A Cautionary Tale

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I started with a few quotes from Jane to make me feel that I am in good company and not quite as foolish as the following story may lead you to think.
I have been trying very hard to finish A Farewell to Arms for a few weeks now, but it is so very different than the styles I am used to that I decided to take a breather and read something a little more in my comfort zone before diving back in. I found a novel called Indiscretion by Jude Morgan, and no it's not a tacky romance novel in spite of the title. It's the story of a young girl in the early 19th century whose father squanders away any small fortune they had, forcing her to become a companion to a cruel old widow to make a living. It's very much in the style and spirit of Jane Austen. After a busy morning, I sat down to relax and read a few minutes before work. Three chapters later I look up at the clock and realize I have exactly five minutes to get to work and I'm not even properly dressed. Hence, summer reading made me late to work.
Of course I couldn't call and say I was going to be late because I was too engrossed in my literary pursuits, I just said something came up, but I was on my way. My shame was deep, but fortunately I was only ten minutes late and not missed much for those ten minutes.