How to Pretend You’ve Read a Book
We could be at Peak TV now, but we’ve been at Peak Books for at least a hundred years, and if you enjoy reading, it’s physically impossible to read all the books you want, let alone waste time on the ones you don’t. like it. What will you do if your book club chooses to fail, or your dad insists that you read 300 pages of his political views, or you need to give a Nobel Lecture ? You pretend to be reading a book.
I consulted with skimmers: publishing professionals. While these people do read many more books than the average, they should get a quick glimpse of much more. And in most situations, that’s all you’re asked to do. So don’t be discouraged.
Learn the story
SparkNotes , CliffsNotes and Shmoop brought you classics, and you will be surprised to know what counts as classics:Twilight , Notebook, and The Da Vinci Code are summed up and analyzed for free.
Even if there is nothing on these sites, a Google search for “SparkNotes” plus your headline might trigger a competitor. You may have to spend money to fix the problem; BookRags takes a sizable $ 20 per month, and eNotes – $ 50 per year.
Wikipedia is terrible for book resumes. Start by describing the publisher on Amazon, which will cover the first act or two. Then read the reviews on Goodreads . Press Ctrl-F for “… more” to cycle through the longer ones. You are unlikely to find a detailed plot outline, but you can get some idea of the direction.
Finally, read the beginning and end of the book. According to one publishing director, “Book editors often only need to read the first 20 pages of a book and the last page to evaluate an entire book.” You may feel a prick of regret or anxiety; it’s just your brain’s hunger for narration. Don’t mistake this for moral grudge.
Steal an opinion
The most important thing to fake is not the plot or characters, but the opinions. Whoever made you read the book, you know what they want you to think of it. You just need to find someone who has this opinion – or, if you want to discourage such behavior, the opposite opinion – and steal it.
You will find your opinion in Goodreads Reviews, which are automatically sorted by “Most Interesting”. These top reviews, regardless of rating, often include both positive and negative.
For example, check out the widely loved bad science fiction novel Dune . Even five-star reviews acknowledge flaws such as the weary narrative of The Chosen One or the lone gay character being a soulless villain, and even two-star reviews acknowledge Herbert’s creative concepts and the book’s influence on the genre. You can express your own opinion anywhere on this spectrum.
For a more sophisticated, “official” opinion, especially on new books, try a trading review. Gabe Habash, editor of fiction reviews at Publishers Weekly, advises:
Trade reviews like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus are short, cover the main plot trajectory, include character names and setting, and even give an opinion that you can agree or disagree with! And they have the added benefit of being released, as a rule, even before the book is published, so you can stay ahead of everyone else.
You inevitably agree with opinions that you are not entitled to assess, because you are on the Internet, and for this you need it. In fact, the more contradictory your opinion is, the more realistic it will seem.
If that’s still too much, Maris Kreitzman, editorial director of Book of the Month, offers a great strategy for playing in Hard Mode:
Find a one-star review on Goodreads and study it, then stick to it no matter what.
“WAR IS THE WORLD. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. Ignorance is power. 1984 is the most boring book I’ve ever read !! “
Read a book a little
Reading several pages of a book is critical to understanding tone. The tone, like the aroma of an unknown dish, cannot be accurately conveyed in a concise statement.
I got some advice from the editor of Penguin Random House, who reviews hundreds of books every year for possible publication:
If I am reading a book under review or for my book club, I am looking for a voice or language, plot or atmosphere to attract me.
And from there, when I go through a third or a half and realize that I am not so carried away by the language or the plot (sometimes after a while a voice hears me) or emotionally invested in the character arcs, then my interest starts to wane. off.
I admit that I skimmed through the entire thriller or psychological novel to find out the ending, or sometimes I skim the last third or second half to see what happens.
Obviously, there are contexts in which you really need to read assigned books; If you skate on your assignments in college like I do, you’ll regret it. But if someone demands that you read a book just for their personal pleasure, they mock you, and even by pretending to read it, you are already a Christ-like humanist. There is not a single book that needs to be read cover to cover to be a good person, and there are many that will make you worse. Save time on the books you want to read. Or at least for some good TV.