I’m sure we’ve all done it – pretended to have read a classic book…agreed when someone gave an intellectual critique of an author we were too proud to admit we’d never heard of before (or never read)…even perhaps ‘faked it’ when asked about a book that we knew we ought to have read in our genre but never quite got around to doing…
Sometimes, no matter how widely you’re read or how many books you’ve written, one of the hardest things about being a writer (apart from the writing) is answering questions about other books and writers. I’ve had conversations that feel more like a grilling, as if I have to prove myself a writer by being cross-questioned about books and/or other writers. Most of the time I have no problem admitting I haven’t read a book or a particular author but sometimes…just sometimes…’faking it’ occurs. Like the time in book group when I pretended to have read the assigned book when in reality I’d just flicked through the remaining half in a last minute panic, hoping to pick up the main plot thread and wing it from there…or the time I was confronted in a ‘speed dating for agents’ event years ago by an agent who said ‘your work sounds just like Anne Perry’ and I merely nodded when in reality I had no idea who she was talking about (my bad! I did then research and read Perry’s mysteries but I am still mortified I didn’t even know her name at the time!).
The best antidote to ‘faking it’, for me at least, was having kids – kids that interrogate you on a subject and are quick to realize if you’re pretending. Like when they ask you if you’ve read the ‘classic’ book they were just assigned at school, and you know that, actually, you started it but never finished it because it was too dull… as a parent you really don’t want to admit that but within five minutes your kids are totally on to you (sigh).
As a writer, I know my (many) inadequacies and feel them more acutely the more experienced I get…so I fake less and admit more these days. But still, especially when giving a presentation or talking to readers, I don’t really want to come across as a complete ignoramus even though (drum roll) I might have to admit to having never read a Stephen King novel (or, for that matter, many other authors including biggies like James Patterson and Sara Paretsky).
TKZers, I hope I’m not alone in ‘faking it’ occasionally – so tell me when was the last time you ‘faked’ an answer on writing or books? What was your worst (or best, depending on your point of view) incident that may have involved a little ‘faking it’?
“Gone Girl.” This is a wildly successful mystery and I like the author personally and professionally. But my new agent made me read it — I couldn’t stand either character and skipped big sections to get to the end — which was amazing. What wrong with me that I can’t stand this novel?
I loved that book but there are many, many others which were hugely successful and which I just couldn’t be bothered with…I usually just admit this now but sometimes (crime of omission) I just walk away and say nothing:)
I don’t think I could begin to list them all. And I haven’t seen a movie at a theater in decades, so let’s not go there. My book group assigns books I’d never read on my own, and I haven’t enjoyed many of them. However, nobody in the group has any qualms about saying, “I couldn’t get through it.”
As for books everyone’s reading but me? First that comes to mind is the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I couldn’t make it through Pride & Prejudice, never read most of those “classics.’ For the most part, I can’t say I didn’t like a Big Book eveyone else raved about because odds are, I never read it. Hunger Games? No. Game of Thrones? No. Girl on a Train? No. I’m too old to read books because other people think I should. I have enough books/authors I know I’ll like to occupy me for the rest of my life. And no, I don’t feel guilty if someone asks me if I’ve read Book X. If there’s a twinge of guilt, I’d say “Not yet.”
Good answer for the twinge of guilt moments:)
I made a comment on Twitter once that I thought the Outlander series of books were about 400 pages too long each and got sort of attacked. I forced myself to finish the first book and because I like the overall concept, I started the second. Some plot point happened and I couldn’t remember why because it was originally brought up 200 pages earlier. I looked it up online to find an explanation of what they were doing and thought it was so lame, I finally stopped reading it. I’ll watch the series. They cut out most of the nonsense, but not all. The books and the series are sort of soft core when the story should be able to stand on its own. So sorry, long story short, I try to stay away from conversations about it, but I admit I can’t get through a popular series like this when 1/2 of it isn’t necessary. Probably my attention span is just more limited now.
I think my attention span has dwindled too – either that or just my patience! I thought Outlander was way too long…I read the first book (okay…I skimmed most of it!) and then couldn’t get into the rest of the series so yup, I stay away from any conversations about that series!
Outlander the series is soooo much better than the books. I decided to read the first book because in the first season it was obvious to me that it would be so much more interesting if our heroine and Gillian shared their mutual secret/background earlier, instead of Claire figuring it out only when Gillian displays a certain scar (intentional vagueness to avoid spoilers). I was convinced that had to happen in the book. Ah, no. And that book was seriously boring. Great concept, mediocre execution on the page, but exciting with some damn fine eye candy on the screen. Can’t wait for the next season. I’ll read other things in the meantime.
I faked reading To The Lighthouse in my Eglish Literature Class. ( Professor I’m sorry). I Then had to do a 30-minute dissertation on Virginia Woolf’s life and found her facinating. When I picked it up again, I still could not push through it. Is it just me?
For the most part, though I’m not afraid to say, “No I did not read that one.” Really, none of us have time to read everything and still find time to write. And for the most part, books are like fine Wine, we don’t all have the same taste for the same vintage.
Sometimes an author’s life is way more fascinating than their books:) Like the idea of treating books like fine wine!
Oops, yes professor, I see the typos as well!
I always tell people I only read nonfiction, and that always brings the conversation to a confused halt. ?
But truthfully, I wouldn’t care enough to bluff about having read a particular book. Why deprive my interrogator the thrill of feeling smug and well read? ?
Hah! The smug and well-read – I think I may have met a few of them in my time:)!
I don’t see the point of lying about having read a book when you haven’t, except in the classroom context. I still haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird. Gravity’s Rainbow has one of the best opening lines ever, but then quickly becomes unreadable. I will never finish it. I have never read James Patterson. Why would I want to read a commitee-written book? I was even more bored by the first Girl With the Dragon Tattoo book (but the Swedish movies were great) than the first Outlander book. I won’t read any more of those books, and if someone wants to look down at my nose for that I can live with that. I won’t ask that person for reading recommendations, either. There are a ton of books out there, and only so much time to read them. Be happy with what you can read, and screw the rest.
I’m trying to get better about not caring about other people’s recommendations but alas, sometimes I feel a little guilt (which I need to totally get over!!) when I feel I ought to have liked/enjoyed/read something but hated/didn’t!
As a fantasy writer, I always feel slightly ashamed to say I can’t get through Lord of the Rings (although I liked the Hobbit!), I read one Wheel of Time book and then threw in the towel on the series, and I’ve never gotten past the Kindle samples for any of the Mistborn books. I’ve never been able to figure out where to start for Discworld (everyone has different opinions), so I haven’t read any. Likewise for the Dresden Files. These are the heavy hitters! The stuff I’m supposed to know for my genre. Never read more than maybe 50 pages. I know their TV Tropes pages forwards and backwards though, so I skate by on that and is that a three-headed monkey behind you?
Weirdly, I’ve probably read and enjoyed more fantasy ‘classics’ than I have suspense/thriller classics! I think we need to just accept what we like and be proud of it but I’m with you on having to skate sometimes…ooh…look…over there!
The Other Boleyn Girl was my fake. I was supposed to read it for book club but it was so depressing and boring to me that I skimmed the book and just read some summaries online so I could halfway participate in the discussion. Quit the group right after that because life’s too short for that nonsense.
(Oh, and Leah B., I started Pratchett’s Discworld at Wyrd Sisters, but I don’t read them in order and I haven’t read them all. Enjoyed the ones I read, though. Don’t know if that helps you.)
Okay so I admit it – haven’t read The Other Boleyn Girl either!
Kathryn – do you only read non-fiction or is that just a dodge? ?
Actually Tom, that is very close to the truth. I would say my reading focus (since high school and college years) has been 90% nonfiction, 10% fiction. I find most contemporary genre fiction to be fairly unengaging, unfortunately. And, regarding contemporary “literary” fiction? Hah! Don’t get me started on that topic. ?
I tried, really tried to read “To Kill A Mockingbird” but I just couldn’t do it. So I just give a vague nod when it comes up. I’ve seen it as a play, twice, and I’ve seen the film. Surely that counts. I can’t tell you another one I’ve faked because the author is still alive and I might have to talk to that person sometime. : )
Otherwise, I just don’t bother anymore. As a writer, I love to read my friends’ books if I have time. I do so much reading for research and homeschool. But I never quiz my friends about my books, and we always seem to come to an unspoken understanding. Most of us have been there, I bet…
I’m afraid I’m too honest. I can admit to not reading a particular book. There are times I can’t even recall what we covered in high school Shakespeare:) I caught a lot of flak from my sister because I never read the Harry Potter books or wanted to and passed over the “girl with the tattoos” books. Finally because I had not read Ernest Hemingway, I made myself read one of his books so I would know his style of writing. It was Okay. One of these days I’ll go down to the Keys as I understand his “cats” are still alive and well.