My mom was on her way to a book club meeting when I called her on the phone. They were discussing “The History of Love” that night, and Mom confessed that she hadn’t gotten through more than the first half.

“Well, that’s no problem,” I said. “Just be the first person to speak up when they ask what everyone thought of the book. Take something from the beginning of the book that you actually read. From then on, you’re golden. You can sit back and nod thoughtfully for the rest of the hour.”

“And that works?”

“Please, I did it all the time in high school. It’s how I got through all my English classes.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell me things like that.”