Thoughtfully funny. And wide-ranging. And well-written. And worth reading again someday.

Easy read for people in need of thought provoking phylosophy about life. It's about how a poet sees the world. It's so joyful because it has a romantic aspect to it that you always idealise. Perfect book if you're overwhealmed by too much non-ficiton (Both for listnening and reading)

“Празни мисли на един празен човек” - книга, която няма да забравя дълго време.
Толкова разкрит екзистенциализъм, пречупен през призмата на сатирата. “Празни мисли”, овековечени през далечния 19. век, а човек и днес открива себе си, своите интимни мисли и душевен гнет в тях. И сякаш те за малко намират покой. Ще се препрочита!

This is the kind of book of essays that is hardly ever written nowadays. In the old edition I found, the author's name was not even listed; I only found it by searching. These are mostly humorous and lighthearted essays on everything from memories to pets to men's and women's clothing.

It provides an entertaining glimpse at some of the ideas and customs of people in 19th century England. One thing I like about this type of book, which reminds me in some ways of The Importance of Living, by Lin Yutang, is the way leisure and a slow pace of life was highly valued (as the title suggests). I doubt if Jerme K. Jerome was truly an "idle fellow" but the point is that ambition and being constantly busy were not the virtues they became in the next couple of centuries.

I don't think this book is meant to be taken very seriously. Jerome shamelessly meanders from one topic to another, so it's more like a stream of consciousness than focused essays. But that doesn't detract from the enjoyment. Modern readers might object to some antiquated ideas about women and different economic classes of people -for example, Jerome seems to think (if he's being serious here) that poor people are incapable of experiencing any type of pleasure. But this type of thing should be seen in a historical light, as it doesn't make sense to judge people by contemporary standards.

I'd recommend this book for casual reading and to gain some insights into another age, one that was both better and worse than our own.