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Original poster

Is a Day Spent Reading Wasted?

56 replies

BookAndPiano · 02/01/2026 15:02

I have spent the day reading Jane Eyre. I have done nothing else except get washed, dressed, make cups of tea and heat up soup.

I should go out for a walk, take down decorations and sort out some laundry.

I am now feeling guilty which has taken away some of my enjoyment.

How long is too long to ball up and read?

OP posts:
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TheMerryJoker · 08/01/2026 03:25

i sometimes spend time generating stories on grok, now i need to read them, as usually i skim when they are being generated

HelenaWilson · 08/01/2026 01:10

And people's stress levels would probably reduce, their attention spans would improve if they were reading books rather than scrolling and surfing, and their vocabularies and general knowledge would expand. (Even fiction can teach you things you didn't know.)

BrandyandGinger · 07/01/2026 23:03

If everyone in the country spent one day a week at home just reading the world would be a better place. There would be less traffic, less air pollution and fewer people in A&E for starters.

Dappy777 · 07/01/2026 13:33

A day spent reading a great work of literature like Jane Eyre certainly isn't wasted. Carl Sagan once said that the book is proof humans can work magic. Imagine trying to explain a book to an alien. Someone can record their thoughts, and if another human knows how to decipher the code, i.e 'read' the strange symbols, then she has access to the mind of someone dead for 500 years!! It's incredible.

But it's even better than that, because the classics aren't just any old thoughts expressed in any old language. They are the most profound thoughts expressed in the most beautiful language the human race is capable of. I often read out loud. When I read the words of Dickens or Jane Austen or Virginia Woolf, I have the uncanny feeling they are in the room. And in a sense they are. I am literally chanelling their minds. And the effect can be amazing. If I read a joyful, life-affirming writer like Patrick Fermor or P. G. Wodehouse or William Blake out loud for half an hour, I feel different. My mind has been altered, and my way of perceiving the world has been changed. That's magic.

Original poster
BookAndPiano · 07/01/2026 13:05

ZenNudist · 06/01/2026 20:46

I feel like I missed out on a day spent reading, or even one playing games and watching a film with the family over Christmas. Too busy rushing about.

Out of jealousy interest do you get to do this a lot OP?

I try to carve out reading time but rarely get a full day.

OP posts:
Original poster
BookAndPiano · 07/01/2026 13:04

Fulmine · 06/01/2026 21:29

In this weather, tht's a totally sensible way to spend the day.

For your next read, try "The Eyre Affair".

What's that @Fulmine ?

OP posts:
TheseFiveWords · 07/01/2026 01:29

This is the third thread I’ve read today about feeling guilty for no real reason. One was about spending money on a holiday, one was spending money on decorating a child’s playroom and now this one for spending a day reading. People need to stop feeling guilty for things like this.

PenniPincha · 07/01/2026 01:15

BookAndPiano · 02/01/2026 15:02

I have spent the day reading Jane Eyre. I have done nothing else except get washed, dressed, make cups of tea and heat up soup.

I should go out for a walk, take down decorations and sort out some laundry.

I am now feeling guilty which has taken away some of my enjoyment.

How long is too long to ball up and read?

Don't feel bad. Sometimes a day like that is needed. The other things can be done another time. You need to give yourself some "you" time too.

Fulmine · 06/01/2026 21:29

In this weather, tht's a totally sensible way to spend the day.

For your next read, try "The Eyre Affair".

FairViewRosie25 · 06/01/2026 21:26

I spent an hour this afternoon finishing my Jo Thomas and watching the birds on my feeders. Not wasted at all.
incidentally I had a woodcock in the garden very unusual.

RosePetals86 · 06/01/2026 21:14

Definitely wouldn’t feel guilty OP! I would love to have a relaxing day spent reading a good book!

mellongoose · 06/01/2026 21:11

Gosh, sounds like utter bliss. Enjoy.

selfcentred · 06/01/2026 20:47

What a glorious day! Good for you!

ZenNudist · 06/01/2026 20:46

I feel like I missed out on a day spent reading, or even one playing games and watching a film with the family over Christmas. Too busy rushing about.

Out of jealousy interest do you get to do this a lot OP?

Teleporno · 06/01/2026 20:30

That day sounds perfect. So restorative. Don't feel guilty for having a relaxing and enjoyable day.

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 06/01/2026 20:29

Sounds perfect to me. We could read our books together, in a companionable silence.

I’ve just started ‘The Paying Guests’. I’ve never read any of Sarah Waters’ other novels, so, i didn’t really know what to expect.
And it’s an excellent book. I would highly recommend it.

TheeNotoriousPIG · 06/01/2026 20:23

A day spent reading is NEVER wasted! If necessary, you can tell people that you were broadening the mind or some such twaddle!

I love a good day with a book, though they are few and far between since I became a grown-up <sigh>...

You sound like my kind of person, OP, as I have lots of books and a piano, too!

JennyChawleigh · 06/01/2026 20:18

FizzingAda · 02/01/2026 17:35

Written on the cover of my sketchbook (applies to books as well!)
Dust is a protective covering for furniture.
no gravestone ever says 'she kept a spotless house'.

Enjoy a day spent recharging your batteries, OP!

"There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse." _ Quentin Crisp

Jeska7 · 06/01/2026 20:17

Sounds great. Everybody needs a day like this every now and again to recharge batteries.

caringcarer · 06/01/2026 20:15

Any time spent reading is valuable and never wasted time in mho.

Horrorscope · 06/01/2026 20:03

No, that’s a wonderful day, OP!

Dolamroth · 06/01/2026 20:00

goldtrap · 02/01/2026 16:56

Well, there was no possibility of taking a walk today so....what else is a girl to do?😉

Exactly!

twogooddogs · 03/01/2026 13:23

Time spent reading Jane Eyre is never a waste -one of my favourites!

Chinsupmeloves · 02/01/2026 18:16

Excellent choice, one of my favourite books ever! Absolutely not a waste of time, we need days like these if we're fortunate to get them. Enjoy and no guilt...

billiongulls · 02/01/2026 18:11

The best possible use of a day off.