Do you lie about reading?

Apparently, half of all men and one third of all women lie about what they read, according to a recent Populus survey (spotted here). I can't understand why you would lie about your reading... unless you are a lazy student asked if you've done your tutorial reading (an understandable lie). What purpose does it truly serve?

Personally, I've never lied about what I have and haven't read, but has anyone else ever lied? If so, why?
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6 comments

  1. Mr. S11/12/2008, 15:13

    I think more more men lie about what they read because men try to impress on people more than women. For some absurd reason they might think it makes them look smart if they've read loads of books. I know for a fact my moms husband does it. He's got a massive book collection and told me he'd read all of them so I started asking him questions about some of the ones I had read and noticed quickly that he didn't have a clue about most of them. It's all an act, like most thins people do.

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  2. Madame Lefty11/12/2008, 16:31

    I've lied about finishing reading books for class. I'm so guilty on that front. Especially if the class went the whole, "the period punctuation mark represents the period all women experience," kinda discussion.

    But you and I've talked about the insanity of English class interpretation, so I'm sure I'm forgiven by you.

    The only real problem I do have, on the lying front is that sometimes I might mix up books. Let's say I think I read The Hobbit, when it was really just the LOTR series, by way of example. I'm not sure if that's because I've just read so many books and I am starting to confuse them all or lack of memory or a combination of the two. Usually, though if I talk about a book online, I do double check on Amazon to see if it's the same book.

    I especially confuse the classics. Some plots seem so similar that I may have thought I read it, but really it was something else entirely.

    Though, I don't think people like me make up the majority of the book liars. It's possible they make up a small percentage. =D

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  3. Elle12/12/2008, 10:58

    @ Mr. S - Personally, I really don't get the fibs - surely people should realise they will get caught out!

    @ Liza - There's a major difference between lying and confusing one book with another - it's not deliberate if you get confused, unlike claiming you've read something when you haven't; it's a genuine mistake! :0) You are definitely not a book liar!

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  4. Pam12/12/2008, 16:16

    I have lied about finishing a book for my English classes (either I fell asleep or had a rehearsal and couldn't finish it).

    I am the same as Liza. I mix up my books. I have read so many books that if a plot is similar to one that I have read, I will really believe that I have read that book. But later if I actually check the name of the book and found out that I did not read the book. I feel too embarassed to actually correct myself to the person.

    But other then that mistake, I don't lie about reading a book. I usually like to hear from other people about what they thought about it, so I can decide if I want to read it or not.

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  5. Daisy13/12/2008, 16:46

    I have to admit I have lied on occasion when I thought the person asking me if I'd read such and such a classic book would think I was a total imbecile if I said I hadn't read it. The lie usually comes hot on the heels of an admission of not having read one book, only to feel too scared to admit not having read the next one they mention!

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  6. Richard13/12/2008, 19:58

    I can't remember ever lying about books I've read. Mind you, I can't remember what I had for breakfast. I have lied about some of the stuff I've written but that's another blog post.

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