Twenty-five years ago I was driving around a wreck of a car with a bumper sticker that read "I'D RATHER BE READING JANE AUSTEN".  The way the other drivers looked at me, it was clear they thought I should be off the road and reading Jane, too. Now I have all of Jane Austen's novels on my ipod, so conceivably I could be driving AND reading Jane, but I prefer to listen at night (if I fall asleep I might even dream up new episodes.) I also have an unabridged reading of MIDDLEMARCH on my ipod -- 23 hours. I recommend it highly for George Eliot fans. BTW, isn't it sad that they assign SILAS MARNER in high school, only because it's shorter? I never really got to love George Eliot until I read MIDDLEMARCH.