Your new friend is trying to “get back into reading” and would love some suggestions, but there’s a slight problem: you’ve only ever read one book. Sure, you liked it and would recommend it because you have absolutely no frame of reference for whether it is technically “good,” but how can you hide the fact that it’s all you’ve got? Here’s how you can recommend a book without making it obvious that actually, this is the only book you have ever read and ever plan to read.
Pause for a while.
The first step to making it seem like you’ve read hundreds, if not thousands of books is to pause for a really long time after someone asks you for a recommendation. Make it seem like you’re scanning a vast mental library for the perfect fit, even if you’ve already decided you’re going to recommend the one book. This is extra effective if you make it seem like you’re changing your mind a bunch of times, almost as if there are way too many books in your brain to choose from!
Loosely compare the one book to a bunch of others you haven’t read.
Try saying something like, “You’ll love this book! It’s ‘Dante’s Infero’-esque,” or “This book bears a similarity to Ulysses, and we all know why!” This vague familiarity will give you the air of a voracious reader, someone who has read books so well that actually, you use a shorthand when referring to them. Plus, if your friend reads the book you’re recommending and realizes it is nothing like any of those other books, they’ll have long forgotten you said this. It’s like taking baby shoes that were never worn from a baby (someone should write about this).
Call it a “genre-agnostic recommendation.”
Odds are your friend is going to specify the genre they’re interested in, but if not, don’t be afraid to take the lead and ask! This will make it seem you have way too many books in the ‘ol’ noggin to choose from. Regardless of what genre your friend is interested in, just say “mmhm” and recommend your book anyways as a “way to expand their reading palate.”
Reverse engineer other book plots from movies.
If you’re really backed into a corner, mentally scan the movies you’ve seen for ones that were based on books. From there, it’s easy! Just recount the movie beat for beat and add a quick, “The book is way better than the movie made it seem.” This makes it clear you are a bibliophile disgusted with the Hollywood-ification of these beautiful stories. Just make sure not to say something like, “Loved Kate Winslet in this one, by the way.”
Follow these steps and you’ll seem like a dedicated reader who has definitely read more than one book in no time! To avoid this situation in the future, feel free to read one more book, thus increasing your repertoire by 100%
