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Bookish Rants and Raves:Desperately finishing a book
How desperate have you been to finish a book?
Have you been late for work? Late for school? Late for a date?
How about late for a flight?
Recently I read The Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling. I happened to be about to finish it on a Friday, the same Friday I needed to get on a plane to New Zealand, for a wedding. I was 40 pages out from finishing. In the morning before work I knocked over 36 pages, bad luck and potential lateness (again) left me with 4 pages to go. I was already running on a favour from my boss letting me leave early, which is why I couldn’t risk being late. I didn’t take lunch that day so I couldn’t finish it at work, but I took my book anyway.
At the risk of losing my job I subtly read two more pages at my desk when I was supposed to be working during the afternoon.
2 pages to go.
I needed to be at the airport at 4pm. I left work at 3pm but needed to drop the cat at boarding before I could leave.
My husband was waiting on me, so although the thought crossed my mind I didn’t take the five minutes extra sitting in my car to finish.
We were on limited luggage, so I couldn’t take The Casual Vacancy a 500 page epic literary novel with me.
I was thinking about it all weekend. We were in the country for about 40 hours.
As we were at the airport, my husband was called by nature. He told me to go look in the shop at the various trinkets I could buy. This particular shop had some books for sale as well, (he knows what I’m like so he probably sent me in there deliberately).
The happened to have the top 10 books currently selling in Australia and New Zealand.
This list happened to have The Casual Vacancy as number three.
I happen to be in possession of the knowledge that in Australia and New Zealand, books on show are available to read, it’s not against the law to sit in a book shop and read an entire book.
I stood there, in the shop at 
the airport while my flight was being called, finishing off this book.
My husband came up behind me (and scared the bejezus out of me), he realised what I was doing and stood there having a conversation with me – I had one page to go at this stage – telling me I wasn’t supposed to be doing what I was doing. After explaning to him that it was in fact legal, he wandered off to go look at Kiwi Droppings chocolates.
I finally finished The Casual Vacancy we made it in time for the final call on our flight, I got home, put my copy of the book safely in its place on my shelf, and went to bed.
How desperate have you been to finish a book?
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In what country is it actually illegal to read a book without purchasing it first? Not the point I know – but I am on my way to work, and this is going to bug me….
I don’t know that there is one 🙂 but a lot of people here hate it. Especially when you’re like me and you grab a magazine to read while you’re doing your grocery shopping. I’ve had a few shop assistants come up to me and try to start an argument about it.
That is a great story!
I haven’t been as bad as that but just last week I ended up carrying two books around as I only had 20 pages left and would have finished it half way to work – and I can’t not read on the train!
Have to agree with draconismoi though – what countries won’t let you read a book before purchasing…?
Lol! Yeah I’ve been known to carry more than one book around too haha. People just don’t understand our need lol
Oh I’ve read several times at work when I wasn’t able to finish my book on the commute: either as a PDF on the screen (looks like a work doc ;-)), or having my Kindle stashed under a pile of papers so it looks like I’m just stealing a glance at the page at the bottom. I have it really down to a science how to read when I shouldn’t/couldn’t. 😉 Thank God for the Kindle that way you could have taken it on your flight. Oh and I never heard it was illegal to read bits of a book in a bookstore, in the UK there are several armchairs in big stores so some people actually use the bookstore as a library…
Haha pdf books have been fantastic for me because I always have about 5 different pdfs for work open at any one time. 🙂
I don’t think it’s illegal here, but I’m pretty sure there would be lots of frowning when I would actually read a book at a bookstore here instead of just having a look inside.
And I’ve had a few sleepless nights because I wanted to finish a book, but i’ve never been late because of a book.
Yeah. I have seen one shop that actually had a a sign up saying – no free reads. Most of our book shops are packedtothe point that you can’t sit down. So they really don’t like it here haha.
I’ve never heard of a bookstore–especially the chains–getting in someone’s face about reading books in the store, and I’ve seen some really egregious abuses of the “privilege.”
I don’t know that I’ve ever been as desperate to finish a book as you, Amanda! I was on tenterhooks just reading about your ordeal. That said, I’ve frequently been late to work because I’ve been finishing a read in the morning.
I once walked in on my boss finishing up the last 2 pages of a book she was holding under her desk. We laughed about it and, when she was done, she handed me the book to read. It was the first Stephanie Plum book–and it would have killed me to not finish up those last 2 pages, too! 🙂
hahaha!! I wish I had a boss like that!
yeah people abuse the fact that you can do it. I don’t abuse it in book stores, but I do abuse it at supermarkets with gossip magazines 🙂
Any time I go out a book comes with me; if we stop to fill for gas, I’m reading; any time we want a coffee I have my book while hubby gets the coffee. I’m sure he feels like snatching it out of my hands sometimes and throwing it out the window.
I’m sure many people I know would like to throw books at me sometimes haha
My husband can usually hold my attention but my cousin has occasionally turned her back while talking to me and found me sneakily trying to read another chapter 🙂
Although last time my husband wanted to go for a drive the only way he could entice me into coming was by letting me bring a book with me to read while he was in the chiropractor…it was a graphic novel so it was quite short. He wasn’t entirely impressed by the fact that we’d driven for about 5 minutes after he got back from chiro and i still hadn’t acknowledged him until i finished my book
I’ve never read a book at my desk at work. I have stayed up way past my bedtime to finish a book many times.
Hahaha!! It’s difficult for me to read at work since I drive a lot…but I have done it sometimes :s
Lol great story. I would just have ignored him and not gone into a discussion with him, but finished the book 🙂 And I regularly loose sleep when reading late, but I am never late. I am always early so I can read some more while waiting 😉 Never leave home without a book or two in my purse.