Books You Have Pretended to Read

[officerripley]

Pretty good article:

"We’re nosy here at [bookriot.com], 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 to. So last week, we asked you to confess the books you pretend you’ve read. It’s good to get these things out in the open!

To read the rest of the article, go to: http://bookriot.com/2013/07/17/top-20-books-you-pretend-to-have-rea...

(I've really read 7 on the list.)

[Ursula]

Interesting article....I only have one question, why would anyone pretend to have read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy????

I will never understand its popularity, or why they are now making a movie out of it.  I'm such a snob!!

[Carci]

I'm with you on that one, Ursula... I think it used to be called pornography.

[Mandy Muffin]

I have read most of them over the years, although I did use Cliff Notes when gaining my college degree with a  minor in Literature.  I have read the Bible straight through a number of times.  The last one I did read  was "Moby Dick" a couple of years ago.  The original is quite tedious.  However, there are a number of books I did not read, but read a condensed version.  "Gravity's Rainbow," by Thomas Pinchon is unreadable in my opinion.  I had trouble with the 20 page condensation that I obtained. 

Quoted from Wiki:

"In 1974, the three-member Pulitzer Prize jury on fiction supported Gravity's Rainbow for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. However, the other eleven members of the board overturned this decision, branding the book "unreadable, turgid, overwritten and obscene."

And I did read "50 Shades of Grey."  One needs to keep up with latest literary works that are in the mainstream.  The rest of the family were there over my shoulder waiting for me to finish so they could see what the commotion was all about. 

[Carci]

Interesting...  I read 3 of them in high school:  1984, To Kill a Mockingbird and A Tale of Two Cities... had a wonderful English teacher that made them all very interesting.

I read the 2 Bronte romances almost 50 years ago as well during my early 20's along with all the Daphne Du Maurier's books and loved them all.

And both DH & I actually enjoyed the Harry Potter series (but not the last book).  Started reading them to see what the hoopla was all about with our grandkids.

And of course much of the Bible is covered in weekly Masses but have to confess that I've never read it cover to cover.

[Joanne]

Mandy, I noticed you said "Keep up with the latest LITERARY WORKS"... while referring to 50 Shades of Grey.

I did not read any of those, but would not consider them "literary works".  As Carci said "used to be called pornography".

I would not bother saying I had read a book, when I hadn't read it.  Who would I be trying to fool?  A lie to myself to aggrandize myself ?  No one's opinion of my reading life would be worth that. 

 

[Mandy Muffin]

If the library stocks the book and they sell it in all commercial bookstores, it's literature as far as I'm concerned. In fact, an entire genre of writing has evolved from the "50 shades" series called "Mommy Porn."  You can fill a library section with some of the books that have been called pornography or obscene in the past. --  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments

I will admit that I skimmed through some of the sections as the story line was rather simplistic.  But I will read and any and all books that are listed as best sellers in America just to see what the story and writing is about. 

[Robert Burke]

I'm with you, Mandy.  Once upon a time Henry Miller's books, "Tropic of Cancer" and "Tropic of Capricorn" were considered pornography.  Now they are classics of American literature.  I took a look at "50 Shades" and found it to be just another "bodice ripper" like the ones from the 1980s with Fabio Lanzoni on the cover.

"Antonio pulled Maria tightly against his heaving chest, clutched and tore open her bodice."

"Grey pulled Anastasia tightly against his shaved chest, slipping the handcuffs onto her wrists."

Same thing.

[Ioruach]

I possibly, at one time or another, said that I have read War and Peace.  If I did, I am sorry, because I have not.  Anything that long has always frightened me away. In fact today I hesitate to start anything more than 500 pages long.  At my age, I might not live long enough to finish it.  

[Carolyn Tewell]

Interesting Subject! My Grand-daughter sent me "A Wrinkle in Time" / Madeleine L'Engle... I did get through the first 50 pages. The jumped to later chapters and then the end. So I see it is on the link that Mandy sent over...about 100 Books challenged to be literature. I sort of get that in this case.

Was surprised to see Ken Follets "Pillars of the Earth" as well?

I have read all of the "Earth's Children"/Clan of the Cave Bears series...loved them but saw a lot of repetition in the later stories so I see why they on the list. Still...her historical/almost science adventures were amazing to me.

Also a book by Margaret Atwood...geesch...she is like serious intellectual. Needless to say, I have never been able to process her writing. Maybe I'm too shallow?

"Shades". Hmmmm. My Daughters ..age 40's read and their husbands, too? I consider but to clutter my mind? Why? At my age? Not a prude, not closed minded, like romance for sure but where's the fun?

[Ursula]

Carolyn, after reading your post I was intrigued enough to follow Mandy's link.  Wouldn't you just love to hear the reasons why some of those books were banned??

Silly me, I thought To Kill A Mockingbird was the American classic, best loved book ever!!  And Shakespeare, who bans Shakespeare??  Although many of us would have liked to ban him when we were required to read his plays!

I did read Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale many many years ago (20 or more) and I still remember how it gripped me.  The gist of the story was how life would be if the United States became a theocracy instead of a  democracy.  Pretty scary stuff, especially for women....think the Mid-East, burqas, confined to the home, women classified as wives or sexual creatures (evidently wives were not sexual).  Like I said, it really made an impression, and I agree her stuff is pretty heavy; have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.

If I'm ever at a loss for something to read, I think I'll just refer to that list.