Saturday, September 07, 2013

More than half of us lie about reading classic novels

A new study shows that 62 per cent of us pretend to have read classic novels in order to appear more intelligent.

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in the film 'Great Expectations'
Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in MIke Newell's film of 'Great Expectations', one of the classic novels that 62 per cent of British people pretend to have read 

In a bid to appear more intelligent, more than 60 per cent of people have lied about reading classic novels. A leading research team polled 2,000 members of the British public to find out the tactics people employ to appear more intelligent, with some enlightening results.

The most popular ruse is pretending to have read classic novels, with 42 per cent of people relying on film and TV adaptations, or summaries found online, to feign knowledge of the novels. Surprisingly, half of the adults questioned admit to having displayed books on their shelves without ever having read them. 
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