When did you last give yourself ten minutes to do absolutely nothing except read?
No scrolling. No answering messages. No multitasking. No feeling that you ought to be doing something more productive. Just ten minutes and something you actually want to read.
This October, as part of the National Year of Reading, we're exploring the relationship between reading and wellbeing and discovering some of the ways people across Plymouth are using books, words and stories to slow down, switch off and connect with other people.
And before you decide this isn't for you because you're "not a reader", we're using that word in its broadest possible sense.
A novel counts. So does an audiobook, graphic novel, comic, magazine, poem, article, cookbook, biography or something about an obscure subject you've suddenly become fascinated by.
The National Year of Reading's message this October is simple: whatever you're into, take 10 to read into it.
So where can you start in Plymouth?
Take ten minutes – and don't make it complicated
The easiest way to use reading as a break from the day is also the most obvious: stop for ten minutes and read.
You don't need to create the perfect reading nook, buy a pile of new books or suddenly find an hour of spare time every evening.
Take something to Plymouth Hoe. Read over a coffee. Listen to an audiobook while walking the dog. Read a few pages on the bus. Put your phone down for ten minutes before bed.
The point isn't how much you get through. It's giving your attention to one thing for a little while.
That's the idea behind the National Literacy Trust's Take 10 to Read campaign, which encourages us to take a small amount of time to read into the things we already love.
Find out more about the National Year of Reading and Take 10 to Read here:
Read with other people – without having to say a word
Reading is often seen as a solitary activity.
But what if being quiet together could also be a way of connecting?
That's the idea behind Plymouth Silent Book Club, which brings people together to read – without assigned books, homework or the expectation that everyone needs to discuss what they've read afterwards.
You simply bring whatever you happen to be reading.
It could be a paperback, Kindle or audiobook. You can meet other people, settle down with your book and spend some uninterrupted time reading alongside them.
And this month, we went along to find out why this rather simple idea has struck such a chord with Plymouth readers.
Find connection without pressure
Silent Book Club also challenges an interesting assumption about wellbeing: that connection always has to mean conversation.
Sometimes it can simply mean being around other people.
For somebody who works from home, lives alone, has recently moved to Plymouth or finds conventional social situations exhausting, spending an hour quietly reading alongside other people can offer company without demanding very much in return.
And if silent reading isn't your thing, Plymouth has more traditional book clubs too.
Chapter 25 – The Book Club Plymouth meets monthly at Royal William Yard, with members reading a shared book and coming together to talk about it. Find out more:
https://www.chapter25bookclub.com/the-book-club-plymouth
We've also pulled together more of Plymouth's book clubs, writing groups and reading communities in our complete guide:
Let somebody else do the reading
If concentrating on a physical book feels impossible after a busy day, don't.
Listening counts. An audiobook can turn a commute, walk, bit of housework or half an hour in the garden into reading time without requiring you to find any additional time in your day.
Plymouth Libraries members can access ebooks and audiobooks as part of the library's digital offer, as well as physical books across libraries throughout the city.
Library membership is free for anyone who lives, works or studies in Plymouth. Find out more about Plymouth Libraries:
https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/libraries
Find words that can help
Sometimes we want to read to escape what's happening around us.
At other times, reading can help us understand it.
Plymouth Libraries offers Reading Well collections, with books selected to provide information and support around health and wellbeing.
Collections include books covering mental health, young people's mental health and dementia, and titles can be reserved free and collected from a local Plymouth library.
Find out more about health, wellbeing and Reading Well:
https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/health-and-reading-well
Feel Better with a Book
There's another option at Central Library which brings reading and wellbeing together very literally.
Feel Better with a Book is a shared-reading group where people come together to enjoy novels, short stories and poetry.
You don't need to prepare anything beforehand and there's no pressure to read aloud or contribute if you don't want to. You can simply listen.
That makes it particularly interesting for anyone who likes the idea of connecting through books but doesn't necessarily want the commitment of a conventional book club.
Find out more about Feel Better with a Book:
https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/events/feel-better-book-central-library
Read what you actually like
This may be the most important one.
Don't choose something because you think it's what you should be reading.
If you love football, read about football.
If you're into gaming, try manga, a graphic novel, gaming journalism or a novel connected to a world you already enjoy.
Love music? Try lyrics, biographies or music writing.
Fashion, food, gardening, art, film, true crime, travel, history, the sea – start with whatever already makes you curious.
If a 400-page novel doesn't appeal but a graphic novel does, read the graphic novel.
If sitting still with a book isn't for you but listening to an audiobook while walking is, put your headphones on.
There isn't a correct way to be a reader.
Visit somewhere that invites you to slow down
Libraries aren't only places to borrow books.
They're some of the increasingly rare public spaces where you can spend time without necessarily being expected to buy something.
Plymouth has libraries across the city where you can browse, read, use digital resources and discover activities for adults, children and families.
And then there are bookshops.
Browsing without knowing what you're looking for can be part of the pleasure. Ask a bookseller for a recommendation. Pick up something because the cover catches your eye. Explore a section you wouldn't usually visit.
Our Plymouth reading guide includes libraries, independent bookshops, comics and graphic novels, writing groups and other places to discover your next read:
Put your own words on the page
Reading isn't the only way words can give us space to think.
Writing can too.
It doesn't have to mean writing a novel or even showing your words to anybody else.
Take ten minutes and write about something you noticed that day. Describe somewhere you love. Write down a memory. Start a journal. Write a terrible poem. Make a list. Scribble something in a notebook that nobody else ever needs to see.
Across Plymouth there are also opportunities to write alongside other people and eventually share your words if you want to.
As part of Plymouth Reads, we'll be working with Literature Works and members of Plymouth's writing community throughout the year to explore some of those opportunities and meet the people finding connection through writing as well as reading.
Read with someone you love
Reading for wellbeing doesn't always have to be about finding time alone.
Read a bedtime story with a child.
Swap a book with a friend.
Send somebody a poem because it made you think of them.
Recommend an article.
Listen to the same audiobook.
Ask someone what they're reading.
Stories give us something to talk about – and sometimes the smallest recommendation can become a connection between two people.
Give yourself permission to stop
And finally, perhaps we need to stop turning reading into another thing we're supposed to be good at.
You don't have to finish every book you start.
You don't have to read every day.
You don't have to understand the "important" novel everybody else is talking about.
You don't have to read 50 books this year.
And ten minutes doesn't need to become an hour.
The National Year of Reading's Take 10 campaign isn't about giving yourself another target.
It's about making a little room in the day for something you're interested in.
Ten quiet minutes.
Ten pages.
One poem.
Half a chapter.
A few pages of a comic.
Ten minutes of an audiobook.
Start with what you love and see where it takes you.
Whatever you're into, take 10 to read into it.
Discover more with Plymouth Reads
Throughout the National Year of Reading, What’s On Plymouth Culture is exploring how Plymouth reads, writes and connects through words and stories.
Our comprehensive Plymouth Reads guide brings together libraries, bookshops, book clubs, writing groups, audiobooks, comics and graphic novels and plenty of free and low-cost ways to get involved.
Where to read, write, browse and fall in love with books in Plymouth:
National Year of Reading:
#Take10ToRead #GoAllIn2026 #NationalYearOfReading2026
