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Brits claim to have read books they haven't
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by Amy Judd | March 5, 2009 at 04:50 pm
648 views | 38 Recommendations | 25 comments
According to a recent survey, two out of three Britons have lied about what books they have read, with George Orwell's '1984' topping the 'literary fib list'. Organizers of the World Book Day conducted this survey and found that the books most people liked reading were JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.
According to the survey, 65 percent of people have pretended to have read books, and of those, 42 percent singled out "1984." Next on the list came "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and in third place was James Joyce's "Ulysses."
The Bible was in fourth position, and newly elected President Barack Obama's autobiography "Dreams from My Father" came ninth.
Many people said they had read titles from authors like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, when in fact, they had not.
Most people lied because they wanted to impress those they were talking to.
Here is some of the list:
1. 1984 - George Orwell (42 percent)
2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (31)
3. Ulysses - James Joyce (25)
4. The Bible (24)
5. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (16)
6. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking (15)
7. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (14)
8. In Remembrance of Things Past - Marcel Proust (9)
Have you read any of these? Or said you have when you haven't?
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (25)
at 16:51 on March 5th, 2009
I've only read three on this list.
at 17:17 on March 5th, 2009
I've read most of them, but I wouldn't admit that to my close friends.
Yours,
Weird person?
at 19:20 on March 5th, 2009
Who is a 'weird person'? Are you calling yourself weird? ;)
at 03:29 on March 6th, 2009
Yip! That was eggzakly wot I ment! :)
at 17:24 on March 5th, 2009
I'm not lying, I'm from Britain and I've read 1984, honest I have :o)
at 17:45 on March 5th, 2009
You are fibbing itslefty. I know you are. :)
Why?
No-one with a sense of humour like yours, proven by your ridiculous and charmingly funny photo, would want to read that stuff.
C'mon. The Sun has the right to exist too, no?
(No?)
Oh, ok .... :)
(ps? note to revolutionaries. Che and '84 died a long time agto..)
at 19:18 on March 5th, 2009
I like 1984 - Big Brother Britain is alive and well I think...
at 03:30 on March 6th, 2009
Me to. I also have a copy of Animal Farm. Orwell was great!
at 17:25 on March 5th, 2009
*Blushes* Does having started to read some of these books count as having read them?
I got to page 4 of War and Peace and am around page 60 of Obama's Dreams of My Father. On the plus side I have read 1984 and I read Madame Bovary in the original French. Do I score bonus points for that? ;)
at 19:17 on March 5th, 2009
In the original French? Ok, you can have bonus points for that.... :)
at 18:04 on March 5th, 2009
at 23:49 on March 7th, 2009
Does this blank piece by Paschen tell us anything significant about Paschen's reading habits?? Hmmm. I think it does.
at 18:30 on March 5th, 2009
I'm surprised that Orwell's 1984 is at the top of the list. It's not a long or difficult novel, Orwell always wrote in an accessible prose style, and I'm pretty sure is part of the standard English curriculum in a lot of high-schools (at least in Australia). An adult should be able to read it in day or two, with ample leisure time.
I was initially surprised that James Joyce's "Ulysses" and Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" are also included on the list, but then realized that so few people have read them in their entirety, if you went around claiming to have done so there would be hardly anyone who could catch you out.
at 19:40 on March 5th, 2009
Thanks for your comment - we were made to read Ulysses for my English degree - what a 'treat'.... um, not really...
at 20:20 on March 5th, 2009
This is hilarious! Thank-you.
at 20:43 on March 5th, 2009
"Thanks for your comment - we were made to read Ulysses for my English degree - what a 'treat'.... um, not really..."
Ha ha ha ha ha. I found it tedious as well. No offence to the Irish, but I think Joyce's most remarkable accomplishment was convincing credulous literature professors of his greatness.
at 20:44 on March 5th, 2009
Ha - that I can agree with !
at 20:57 on March 5th, 2009
Thats crazy I haven't read bogus british book besides charlie and the chocolate faCTORY, But johnny dep gene wilder explained it better for me.. in beter english! lol hahahhaha
at 07:09 on March 6th, 2009
This goes a loooong way to explaining the state of British economic policy. Gordon Brown, the PM, is an avid bullshitter when it comes to claiming he has read things. And you can see from the impact of his policies that he is just winging it.
at 23:44 on March 7th, 2009
I solemnly declare that I myself have read 1984: so help me, God. But I dont ever look atr Jane Austen. She sounds. Dickens is too wordy. I like recent novels far more. And I like novels not written by English writers anyway!
at 17:35 on March 8th, 2009
I blame movie remakes. It is akin to "skimming" a book, films do away with a lot of detail from the books and give you what's on the surface. I know as that is exactly what I do a lot of the times... : -D
at 19:32 on March 8th, 2009
great info and details
well done piece and reference to George Orwell, good work!
at 16:38 on March 11th, 2009
Your bang on here Amy, its !that! old English thing. Pretentious and snob factor come into play here,as to why people lie on this matter. As for the Harry Potter Books. Jk really did knock it off the shelfs,but I have to confess, A just waited till the dvds came out.
at 08:35 on March 12th, 2009
I resisted harry potter for a bit, but once a couple of films were out and the rush was over I felt it was safe to dip my feet in the water without the crowds around...and I'm not ashamed to say I enjoyed them thoroughly. Was discussing this exact topic <a href="http://www.bookarmy.com/Forums/Books_people_lie_about_reading.aspx?ForumThreadId=5cb0db33-c9b9-43ec-a17c-7d72b32709ca">on another book site</a> and I must admit I was surprised at some of the suggestions on there...
at 02:26 on April 6th, 2009
If people have seen the film they might think they can get away with saying that they have read the book! :-)