This was a really amusingly written description of your reading adventures and I greatly enjoyed it. One little historical note re: the Roast Beef bit. In the 1800s and early 1900s, it was pretty normal (in literature at least) for men to cement their friendships by having mini staring competitions. I don't think it was necessarily a sign of romantic love, just deep affection. I have even seen it in early film, where two guys who are friends (and not even that close) just stop and stare at each other for a few seconds, before continuing their adventures. I think it is one of those cultural things that didn't age well, like men casually calling each other 'sweet heart.'