The Books We Lie About Reading

A study of the reading habits of 2,000 Britons found that 25% lied about reading a classic if they’d seen the TV serialisation. The respondents said they did it to make them appear more intelligent and so they wouldn’t miss out on participating in the conversation. This has implications for booksellers as it suggests that people do believe they should read the classics, but won’t if there has been a TV serialisation or a movie.

My own progress, or lack  of it, is noted in bold italics alongside the list of the 20 most lied about books. How do you compare?

  1. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland – Lewis Carroll unfinished
  2. 1984 – George Orwell  Read
  3. The Lord Of The Rings trilogy – JRR Tolkien Unread
  4. War And Peace – Leo Tolstoy Unread
  5. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy Unread
  6. The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle Unread
  7. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee Read
  8. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens Read
  9. Crime And Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky Unread
  10. Pride And Prejudice – Jane Austen Unread
  11. Bleak House – Charles Dickens Unread
  12. Harry Potter (series) – JK Rowling Part-read
  13. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens Unread
  14. The Diary Of Anne Frank – Anne Frank Unread
  15. Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens Read
  16. Fifty Shades trilogy – EL James Read to P61
  17. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie Unread
  18. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald Read
  19. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller Read
  20. The Catcher In The Rye – JD Salinger Read
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