Middle of the road with Middlemarch

There must be something wrong with me. I read such glowing reviews of Middlemarch, a classic for pete's sake!, that I finally got around to giving it a try.

I'm about a third of the way through ... and I'm skimming. Yikes. Why do I want to know all of those little medical details and such? I don't. It doesn't advance the plot. It doesn't actually teach me anything I consider useful. It's only muddling the story.

Now I love lit fic. I do. The Count of Monte Cristo is exceptional. Shakespeare. Dreiser. I have no trouble with Dreiser. Middlemarch is putting me to sleep at night. That's not normal for me.

A reviewer said it had more action than all three Pirates movies. Hm. Where? Later in the book? Can I make myself get that far?

It's SLOOOOOW! And I usually don't mind slow. But I do want something to make slow be worth it.

I hate to add this to my very small "abandoned" list, but unless I find a good reason, I might have to do that.

Anyone have a good reason?