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A survey carried out by World Book Day has found that two thirds of people have claimed to have read a book they haven't. The most popular book to have lied about reading is 1984 by George Orwell, with 42% of surveyed people saying they had said they had read it even if they hadn't.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy came second with 31%, and Ulysses by James Joyce was in third place with 25%. When asked why they had lied the main reason was to impress the person they were speaking to.
J K Rowling was the most popular author, with 61% of respondents saying that she is the author they really enjoy. John Grisham came second with 32% and Sophie Kinsella with 22%.
41% of respondents confessed to having turned to the back of the books to read the end before finishing the story. Additionally, 48% admitted to buying a book for someone else and reading it first. Many respondents, 91%, said that they had stayed up late at night to finish reading a book.
The survey also found that people can't bear to throw their books away, with 77% of respondents saying they buy extra bookshelves when they fill up.
In another survey for World Book Day undertaken by Sky Arts’ “The Book Show”, it was revealed that 56% of people would like to write a book, with most women (18%) wanting to write crime/thriller or mystery and most men (20%) wanting to write sci fi and fantasy.
11% of those asked also revealed that they have written a book but not yet had it published.
The survey found that book club numbers have doubled over the past year. It also revealed that 44% of children claimed they would rather be reading books than speaking to their friends on social networking sites, reading magazines, using Twitter or blogging.