Audiobook · read by volunteers
How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Arnold Bennett (1867–1931)
Read by Mark F. Smith · 13 chapters · 1 h 36
About the book
Most of us feel we never have enough time, and yet each of us gets exactly the same amount every single day. Arnold Bennett wrote this little guide for the office clerk who rushes to work, comes home worn out and then wonders where the day went. His message is brisk and practical: the hours you have are the only capital you possess, and you can begin spending them better tomorrow morning. He suggests setting aside time before and after work, reading with purpose, thinking about the way you live, and doing it all without turning yourself into a machine. With an amused tone and an eye for human weakness, the book remains a lively read. Mark F. Smith reads thirteen short chapters. It is brief, brisk and refreshingly free of pretension, and it ends with plenty to try tomorrow.
Introduction
Arnold Bennett was born in 1867 and died in 1931. He was an English novelist, playwright and journalist, best known for his realistic novels of the Potteries, the industrial region of Staffordshire where he grew up. He was also a prolific writer of practical books, among them the little volume heard here, which first appeared in 1908. It was addressed to the growing class of salaried city workers of the day, who spent most of their waking hours at a desk and wished to make something more of their evenings.
How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day belongs to the long tradition of self-help writing, but it has a notably wry and sensible tone. Bennett does not promise miracles. He admits that his own efforts have been imperfect, and that change takes steady discipline. His main idea is that time is the one resource that cannot be saved or stretched, only used, and that most people waste a good deal of it without noticing.
Bennett's advice is not about doing more but about attending better, and he says plainly that the point is a fuller experience of ordinary life. It is the kind of book that can be heard in one afternoon and remembered for a long time, and it makes a useful gift to a friend.
The LibriVox recording lasts about an hour and a half and is divided into 13 short chapters, including a preface. It is read by one volunteer, Mark F. Smith. The advice is simple enough to try in a single week, and it has lost very little of its charm. It may suit anyone who wants a gentle push towards using the hours of the day more thoughtfully.
Public domain
Arnold Bennett died in 1931: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text