The Pleasures of Leisure by Robert Dessaix

The Pleasures of Leisure

by Robert Dessaix

Knopf, Penguin Books, 2017 [First Edition], hardcover, dustjacket

Near Fine Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, minor rubbing and bumping to covers, edges and corners, no inscriptions, dustjacket shows minor edge and shelf wear with minor bumps and to edges and corners  (see photographs)

“In today’s crazily busy world the importance of making time for leisure is more vital than ever.  Yet so many of us lack a talent for it.  We are working longer hours, consuming more than ever before’ technology erodes the work life balance further; increasingly, people feel that only work gives existence meaning.  In a world where time is money, what is the value of walking without purpose, socialising without networking, nesting when we could be on our laptops?
Robert Dessaix shows, in this thoughtful and witty book, how taking leisure seriously gives us back our freedom – to enjoy life, to revel in it, in fact; to deepen our sense of who we are as human beings.  He explains how we can reclaim our right to ‘rest well’, and to loaf, groom, nest and play as he looks at leisure from many angles: reading, walking, travelling, learning languages, taking siestas and simply doing nothing.  The result is a terrifically lively and engaging conversation that reminds us that at leisure we are at our most intensely and pleasantly human.”