Terminalcoffee discussion

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs...

'Fess up, literary sinners!

jane eyre. i was supposed to in school but i never really did i don't think. i seem to remember admitting to reading it when it comes up. wait, maybe the jungle by upton sinclair too.

I definitely lied about reading East of Eden in High School. I can't think of any others, though.

I've skimmed a couple of books when they didn't hold my interest, but not literary classics.

I read Jane Eyre while I worked at Sunglass Hut at an almost dead mall.

I've never read 1984 or Animal Farm. I keep meaning to catch up.

Moby Dick. I read large chunks of it, but skipped some chapters (although that is how it was assigned to us), so I know the story but I didn't really read it.

I don't think I have. Why bother lying about something like that?

I don't think I've outright lied about a book, but I've certainly acted as if I've read certain things even when I haven't. Cited books I haven't read, etc.

I was supposed to read Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America in French, too, not just English, before writing my senior paper on it. But it's really, really long, and it was hard enough writing the paper in French...

I don't think I have ever lied about reading a book, or about having not read a book although I'm not real proud that I read Twilight.

Ooh. That's a fun question too - which books do you pretend you haven't read?

I don't lie about the books I have read, but I think I am deluding myself about the books I plan to read. My TBR list is huge, and I have not even bothered to add many of the books we have around the house that I would like to read.

Pat wrote: "I don't lie about the books I have read, but I think I am deluding myself about the books I plan to read. My TBR list is huge, and I have not even bothered to add many of the books we have around ..."

I recently overhauld my TBR list. Went and deleted most of it. Never lied about reading a book.

What was the book, Barb?

Barb wrote: "I think I lied about finishing a book in HS, but neither my teacher or any of my classmates hadn't read it, so nobody knew the difference when I presented my report. I ended up re-reading and fini..."

I spent my OAC year doing reports on books I wanted to force my stupid teacher to read. She probably has some books she could add to this list.

Romeo and Juliet in high school. I watched the movie before taking the test.

I'm the geek everyone hated in college, because I read all of the books, all the way through, even Last of the Mohicans and Tom Jones.

I don't think I've lied about reading a book. I don't really see the point. Like the blog piece writer, I have lots of books on my shelves that I've read portions of, for classes. When I created my big book spreadsheet, I marked those down as "partly" read. And some books I don't remember even cracking, I page through and I've underlined, highlighted, made notes in. In college it was quite normal for a professor to assign parts of a book rather than the whole thing anyway. (Talking nonfiction here.) There was no time to read the whole thing, and parts of every book seem like filler anyway.

I don't think I've lied about reading a book, or not reading a book. There are books I know I've read but can't remember a thing about them.

I had just read A Prayer for Owen Meany when I sat an English 101 exam. There was an essay question and I was to use a novel I had recently read to answer the question. I used that book. Recently, I realized that I have no memory about the content of the novel so am currently rereading it.

I'm lying about reading Infinite Jest--I've been on page 70 for about a year now but it still remains on my "Currently Reading" list.

I am lying about reading Swann's Way. I am really listening to it on audio...using it as a tool to cure my insomnia. It works like a charm. 20 minutes and I'm out like a light.

Oh, yeah, I gave up on Infinite Jest, too. I wonder if it's on my "currently reading" shelf...

At university and college I might have given the impression, that I read all the books we were supposed to read to our professor (and keep my fingers crossed I wouldn't have to do an exam on that one!) mainly because we had too much to read, and a lot of stuff that was selected, we had to read in French and German because there was no Danish or English translation available.

Otherwise no.

I lied to my snotty friend about reading Ulysses in it’s entirety. I haven’t gotten past page 20. I will read it one day.

I might have lied about assigned reading in high school- Shakespeare, in particular. I had a hard time reading Shakespeare in high school.

I have lied about a TON of books! 1984, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, ALL of Hunter S. Thompsons books... geez the list goes on.

Depending on who your spending time with and what your 'into' at the time you have to lie or people will look at you crazy. But if I'm lying I suppose they are too...

Mary wrote: "I'm lying about reading Infinite Jest--I've been on page 70 for about a year now but it still remains on my "Currently Reading" list."

I have never been able to get through that one. I want to like it sooo bad but I just can't get into it. good luck on finishing! I am going to try and read it agian... it is now a QUEST

Darbi wrote: I have never been able to get through that one. I want to like it sooo bad..."

Now I can't tell if you're lying or not.

i don't lie to be lying about it or to boost my reading status, i just seem to forget if i actually read it or was simply supposed to

back in hs lit. i'd claim to have read something that i had only skimmed. when i first got interested in the fantasy/supernatural genre i'd 'lie by omission' when asked what i was reading. i guess i was embarrassed 'cause most people cracked on the genre as a whole. then, i decided to hell with 'em and just let whoever wanted to think i was strange go right on ahead and do that. that would be where 'twistedmind' came from. now, it seems everyone is reading it. go figure.

Lobstergirl wrote: "I don't think I've lied about reading a book. I don't really see the point. Like the blog piece writer, I have lots of books on my shelves that I've read portions of, for classes. When I created..."

I've forgotten so many books, I feel like I might have early Alzheimers or something. One book I've always remembered is Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Read it as an adult and maybe it was sort of time and place in my life, but it's always stayed with me.

A lot of typos in this thread. Step it up a notch, citizens.

Why would I lie about reading a book if I have read plenty of other impressive books?

I lied once, but I was seventeen, it was for a class, and I have read the book later, so that should be forgiven.

Indeed it should.

I lied about reading 1984 in university (for Theology no less). I was supposed to write an essay on it so I just skimmed the last few pages and got an A. I did read it later.

A few years ago, a coworker loaned me The Mermaid Chair. I read a few pages, hated it, told her I liked it, and, then, lost it. I had to buy her a new copy which cost me $40 and, given the plot, a fitting punishment for lying to a priest back in university. Ah, the wages of sin are heavy.