On making your book reading public

I've been discussing in email some of the problems that can come up when you make public records and vows to read certain books. Then I remembered something...

I used to have a saying: 'You should read books, but you should never admit it.'

Where has the old me gone?!?

But that saying involved part of this subject: when you keep your cards close to your vest you are free to engage any and all influences and take what is worthwhile from each and leave what is not worthwhile, and you don't have to deal with all the opinions and misapprehensions of the world about what you are involved in.

ps- I should distinguish what lately I've been doing is not really in the above category. Saying I will read the Bible seven times is a different thing. Also, knowing certain influences that you should engage (Work books, Homer, certain works of theology) is different, because they are the ones you just have to gear up and read complete no matter what. But you don't want to constrain yourself by not having space to follow some new thread that may appear and all that...