it. I've finally read it last year and I liked it, but it's huge :D