Having been accused of chronic honesty, I rarely find myself outright lying about what I have, or haven't, read.

I do, however, often fudge the truth by saying "I'm familiar with [book/movie/etc]". Most people don't call me out on it, everyone seems to assume (if they want me to have read the book) that I've read it or (if they'd rather that I've never sunk so low as to read such a thing) that I haven't. Very very useful.


Now THAT sounds like a fun game. I have considered making fake dust jackets for some of my books, and combing the two ideas could lead to all kinds of free entertainment (I commute via train a lot and, while I don't care so much about people knowing what I'm reading, when I don't like the cover art I don't want everyone else to see it).

Then are you sure it was "A Brief History of Time" or "The TIME History of Briefs" -- the magazine's chronology of Playtex, BVDs and Fruit of the Loom?

Don't remember ever trying to impress a lass with some book that I might have read...a bank statement might have been a better lure. ;)

What would be even better than catching someone out about reading LotR would be to listen to two persons discussing the trilogy, and it being obvious that neither one had read it.