Of course they have a reason. When you nudge your car forward repeatedly at a red light it makes the light turn green faster. It’s the same circuitry that makes the elevator arrive quicker if you repeatedly push the call button.
When I lived in L.A. I used to walk to a lot of places, because I lived in the kind of neighborhoods where that can be done. Frequently I would take the bus home rather than walk back, and I noticed something about almost every bus stop that had a bus bench. Nearby to the left, there would be a pole of some kind blocking my view down the street. So, if I sat on the bench, I couldn’t see the bus coming, and the bus driver couldn’t see me waiting. I couldn’t figure out how they managed to do that at what seemed like every single stop.
Now I’m curious which book(s) you’re talking about, because I don’t remember ever encountering this, but I can understand why it bothers you.
If you’re talking about Audible, AI bot narrators are supposed to be labeled as “Virtual Voice.”
I’ve observed an inverse relationship between the distance someone creeps into an intersection during a red light, and the urgency with which they proceed once the light turns green. They’ll inch forward until they’re a full car length over the line, and when the light finally changes they’ll wait about five seconds, then verrrry sloooooooowly ease up on the brake before continuing on at the most casual pace possible. Like, dude, I thought you were in a hurry?
People who show up for a 1:30 interview at 1:08 
Easy. Let them wait for 22 minutes.
In my case, that might be the only way to be sure to avoid doing so at 1:58.
I’ll wait, though. I’d be expecting to.
Me, too. I’d sit in the parking lot for a bit though, so my entrance was maybe ten minutes early. And be perfectly fine to take a seat for ten minutes. Can’t be late for an interview!
Whether I’d wait in the parking lot is going to depend on the parking lot, the weather, and the distance between parking and the interview. And, of course, whether I got there by car.
And I am not going to wait in a parking garage; because for me they’re such unpleasant places to be in that I’d be in no shape for an interview.
A waiting room is for waiting in. If the interview’s in somebody’s kitchen, that’s different; but if it’s at the sort of place that has a waiting room, why can’t I wait in it?
It’s not totally unheard-of, you know, to plan a bit and set aside an area for people to wait in.
I agree, but I was so neurotic about being late that sometimes I allotted WAY too much time for travel. Best to mask one’s neuroses for interviews. Let them be a surprise, just like for everyone else.
Yeah, it is is a longish trip, plan to arrive early.
My Motorist bad thing is when drivers will NOT pull up to the crosswalk, or even close, so they dont set off the scanner thing under the road, making everyone wait longer. Sure, a few feet short is fine, but not a car length,
It is in a small retail store.
Ah, yes, I see the problem.
In which, while waiting, I could look around at the merchandise, surely? I’d be learning something about the store, which would likely be useful if you hired me.
She Made Me Do It by Anna-Lou Whetherly for one. (Free to Audible members)
Drachenblut by Christoph Hein for another. (Paid)
You go to a restaurant and order something with shrimp and sauce…and shrimp have their bony tales still on. How the hell can you eat that without either getting scalding hot sauce all over your fingers, or else not getting to eat about a third of each shrimp?
Why can’t they remove the tails?
I hate shrimp tales. They’re so boring, and they’re mostly about algae.
In my limited experience, Asian folks often eat the shrimp with the tails on. Kind of crunchy, but not really an issue. I learned this attending several family meals with folks who owned a Chinese restaurant we ate at frequently.
When fried, I do, just not the last bits of tail. But not in sauces.