Reading Excuses

Bitchin' Blog Posts

by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | October 30, 2012 | Tuesday at 1:40 am | 58 Comments

At last week's book club chat for What I Did for a Duke, one of the participants who went by the excellent name of 'CutMyTeethonKleypas' said that she was looking forward to Julie Anne Long's next book, A Notorious Countess Confesses ( A | BN | K | S | ARe | iB ). That book releases on 30 October (today!) and 'CutMyTeethonKleypas' said during the chat:

To which I said, "That is brilliant and why didn't I EVER think of that?" Seriously, all those times I took my lunch break and read and forgot to eat, then picked up the book on the bus home and nearly missed my stop? I could have called in sick with burritos!

So here's my question for you: have you ever called in sick to work or school to stay home and read a book? What was your excuse? And which book was it?

Filed: General Bitching, Random Musings

Tagged: wtfery, make the burning stop, burritos, book club chat, awesomesauce

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Amanda Carlson said on 10.30.12 at 05:08 AM • [link]

Being a college student and working as an independent contractor I never have to call in sick and give my excuses. However, my consequences are ... direct. Discovering a new author or series can become dangerously obsessive quickly if I don’t limit myself to bus reading. My C in Differential Equations belongs to the Hathaways. Damn you, Kleypas!
Anony Miss said on 10.30.12 at 05:35 AM • [link]

The only books I actually took a sick day for were the last three Harry Potters. But there have been several times I did some unofficial work at home at night, to assuage my conscience for the… four hour lunch break at work.. (oopsies).
Mrandaflynn said on 10.30.12 at 05:45 AM • [link]

I haven’t, but my aunt always applied for and took a vacation day when the new Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child book came out.

The worst I did was read Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend while walking around on vacation.

Miranda
Bibliophile said on 10.30.12 at 06:12 AM • [link]

I have - once and only once - called in sick because of a book. I needed some serious sleep after a reading session that ended around 6 a.m. The book was Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Natalie said on 10.30.12 at 06:20 AM • [link]

Haven’t called in sick for a specific book, but my kids were little when the last two Harry Potters came out, and I did the stay-at-home mom version of calling in sick: let them trash the house and watch as much tv as they wanted while I read—if only they didn’t bother me.
SB Sarah said on 10.30.12 at 06:34 AM • [link]

Of course, much of the northeast coastline might be unable to get to work or school today, so that means extra reading time for everyone - stay safe, though.
Beccah W. said on 10.30.12 at 07:28 AM • [link]

Oh man, I don’t think I’ve ever called in sick specifically to read a book…but there have been plenty of times when I’ve called in sick to school or work and then spent the whole day reading (after thinking long and hard about how to enjoy my day of freedom). And yes, the call of the highland romance was most likely the culprit.
jenniferk66 said on 10.30.12 at 07:46 AM • [link]

With the Kindle Cloud Reader, you can read at your desk and nobody will know!
Lisa said on 10.30.12 at 07:57 AM • [link]

My boss is not a resident of the state our company is located, so he is out of the office/state 50% of the time. I buy PDFs and read at my desk all the time. It makes me look busy and that’s what matters around here.
Tabs said on 10.30.12 at 08:11 AM • [link]

I once skipped class in grad school to finish a Hardy Dresden book. One of my classmates popped into my office on the way to class and I looked up briefly to say “Can’t. Harry Dresden’s riding the reanimated corpse of a [something far too awesome to spoil] around downtown Chicago. Can’t stop now.”

She understood completely.
Loni said on 10.30.12 at 08:38 AM • [link]

I never called in sick I just used to read in class all the time. Once I read through my entire Renaissance Italy class, the teacher kept telling me to put the book down, so I would, for five seconds then kept reading, he eventually gave up, or I stopped hearing him because the book was much more interesting than his class.
Though I have also been guilty of using my cane in the middle of Melbourne so I didn’t have to look up whilst reading a book. Probably looked really sus, especially when I looked up at the road to check for cars. But come on it was the newest Nalini Singh
Carrie Gwaltney said on 10.30.12 at 09:13 AM • [link]

Natalie~ ditto on your post. as a home schooling SAHM, my children would sometimes get a day off their schoolwork and extra computer time if they’d leave me alone to finish a book. My husband always knows when book-reading has overtaken my life—there are sandwiches for dinner and he has to fix them himself. ;-) Thankfully, he’s an avid reader as well, so he has some sympathy, and a lot of patience!

I realize I put the above in past tense, as though my binge reading only happened in the past when my kids were young. Unfortunately, not so. Even though I don’t have much active role in my youngest child’s schoolwork now (she’s high school), the dust bunnies and lack of dinner still attest to my addiction. Like I said, my husband has LOTS of patience.
Sara L. said on 10.30.12 at 09:21 AM • [link]

My go-to excuse is I’m in bed with a migraine and can’t see straight. Granted the migraine was caused by staying up all night reading and will go away with a couple of Excedrin, but my boss doesn’t need to know that.
Cynthia D'Alba said on 10.30.12 at 10:47 AM • [link]

I used to write fake notes from my mother (when I was in grade school) saying I was sick and had to stay in from recess so I could read. The book didn’t matter. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on!
MissB2U said on 10.30.12 at 11:18 AM • [link]

Working in critical care I couldn’t call in sick to read a book ‘cause it just wasn’t fair to my co-workers. I used to stay up reading ‘til four in the morning when I worked swing shift though!
Dread Pirate Rachel said on 10.30.12 at 11:49 AM • [link]

I’ve never called in sick to read a book, but I have claimed to be sick at work to explain my exhaustion and lack of productivity after pulling an all-nighter with a favorite author. Sometimes I’ll forgo makeup if I want to really sell my story. :-)
Rosa E. said on 10.30.12 at 12:54 PM • [link]

I’ve never called in sick because of a book. However, I’ve definitely adjusted my hours (another independent contractor here) due to exhaustion from an all-night reading session. :D I think the last time I did that was with Molly Harper’s The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires, because I’m a sucker (heh) for a good fluffy supernatural romance.
mara_b said on 10.30.12 at 01:03 PM • [link]

I read Gone With the Wind for the first time in college a few years ago. My roommate thought I was a complete weirdo when I stayed up all night reading. She came in at like 4 am from where ever, and I was on my bed, sobbing and flipping pages. ha.

I can’t remember ever calling in sick, but when I was pregnant, all my co-workers assured me I’d never have time to read after the baby came. On the contrary, all I did was read on my maternity leave. Nurse the baby and read, rock the baby and read, etc
Lyra Archer said on 10.30.12 at 01:23 PM • [link]

Don’t think I’ve ever played hookey cuz of a book. Though I have called in sick a couple of times after I went to mid-night movie premiers. Just because I want to be the first to see something doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get my eight hours as well.
AbbyT said on 10.30.12 at 02:03 PM • [link]

Called out from work and from grad school classes that day the final Harry Potter book came out. :) I was cat sitting at the time, so kitty and I settled in on the couch and read together. (Even nerdier: I was in library school at the time. :-D)
azteclady said on 10.30.12 at 02:19 PM • [link]

Hourly employee, can’t afford to call in sick—but I’ve worked ten hours shifts after a full night of reading, plenty of times.
Tam said on 10.30.12 at 02:43 PM • [link]

Skipped classes so I could sleep after picking up the latest Harry Potter at midnight and then reading all night. Oh, those were the days - nowadays, there’s no book which would get in the way of SLEEP.

Tabs, I know exactly which Dresden moment you’re talking about, and it made me wonder why nobody had ever televised something like that.
Kati B said on 10.30.12 at 03:00 PM • [link]

I’ve called in sick to read before. Nalini Singh is the culprit of my “sick” days. I always call in with “intestinal issues”. No one in their right mind says, “tell me more” when you claim intestinal issues.
Vicki said on 10.30.12 at 03:12 PM • [link]

Weirdly, the book was The Godfather. My brother handed it to me at church one Saturday morning (I grew up Seventh Day Adventist) and I couldn’t put it down. I called my date and told him I was too sick to go out and then read straight through until some early hour in the morning.

With the last Harry Potter, I told my family I had to go to the hospital. I stopped at Barnes and Noble and got the book at 4 am, then spent the day hiding on the ward so my family wouldn’t expect me to stop reading. The nurses just laughed at me, interrupted me as needed and otherwise left me alone.
ksattler said on 10.30.12 at 03:39 PM • [link]

Not that I can remember. I need to find a book that keeps me up. Lately, I can put down all the ones I pick up.
CutMyTeethOnKleypas said on 10.30.12 at 03:49 PM • [link]

(OH snap! I’m re-blogging this!) :)

It’s true - No one will question the #2 excuse. Completely honest though, I’ve never done this. I already get pretty bad stomach ailments, and I would never want to jinx it by taking a sick day (and then TRULY getting sick another day and suffering for it). Countless times I’ve almost missed my stop on the way to work/home though.
RosieH said on 10.30.12 at 03:54 PM • [link]

I remember with great clarity being caught at age 13 by a dragon of a teacher, reading my first ever Georgette Heyer, “These Old Shades” under the desk in geography class.
Amanda Carlson said on 10.30.12 at 04:02 PM • [link]

That’s very familiar, I hated how public schools always herded the students to the same places. I found I could walk the halls of high school with impunity if I just carried a folded piece of paper around. I used to spend lunches in the back of the library instead of the noisy cafeteria.
Kylie said on 10.30.12 at 04:02 PM • [link]

Have never called in sick because of a book, however once turned down a date so I could read Harry potter 7. In Australia it was available from 9 am, so I planned a Saturday of reading. Guy asked me to go for a drive the night before, and was not impressed with my reason for no.

Needless to say, that relationship never got off the ground. My husband will pick up the latest Kylie chan without being asked, and understands when I sit on the sofa reading for hours straight…
Beggar1015 said on 10.30.12 at 04:14 PM • [link]

Hmm, I’m seeing a trend here. Perhaps the real reason behind the economic problems of today is because Harry Potter greatly damaged the work ethos in 2007 and the world has yet to recover.
Shal said on 10.30.12 at 04:23 PM • [link]

I’ve never stayed home or called in sick to read a book, but i do get to work late. My excuse is that I had Diarrhea. Which I do get on occasions when I eat Pepper sauce from a certain restaurant. Since I eat there a lot, the food is too good, & I CAN’T eat without pepper sauce the excuse is plausible and I don’t get into any trouble :)
Dread Pirate Rachel said on 10.30.12 at 05:22 PM • [link]

Aww, These Old Shades was my first, too! I think I was also 13. We might be living parallel lives.
LauraN said on 10.30.12 at 06:43 PM • [link]

I’ve been intrigued by these books, but I hesitate. Would you say that the worldview of these novels is “life sucks and then you die”? I adore suspense and crime novels, but I often find the outlook on life too dark and depressing for me. This is why I love romantic suspense and romantic mystery novels: I get the plots I enjoy, while being able to acknowledge that though life can be ugly, it can be beautiful as well. A truly bleak novel can put me in a pretty dark mood, and I prefer not to spend my time there. Would you describe the Dresden books as bleak?
sweetsiouxsie said on 10.30.12 at 08:11 PM • [link]

This is sooo embarrassing! I was a senior in high school and I was reading that notorious book “Candy”. I had never read a smutty book before. I was at school and just had to get home to finish it. I went to the school nurse and told her I had really bad cramps and a headache from my period. I laid down for awhile in her office and since there was no improvement, I got to go home…..and finish the book.
Nicole Hulst said on 10.30.12 at 09:44 PM • [link]

I’ve done it before, but can’t remember titles. I have also scheduled days off to coincide with release dates. High school was bad for me. I stayed up way too late almost every night reading, sometimes until dawn. Luckily I got into college due to a high ACT score and HS didn’t matter after that.

I also was told the “no reading after baby” thing. Really? What else are you supposed to do while nursing for hours on end other than read? I suppose watch tv, but that gets old after awhile. And I still make time to read. I just don’t follow tv shows and use that time to read instead.
Nicole Hulst said on 10.30.12 at 09:45 PM • [link]

Oh, to the person with the Dresden question. Not bleak. yes, they have dark moments, but there is plenty of humor to leaven things and a sense of hope flows through the books, even when all seems lost.
Molly Bauckham said on 10.30.12 at 09:56 PM • [link]

I cannot tell a lie. I have an embarrassing weakness for the Lincoln/Child Pendergast books. It’s my dad’s fault! He got me hooked during a vacation to visit him once. Everyone knows vacation books don’t count! *whistles innocently while shoving stack of Pendergast books behind the couch with one foot*
Molly Bauckham said on 10.30.12 at 09:58 PM • [link]

I SHOULD’VE called in sick the day after HP7 came out. Despite my best intentions, I was up till 4am reading, and was useless the next day. Calling in sick would’ve probably made the company better off. ;)
Danielle D said on 10.31.12 at 05:29 AM • [link]

I remember one time I couldn’t wait for the Liz Carlysle book to come out…when it came in the mail I wanted to read it and now….so I called in sick, read it and enjoyed it. I also used to bowl on a league and wanted to finished a book and used an I’m sick excused to read.
Natalie H6 said on 10.31.12 at 09:23 AM • [link]

You are lucky with the patient husband. My hubs tells me all the time to put the book down and stop ignoring him!

As for calling in sick….haven’t done it. But I sit at my desk and read anyways when I have a particularly engrossing book. Luckily I can’t get fired for it since I work for the family business…but my sister/boss sure can scold really well if I get caught.
Liz said on 10.31.12 at 09:56 AM • [link]

It’s all about the headaches; impossible to verify, but can be serious and painful enough that you really can’t work. As a kid I quickly figured out that they were much better than something that could be checked with a thermometer, but of course my mom caught on far too fast. As an adult, desperately wanting to read a book is one of the few things that can keep me out of work; since I never blow off work because of a hangover, etc. I figure I’m justified. Everyone’s got their own vices, right? And if you ever get headaches (or some other physical ailment) anyway, why not get some benefit out of it? ;)
PamG said on 10.31.12 at 10:08 AM • [link]

I love the Dresden novels—both the humor and the epic battles between good and evil. I would describe them as dark, but never bleak, at least in the sense of hopeless. To me the saddest and most nerve-wracking aspect of the Dresden books is the sense that the author really doesn’t particularly like his creation. I don’t myself follow authorial or fan websites (my daughter does), but that’s the scuttlebutt I’ve picked up. So far, however, the books continue to be vital and engrossing. I don’t think Butcher has put a foot wrong in spite of the fact that he’s taken vast risks with the series. But that’s just me.
MissB2U said on 10.31.12 at 10:17 AM • [link]

Oh Laura, go read Harry Dresden right now! Start with the first and keep going. Yes, it can be a bit dark, but his character is so noble and so funny. There is very little romance and/or sexytimes, but it’s not missed at all because the stories are so fulfilling and the characters so finely developed. There is always redemption to balance the darkness, and such sly humor you’ll chuckle out loud. Get thee to the library girl!
lauren said on 10.31.12 at 11:57 AM • [link]

I didn’t skip anything yesterday, but I started ICED by Karen Marie Moning yesterday morning while my kids got ready for school. Read it on my ereader while the a vehicle got serviced, read more while at my son’s hockey practice, and finished it late last night back at home, snuggled on the couch. I wouldn’t have taken the day off of work, but I would have been tired today!
Amanda Carlson said on 10.31.12 at 01:08 PM • [link]

Oh, my ever-fucking GAWD, there’s a new KMM novel! How? When? Thank you, Lauren!
Jess Marting said on 10.31.12 at 01:09 PM • [link]

I once left work early (on an optional day where I didn’t technically need to be there, but still…) to finish Linnea Sinclair’s Games of Command. My excuse was, “It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I should be outside in the sunshine!” Instead, I was holed up at home with my e-reader.
LauraN said on 10.31.12 at 03:53 PM • [link]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my Harry Dresden query.

I don’t mind if there isn’t much romance. If there’s redemption and humor to balance things out, that’s good enough for me.
lauren said on 10.31.12 at 05:17 PM • [link]

Amanda, it is a continuation of the Fever series, and came out yesterday. It is written from Dani’s POV. There are going to be three books about Dani, and then two more about Mac and Barrons.

So, yeah, we can continue reading about Dublin, post walls, until at least 2015!
Amanda Carlson said on 10.31.12 at 06:35 PM • [link]

Lauren: Completey squee-some! The previous narrators for the audio versions were really amazing. Looks like the audible version is being held up, some report customer service is blaming Sandy, but it’s worth the wait to hear Phil Gigante tell the story. :-)

http://www.karenmoning.com/for…
SCW said on 11.01.12 at 05:14 PM • [link]

My boss has actually said that she thinks two valid excuses for calling in are “I had to finish my book” and “After three (complete) outfit changes, I gave up and went back to bed?” That said, I’ve never called in sick to finish a book, though I’ve been tired the next day from staying up late to finish one!
Becca said on 11.01.12 at 06:20 PM • [link]

I have to be the lone voice disagreening - I stopped reading after book 7, because the worldview was too bleak and unrelenting.
Heather said on 11.01.12 at 09:54 PM • [link]

And I must be the odd person out, because I read less than 10 pages of “Harry Potter” and lost interest - never have read any of the rest of them.

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I stayed up all night because I couldn’t put a book down. Waitaminute…. Yes I can! It was 2009. I read “Faith and Fidelity” by Tere Michaels - started reading at 11 pm and finished it at 3-something in the morning. I kept going back and rereading sections that I loved. :)
Heather said on 11.01.12 at 10:03 PM • [link]

I’ve never called into work because I was reading, though. I’m too poor to miss the hourly wages, and prior to that, I was in the Army—calling in to work was NOT an option.
JM said on 11.01.12 at 10:40 PM • [link]

I’ve never called off work to read, though I’ve been VERY tempted. Usually when I pulled a late-nighter because I couldn’t put the darn book down! I have cancelled plans, though. Sometimes a night out on the town isn’t as excting as curling up with an excellent novel.

I’ve also been known to go over my lunch hour by several minutes because I got lost in my book and lost track of the time. :-)
ennabeatriz said on 11.01.12 at 10:45 PM • [link]

I can’t remember but I have definitely been late to work because of reading all night, tired at work because of…accused of being hungover, and in middle school, I was given a demerit for reading a different book than what the teacher had assigned. I had already finished the assigned book and I wanted to finish The Secret Circle series. Apparently teachers don’t like it when you read during their lecture.
Molly said on 11.02.12 at 06:12 AM • [link]

I would order the newest Stephanie Plum novel (back in the single-digit days), and when it would arrive, my co-workers and I would hole-up for lunch in a conference room while I read the first chapter aloud to them.
JennH said on 11.04.12 at 04:34 PM • [link]

I’ve read that book, and you were entirely justified. Excellent decision.
Laurie Evans said on 11.06.12 at 12:52 PM • [link]

These comments are hilarious!! Look at all the missed work for HP7! I’m a SAHM now, and I still stay up waaaaayyy too late reading when I have to take the boy to school at oh-dark-thirty. At least I don’t have to suffer through a day of work after that, though.