20 Books You Pretend to Have Read

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20 Books You Pretend to Have Read

We're nosy here at the Riot, and we like to talk about all the aspects of the reading life...even the ones we might be a little bit embarrassed to own up
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Let’s say “people pretend to have read”. I’m sure you have.


  1. *]Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (85 mentions)
    *]Ulysses by James Joyce
    *]Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
    *]War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
    *]The Bible
    *]1984 by George Orwell
    *]The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
    *]The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    *]Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
    *]Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    *]Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
    *]Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    *]To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    *]Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
    *]Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    *]Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    *]Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    *]Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    *]Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
    *]A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (21 mentions)

    I don’t even bother to claim I’ve read most of these & I suspect most of the people who have read them have done so under duress (for school).
    I suspect most people who claim to have read the Bible straight thru from Genesis to Revelation are liars, esp. atheists who claim reading the Bible as a reson for quitting their belief in God.

    As for Russian novels, the Brontes & Joyce they’re all an acquired taste by why bother acquire it?
 
With the exceptions of 2, 11, 14 (:eek:), and 19, I actually HAVE read those books and somewhere, I’m sure Mrs. Quinn and Sister Angelita have the book reports filed away to prove it! God bless Catholic school education in the early '80s!
 
The only ones I have read on there are 5, 7, 16, and 19. I have tried reading Tolstoy, but haven’t been able to get through either novel on the list. Catch22 was the same. Interesting idea, but didn’t get far enough in to see an actual plot line. I don’t pretend to have read what I haven’t unless I had to read it for a class.
 
Well, let’s see. I read Moby Dick for school although it kept putting me to sleep. Also Gatsby—shortness is a virtue, and 1984—before 1984. Also, Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a few Harry Potter novels. Read some Dickens, but his prose is a little too ornate for me. Just read Pride and Prejudice a few months ago, and am working on some other Jane Austen novels. How come Henry James didn’t get a mention?
 
didymus said:
http://bookriot.com/2013/07/17/top-20-books-you-pretend-to-have-read/#.Ue84UoukuVQ.twitter

Let’s say “people pretend to have read”. I’m sure you have.


  1. *]Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (85 mentions)
    *]Ulysses by James Joyce
    *]Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
    *]War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
    *]The Bible
    *]1984 by George Orwell
    *]The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
    *]The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    *]Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
    *]Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    *]Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
    *]Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    *]To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    *]Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
    *]Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    *]Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    *]Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    *]Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    *]Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
    *]A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (21 mentions)

    I don’t even bother to claim I’ve read most of these & I suspect most of the people who have read them have done so under duress (for school).
    I suspect most people who claim to have read the Bible straight thru from Genesis to Revelation are liars, esp. atheists who claim reading the Bible as a reson for quitting their belief in God.

    As for Russian novels, the Brontes & Joyce they’re all an acquired taste by why bother acquire it?
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  1. I’ve read eight of them for real, but alot of those were under the coercion of AP English class. I thought everyone had read To Kill a Mockingbird though. Also, how the heck did Harry Potter and 50 Shades of Grey get into this list? Am I the only one who finds those out of place?
 
didymus said:

  1. *]Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (85 mentions)
    *]Ulysses by James Joyce
    *]Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
    *]War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
    *]The Bible
    *]1984 by George Orwell
    *]The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
    *]The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    *]Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
    *]Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    *]Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
    *]Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    *]To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    *]Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
    *]Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    *]Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    *]Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
    *]Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
    *]Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
    *]A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (21 mentions)
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  1. Of these, I’ve read 6, 7, and 19 for fun. I’ve read 8 in school, but enjoyed it. And I’ve read 13 in school, slightly under duress. In addition, I’m reading through the Bible right now (check out my signature for progress). Currently I’m almost halfway, going by verse count. But once September rolls around, I’ll have read the entire thing, Genesis through Revelation, including deuterocanon. Another book I’m slowly working through that also sounds prestigious is Les Misérables, because I was left wondering about too many plot holes in the movie/musical.

    I also wish I had had to read 10 (Catcher in the Rye). My English teacher substituted it with Johnny Got His Gun which is by far the single worst book I have ever read.
 
didymus said:
I suspect most people who claim to have read the Bible straight thru from Genesis to Revelation are liars, esp. atheists who claim reading the Bible as a reson for quitting their belief in God.
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My father was neither an athiest nor a liar. He did read the Bible from front to back several times. He was a very methodical man!

I’ve read several on the list (by choice), attempted to read others, but I’ve never even heard of #11 - by title or author.

I agree with you that Russian novels, the Brontes & Joyce are acquired tastes. I’d add Melville to that, too. In Moby Dick I got as far as the loooong description of stripping the fat from the whale & gave up.
 
I’ve read about half the titles on your list, though, sadly, not the Bible all the way, yet.

I never pretend to have read anything I haven’t.

ICXC NIKA
 
I have to say, I did pretend to read the last two chapters of “The Catcher in the Rye”. It was the end of the year and finals and I ran out of time. We had read probably ten different books that semester and only a few of the essays prompts on the final were about “Catcher” and fortunatly, I was able to answer them without the benefit of the last two chapters.
 
didymus said:
…I don’t even bother to claim I’ve read most of these & I suspect most of the people who have read them have done so under duress (for school).
I suspect most people who claim to have read the Bible straight thru from Genesis to Revelation are liars, esp. atheists who claim reading the Bible as a reson for quitting their belief in God.

…
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I suspect you’re correct in most are read for school, I certainly wouldn’t have read all the books by Russians of my own volition, especially after reading one. Unfortunately my high school english teacher was big fan of the Russian auths. I also can’t say I’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover, although I think I’ve covered most of it.
 
I’ve read every book on that list. Twice. Actually, I’ve read most books that have ever been published.

Okay, maybe I’m just pretending. 😉
 
Wouldn’t even attempt to read 50 Shades of Gray, much less pretend I did.

Read and enjoyed LOTR, HP, Catcher, and a few others on the list. Read some of the Bible.
 
I can only guess that 50 shades made the list because it was so HOT, EVERYONE read it, of course! Being an avid reader, I had absolutely no interest in the book (having wasted too much time on the drivel that was Eat, Pray, Love). So yes, I would nod and smile when the discussion came to that book. I should confess that?🤷
 
Read in full and enjoyed:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Second favorite novel of all time)
1984 by George Orwell
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (Third favorite novel of all time)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (My favorite novel when I was a teen)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (My second favorite novel when I was a teen)

Read in full and didn’t like:

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Read sections:

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (HATED with a purple passion)
The Bible

At the top of my to-read list:

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (I love his essays… now I want to try his fiction)

What is 50 Shades of Blech doing on this list?
 
Concerning the two Tolstoy novels:
  1. Anna Karenina; this is really two stories, that of Anna, and that of Levin
    Levin is Tolstoy’s alterego. Tolstoy is really talking about himself. Levin is boring. Levin should have been left out of the book.
    Levin and Anna only meet briefly once, I think,
    so it should be easy to skip all the Levin junk and just read Anna sections. It’ll be a much better book for you.
  2. Tolstoy said Anna Karenina was his “first novel”, but he wrote War and Peace years earlier. What’s that about?
    Tolstoy’s understanding of a novel is to examine someone whose behavior is an aberration from the norm and see the consequences. Anna leaves her cold husband to move in with a younger man and get love on her own terms. This is an aberration. And she can’t get the love she wants.
In War and Peace, the story is not about aberrant people. It is nothing more than an examination of normal life in early 19th century Russia. That’s all Tolstoy wanted to do.
So you don’t have to keep track of the large number of characters and their relationships. It doesn’t matter. There is no story in the usual sense.
Yeah, we watch people’s behavior at the war and in other situations,
but you can’t point to any character and say ‘this is his story’.

The theme of War and Peace is life.
Thus, it ends with a marriage, as if nothing had happened before.
 
didymus said:
20 Books You Pretend to Have Read

Let’s say “people pretend to have read”. I’m sure you have.

OK, my comments:
Blue: Read it. Green: Might still read it. Red: Most likely won’t.

  1. *]Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (85 mentions) Nope, but I might
    *]Ulysses by James Joyce Nope, and don’t intend to
    *]Moby-Dick by Herman Melville Nope, probably won’t
    *]War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Nope. Life’s too short.
    *]The Bible Parts…as well as Mass readings/Gospels
    *]1984 by George Orwell No, but is on my bucket reading list
    *]The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Yes, at least six times in the 80s alone
    *]The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Nope
    *]Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Nope
    *]Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Nope
    *]Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace I haven’t even heard of this one
    *]Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Yup. When I was in the Army.
    *]To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Also bucketlisted.
    *]Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James No, no, a thousand times no! :eek: :mad: :nope: :banghead: :bigyikes: :hypno:
    *]Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Nope
    *]Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Nope
    *]Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush Yup 😃
    *]Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Yup. 1st year university
    *]Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling First three, read the spoilers for the remainder, so it’s all good.
    *]A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (21 mentions) Might still…

    I don’t even bother to claim I’ve read most of these & I suspect most of the people who have read them have done so under duress (for school).
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  1. I read Great Expectations for University and actually quite enjoyed it, unlike some of the other books I did “under duress” (Richelieu’s Testament politique, Laurence’s The Stone Angel --where’s a barfing emoticon when you need one?). I started to read The Fellowship of the Ring on a whim – it was just “there” on a shelf in school, and I was bored – and I subsequently devoured the next two books. I also read The Silmarillion cover to cover. Catch-22 was read in the back of a radio truck in Wainwright, Alberta, during a two-month exercise.
    I suspect most people who claim to have read the Bible straight thru from Genesis to Revelation are liars, esp. atheists who claim reading the Bible as a reason for quitting their belief in God.
    Click to expand...
    Cynical much? :rolleyes:
    As for Russian novels, the Brontes & Joyce they’re all an acquired taste by why bother acquire it?
    Click to expand...
    Some people like a challenge, and they often find that the rewards warrant the effort.
 
styrgwillidar said:
I suspect you’re correct in most are read for school, I certainly wouldn’t have read all the books by Russians of my own volition, especially after reading one. Unfortunately my high school english teacher was big fan of the Russian auths. I also can’t say I’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover, although I think I’ve covered most of it.
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I find it slightly amusing, using Russian authors for English class. 🙂
 
John_Lazarus said:
I find it slightly amusing, using Russian authors for English class. 🙂
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It is curious, come to think of it; as we are really seeing the work of an obscure translator rather than the famous author.

But translated works from other languages have long been a major part of the “literary orbit.”

ICXC NIKA
 
GEddie said:
It is curious, come to think of it; as we are really seeing the work of an obscure translator rather than the famous author.
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That’s the thing. For any given non-English literary masterpiece is there, say, an “Authorized Version”? 😃
How do we know what Tolstoy meant to say exactly in a particular passage? If we fail to grasp some meaning, is it our failing as the reader, Tolstoy’s as a writer, or Joe Shlabotnik as translator?
But translated works from other languages have long been a major part of the “literary orbit.”
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ICXC NIKA
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Granted. But I think that should be taught in maybe a “Literature” class, NOT “English”.
 
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