I'm Stuck in the "Middle" and Feeling "Cold"

So I picked up a copy of Middlemarch while I was at the library. I am three chapters into it so far, and all I can say is: these people are twits. I don't know how else to describe them. The main female character seems bent on self-torture via Victorian Purity, and the young man who wants her does so because he needs someone to tell him what to do. The uncle is scatter brained, going off in all directions of thought, all the while considering himself a "man of the world" and "very well educated". The only one I can relate to at all is the youngest sister, who has no qualms about enjoying jewelry, slight flirtations, and feels that she somehow has to live up to her sister's austere presence, while at the same time not understanding it. Poor dear. I'm afraid I'm going to thoroughly dislike her before the story is over. *sigh* The scene painting is so drawn out that at times I feel like banging my head into the wall. I try to remind myself that it was written in a different time, and so there were different standards in editing and writing. Still...two pages dedicated to how green hills in the foggy morning look seems a bit extreme. But I haven't lost hope. No sir, not when I have about 1,000 more pages to read. Who knows what will happen over the passing years to change these people and this place. Hopefully plenty.

I also picked up "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold". Okay, this is touted to be a "man's book", but I have to admit, right now, I'm really enjoying it. I'm usually not a deep political intrigue kind of gal, but somehow I can relate to the main character. Pulled one way, then another, and all the time trying to play it cool. I particularly enjoy the scenes that le Carre has painted, and found it very easy to slip right into the place of the characters. I have a feeling that I'll be finishing this book first, and not just because it's a much, much shorter read than Middlemarch. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I continue to like this book as much as I do right now.