Dept. of shameful admissions

According to a British survey, one in three London-area consumers has bought a book "solely to look intelligent."

I don't think I've ever bought a book just for that reason, but I can remember one time, at least, when I decided to carry a book I already owned in order to look more intelligent. I was in my mid 20s and slacking at a delivery job. On one occasion my truck was being repaired at a dealership on the Peninsula, 15 miles south of the city, and one of the head salesman for the company I worked for gave me a ride down there since he had sales calls to make in that direction. I had to chill for an hour in his car during the sales call on the way to pick up the truck, and I brought along a copy of Jean-Paul Sartre's The Age of Reason so the sales guy would know that I wasn't just some punk truck driver. Oh, the shame of this memory -- that I felt I had to impress some sales guy. But at least I had already read the book.

Remember that scene in Woody Allen's "Play It Again, Sam" where he "casually" dangles a medal (which he supposedly won at a track meet or something, but which he actually purchased in a junk shop), in front of a woman at the beginning of a blind date so she'd be impressed with him? Same thing. The shame!