The finer things club is the most exclusive club in The Office. So naturally I need to be in it. The party planning committee is my backup, Kevin’s band is my safety.

That said, I can read my favorite E.M. Forster novel without being in the finer things club. And so I did.

Surprisingly to me and almost no one else, I loved it.

Here are some quotes I found especially thought-provoking.

The armour of falsehood is subtly wrought out of darkness, and hides a man not only from others, but from his own soul. (Narrator)

It was really a ruse of Lucy’s to justify her despondency – a ruse of which she was not herself conscious, for she was marching in the armies of darkness. (Narrator)

I used to think I could teach young people the whole of life, but I know better now, and all my teaching of George has come down to this: beware of muddle. (Mr. Emerson)

But if we act the truth, the people who really love us are sure to come back to us in the long run. (Lucy)

Let me know if you read it and we can discuss over some panzanella and a nice Chianti. Jim’s not invited.