I bet the corresponding list for Yanks tracks pretty closely, with perhaps the addition of some Faulkner or Steinbeck:
Top ten books we lie about reading
1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien
2. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
3. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
4. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray
5. 1984 – George Orwell
6. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J.K Rowling
7. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
9. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
10. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank
I haven’t read #2, but want to; haven’t read #6 or #8 and certainly see no reason to lie about it. But I don’t know, maybe people lie because after the 500th person raves to you about The Da Vinci Code it’s just easier. I might be tempted to lie and say I hadn’t read #4.
I read War & Peace, it was great. I took it on a trip to Argentina (it was a long trip). The two are connected in my mind, both too long but fascinating and quite an accomplishment.
I love this list. I havent read 8, I know how could it be- 100 lashes with a wet noodle, and honestly #4 could not keep my interest. Fine we are different but caves? what is that? Typical for my gender I suppose.
I’ve read all of these:
1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien
5. 1984 – George Orwell
6. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J.K Rowling
7. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
9. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
I haven’t read any of these:
2. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
3. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
10. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank
And Hell will freeze over before I read this one:
4. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray (sorry about that- just can’t do it.)
“Grapes of Wrath” and “Of Mice and Men” are the only Steinbeck I’ve read. As for Faulkner- only a few of the Short Stories. (A Rose For Emily, Barn Burning, and a few other less than memorable ones).
I’ve read all of them except War and Peace (started, but never finished) and the Mars/Venus book.
1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R Tolkien–I’m in the process of re-reading these
2. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy–no–I bought a copy at the SPCA rummage sale one year, but my cat pulled it out of the bookcase and threw up on it before I got a chance to read it
3. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte–yes
4. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – John Gray–yes, though my instinct would be to lie and say I *haven’t* read it
5. 1984 – George Orwell–yes
6. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J.K Rowling–yes
7. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens–no
8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte–yes
9. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown–see #4
10. Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank–yes