Men ‘lie about books they have read to impress on dates’
Men are twice as likely as women to lie about what books they have read to try impress on a first date, new research has revealed.
By Caroline Gammell
Last Updated: 7:16PM GMT 10 Dec 2008
Men may lie to suggest they have read books they haven’t.
For both men and women, exaggerating the extent of your literary appetite is second only to false boasts about previous conquests in bed.
More than a third of Britons – 39 per cent – are not entirely honest about what they have read and are more likely to lie about what books and magazines they have devoured than they are about their age or their job.
The research, carried out by the National Year of Reading, found that men and women did not confine themselves to books when trying to create an impression.
Men were twice as likely to read Heat magazine or rifle through a collection of poetry before meeting a potential partner.
Nearly one in five adults – 18 per cent – said they would read while waiting for their date to arrive in order to make a good first impression.
More than quarter – 26 per cent – said they would try and entice someone into bed by leaving a copy of the book they had been discussing earlier in the evening by the bed.
For men, the book most likely to win over women is Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, while men were impressed by women who had inspected news websites before a date.