The Ultimate Digital Detox: “You Mean People Will Pay to Just… sit and Read?”

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.” ― Alan Bennett

Introduction

Something we all know but that we rarely acknowledge is that our brains are exhausted. Not only from working too hard, but from the constant ping-pong of notifications, the endless scroll, the dopamine hits of likes and shares. Reading—real, sustained, uninterrupted reading—is perhaps the most effective digital detox that there is.

When you’re truly absorbed in a book, your brain shifts into a completely different mode. Instead of skimming and scanning and jumping between tabs, you’re moving slowly and deeply through a single narrative thread. Your nervous system calms down. Your attention span, which has been fragmented into confetti by social media, slowly knits itself back together. It’s not just escapism; it’s restoration.

A physical book is even better—no backlit screen, no temptation to “just quickly check” your email. Just you, the page, and the delicious feeling of your mind settling into the rhythm of sustained focus. In a world designed to fracture our attention, reading is how we become whole again.

When I first decided to host reading retreats, my friends laughed. “You mean people will pay to just… sit around and read?” they asked, incredulous. But I knew something they didn’t—that in our overstimulated, constantly connected world, the simple act of carving out uninterrupted time to read has become almost revolutionary. What seems ordinary on the surface is actually extraordinary: a chance to slow down, to be fully present with a book, to connect with fellow readers without the pressure of forced conversation or structured activities. Sometimes the most luxurious thing you can do is give yourself permission to do nothing but read.

Now I can tell my friends that my walking and reading retreats are my most popular retreats, and that they’ve even been featured in Cathay Pacific’s inflight reading magazine. Turns out I wasn’t the only one who understood that we’re all collectively starving for the kind of deep, uninterrupted focus that reading demands and rewards. Those sceptical friends have discovered what serious readers always knew—that giving yourself permission to disappear into a book for hours on end isn’t lazy or indulgent. It’s essential.

The Book Lover’s Dilemma

We live in a culture that celebrates busy-ness, that measures productivity in crossed-off to-do lists and back-to-back meetings. Sitting quietly with a book feels almost transgressive, doesn’t it? Like we should be doing something more “productive.”

But—there’s something so liberating about getting lost in a good book, don’t you think? I have been a lifelong reading addict and I have no intention of seeking a cure for this addiction any time soon. Whether you’re curled up in your favourite reading nook, stealing moments during a busy commute, or indulging yourself by settling into the quiet embrace of one of my reading retreats, the act of reading connects us to something larger than ourselves. It opens doors to new worlds, introduces us to fascinating characters, and offers perspectives we might never encounter otherwise.

And yet, we apologise for it. “I was just reading,” we say, as if we were caught doing something shameful. “I couldn’t put it down,” we confess, almost guilty about the pleasure we’ve taken in a story. When did reading—one of humanity’s greatest inventions—become something we feel we need to justify?

Famous Quotes about Reading by Readers and Writers

I’ve just spent a couple of hours collecting quotes about reading.

Throughout history, writers, thinkers, and avid readers have tried to capture what makes reading so essential to the human experience. Their words remind us why we return to books again and again—for comfort, for adventure, for understanding, and for that irreplaceable feeling of being completely absorbed in a story.

These aren’t just pretty sentiments. They’re battle cries from people who understood that reading is resistance—against superficiality, against the tyranny of the urgent, against the cultural pressure to consume rather than contemplate. Every quote about reading is really a quote about being fully human in a world that often seems designed to keep us distracted and disconnected.

The quotes I’ve collected celebrate reading in all its forms. Some speak to the joy of discovery, others to the solace books provide during difficult times. Many capture that ineffable magic that happens when the right book finds you at exactly the right moment. They remind us that reading isn’t just a hobby or a pastime—it’s a way of being in the world, a practice that shapes who we are and how we think.

These aren’t just inspirational Instagram captions (though they’d work well for that too, no judgment). They’re genuine insights from people who understood that reading matters, that it changes us, that it’s worth protecting and celebrating.

Discover my collection of inspiring reading quotes

Browse through them when you need a reminder of why you fell in love with reading in the first place. Share them with your fellow book lovers. Use them as journal prompts or bookmarks or motivation to finally crack open that book that’s been sitting on your nightstand for six months.

The Readers’ Secret Society

Whether you’re a lifelong bibliophile or someone rediscovering the pleasure of reading, these words offer inspiration and validation. They speak to anyone who has ever felt that particular thrill of cracking open a new book, or the bittersweet reluctance of turning the final page. For those who carve out sacred time and space for reading—whether an hour before bed or immersive days away from daily distractions—these quotes honour that commitment to the written word.

Book lovers know something that the rest of the world is slowly rediscovering: that attention is the most precious resource we have, and where we direct it matters enormously. Every time we choose a book over a screen scroll, we’re making a radical choice. We’re saying that depth matters more than breadth, that contemplation matters more than consumption, that stories matter more than status updates.

And here’s what I’ve learned from hosting reading retreats: readers are my people. There’s something special about gathering with fellow book nerds who understand that a good reading session requires snacks, comfortable seating, and absolutely zero obligation to make small talk. Who know that “I need to finish this chapter” is a completely legitimate reason to ignore everything else. Who get that sometimes you need to just sit and process what you’ve read before you can talk about it.

Why Reading Retreats Are Now So Popular

Maybe you’re craving some serious, uninterrupted reading time with fellow book nerds who won’t judge your stack of unread titles. Well, that’s exactly for people like you that I host my Camino de Santiago Walking and Reading retreats.

Here’s the magic formula: beautiful scenery, good company, minimal obligations, and maximum reading time. We walk the ancient paths of the Camino, then settle in with our books. No guilt, no pressure, no agenda beyond being present with the words on the page and the landscape around us. It’s walking meditation followed by reading meditation, and it turns out this combination is exactly what our overstimulated brains have been craving.

The walking clears your head and tires your body in the best possible way. Then you settle into your book, and something magical happens—you can actually concentrate. You can sink into the story without that nagging feeling that you should be checking your phone, answering emails, or doing literally anything else. Your body is satisfied from the movement, your mind is clear from the fresh air, and your soul is ready to be transported by whatever book you’ve brought along.

And if my quote collection stir something in you—if they make you want to carve out more time for reading, to protect that sacred space in your life where nothing else matters but the story unfolding on the page—then maybe it’s time to give yourself the gift of a true reading retreat. Not just an hour stolen here and there, but days dedicated to the simple, revolutionary act of reading.

Because here’s what I tell my formerly sceptical friends: in a world that’s constantly demanding our attention, our outrage, our productivity, and our performance, choosing to just sit and read is one of the most radical, restorative things we can do.

So pick up that book. Find that comfortable spot. And let yourself get lost in the pages. The world will still be there when you finish the chapter.