It’s happened to us all. You love a book and sing its praises to everyone who will listen. To your utter surprise, somebody actually heeds your advice and reads the book. But they don’t like it as much as you did. Or worse, they hate it and suggest you reimburse them financially for their wasted time.

How you respond in that moment could make or break your friendship. So I’ve put together a few tips to help you escape this sticky situation unscathed.

1. The Blatant Denial

Example: “Oh, you thought I recommended that book? No, what I said was don’t read that book! Oh, haha! What a funny misunderstanding…”

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to update any online reviews you posted.

2. The High(brow) Road

Example: “You didn’t like the book? Hmm. You didn’t happen to read the English version did you? Because that translation is absolute crap compared to the original written in 15th century French. Unfortunately, that version is out of print and I sent my only copy off to the Louvre, but I’ll be sure to let you know if I spy it at a library sale.”

3. The Opposites Game

This friend of yours is apparently viewing the world through upside-down glasses. Next time they give you some advice, be sure to do the opposite. Note that this tip doesn’t just apply to the world of books.

Example: Say you find yourself driving while your friend is navigating. If they say to go left, go right.

4. The Dumping

How close could you ever be to someone who is so obviously deluded about what makes for a good book? You might as well cut your losses now, before you end up taking one of their recommendations.

Photo by tinou bao.

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