A new study
reveals that quite a few people lie about the books they have read to impress friends, dates or coworkers.
Nearly half of all men and one-third of women have lied about what they have read to try to impress friends or potential partners, a survey suggests.
Men were most likely to do this to appear intellectual or romantic, found the poll of 1,500 people by Populus for the National Year of Reading campaign.
The men polled said they would be most impressed by women who read news websites, Shakespeare or song lyrics.
Women said men should have read Nelson Mandela's biography or Shakespeare.
Among the 1,500 who took part in the research were 864 teenagers.
About four in 10 of the 1,500 said they had lied about what they had read to impress friends or potential partners - 46% of men and 33% of women.
Among teenagers, the figure rose to 74%, with most saying they would pretend to have read social networking pages or song lyrics.
One in five adults said they would read their chosen material whilst waiting for their date to arrive in the hope of making a good fir
This was a British study, but it wouldn't surprise us if it held true in America as well. After all there's no way that many people actually read John Adams. We've see many, unopened copies adorning coffee tables. But it certainly sounds more impressive to answer "the John Adams bio" than "The National Enquirer" when asked what one is reading right now.
