StuRead 06-04-1

Reading For Reputation

How to Give the Impression of Being a Voracious Reader

J. Harold Stukes

Spee-D Press, 2005, 46 pp. 2nd ed.

Dr. Stukes is a former pastor and principle of a Christian High School in Minnesota. He has written an attractive and practical booklet illustrating a few innovative techniques for building your reputation and mystique as a knowledgeable person. I have experimented with many of these and found them effective.

Key points follow:

Read short books.

It only stands to reason that you can read many more books if you read short ones.

Read children’s books.

Children’s books not only have great stories and important information, they are also generally more interesting than adult books. And, of course, they are shorter.

Don’t read all of books, just parts.

Why take the time to read the whole book when you can get the jist of the content in the introduction or the first chapter. Most books are simply padded magazine articles and trail off significantly after the first half.

If the subject is scientific, read the youth version.

Simplify your life. Go for the easy way.

Talk about books a lot.

You don’t actually have to have read the books you mention. If the other person hasn’t read the book they won’t know you didn’t and if they have, they will do all the talking.

Check lots of books out of libraries, even if you don’t read them.

Learn by osmosis. Carry them around. Sleep with one under your pillow. Glance at the titles.

Display books. Go to yard sales and find books that would look good on your shelves.

Read books with lots of big pictures.

Again, children’s books are great for this. I prefer the Caldecott Award books, those that have won prizes for the illustrations. Coffee table books about mountains or motorcycles also fit this category.

Use lots of quotes.

To simplify your search, you can check out a book of quotations and pick out a few that will fit most situations.

Check the best seller lists.

Make sure you know what Oprah is recommending since everyone will immediately identify you as being “with it.”

Look at book catalogs.

“Have you seen the Tyndale House catalog?” is a sure fire way to show people you know a lot about books and stifle further conversation.

Select lots of books you want to read.

This is even more important than reading the books because it will mark you as an ambitious person and it’s much quicker to select books than to actually read them. When someone else mentions a book, you quickly chime in, “I’ve been wanting to read that book. I’ll have to get it on Amazon.”

Nod knowingly when others talk of books.

This is perhaps the least risky and most effective technique for it allows you to learn something about a book without revealing your own ignorance. What you learn may be enough to actually contribute something to the next conversation.

Remember, sincerity is everything. When you learn to fake that you’ve got it made.

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