“1984” is a book nearly everyone knows, but far, far fewer have actually read. It’s become such a part of our culture that many aspects have been pulled into our vocabulary, often without people knowing the source.
I know many of you have read it in high school or college, but somehow I managed to escape. Unfortunately (or fortunately–time will tell) Audible is getting better at making me offers I can’t refuse. The latest was “Two classics for one credit”. I decided to see what “classics” they were offering (I’ve found we don’t always agree on what constitutes a classic), and found “1984” on their list. I also found lots of other books I thought might be interesting, but quickly learned the sale was limited to two books.
So I picked up “1984” and “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, the former because I should probably, finally know what I’m talking about, and the latter because I’ve got a novel idea brewing that I’ve described to myself as a Scarlet Pimpernel Space Opera and I might benefit from refreshing my memory on my inspiration.
So I’ll open this up to y’all to weigh in here, too: What books do you often quote or reference without actually having read? We can go with movies, too, if that helps (for example, I often quote “Better Off Dead” based solely on quotes made by friends of mine through the years). Comment below!