I'm always proud to be the first do something.
I think the main reason you don't hear people recommend other games very much is that D&D is really very popular, and most people tend to feel that it's "good enough" or "perfectly fine" or "all the game they need" - I've been there. But then you start exploring some of the other offerings in the space and you start thinking "Huh. You know, a lot of this stuff is a lot smarter than the way it works in D&D, and this really encourages me to try to tell a story." Which, if it's what you're after, means that game fits your style better than D&D. But you'd never have known if you didn't look.
There is kindof a lot of reading involved in the hobby, but a lot of it can also be skipped initially if you're of a mind to do so. Tabletop Roleplaying games tend to have rules for a lot of different circumstances, but many, many of those circumstances are rather obscure. Most non-D&D games have a straightforward resolution mechanic that handles 90% of what you want to do. (D&D kindof does too, but there's the still rather arbitrary distinction between the way "attacks" are handled vs "skills".) For example, if you're playing Mouse Guard, and you're trying to find a lost mouse child in the woods, you'd just pick up dice (standard, 6-sided ones even!) equal to your scout skill, roll them, and count how many rolled 4,5 or 6. That's how many successes you have, it's compared to a number set by the game master that determines how hard that kid is to find. That's it for the core mechanic. There are various add-on bits - your friends probably want to help you look. If they can explain how they're helping, they can each lend you an extra die to roll. But in all seriousness, a lot of the reading in a lot of these books is learning about the world you are playing in.
I'm not entirely sure where you're getting information about "how long it takes to get anything done" - while it's true that to play a session of an RPG game does take several hours - depending on the game and the players - this is generally because you are doing LOTS OF THINGS. In general, any given "task" or "action" shouldn't take more than a minute or two, and that's only if it's something complex or you're not sure what the rule is. "You hear voices! Someone's coming!" "Okay! I'm going to close the trunk and duck into the shadows behind the wardrobe!" should take as long as it takes to say it, plus maybe 30 seconds to roll some dice. Maybe not even that long. And then you're on to "It's the duke and his son! You can't quite hear, but it sounds like they're discussing the upcoming Council meeting!"
The general rule of thumb for a properly run RPG is "say yes or roll the dice" - with the implication that dice should only be rolled if failure is both plausible and interesting...or can be made interesting. You shouldn't be rolling dice to order beer, but you might want to roll dice to drink the big guy under the table.
Time is another reason I don't instinctively recommend D&D - getting into a fight in D&D can take hours; This can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's a good thing if you're really concerned about figuring out tactics, who is flanking whom, and whether you can get to that goblin in one move or whether you'll have to charge and so on. It's a less good thing if you're not really interested in the minutiae of combat.
Lack of friends to play with is an awkward problem - while most RPGs can be played by two people, it's generally not optimal - 3-5 is generally a healthier number. There are options for this of course - sites like
http://www.rpggamefind.com/ can help you find a group in your area, or you can play a "virtual game" with people via email, forum, Google hangout, or whatever.
In fact, I could probably be talked into helping with something like that if you're actually interested. >.>
