The Seinfeldesque Pierre Bayard lectures his students in how to appear well-read without having read books.

Mr. Bayard reassures them that there is no obligation to read, and confesses to lecturing students on books that he has either not read or has merely skimmed. And he recalls passionate exchanges with people who also have not read the book under discussion.

Of course to really get the trick down you'll have to read his book, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, all the way to the end.