good habits gone awry

Mr. Darcy says in his list of essentials for an accomplished lady that she must improve her mind with extensive reading. Mr. Bennet reads every day, constantly and consistently, yet his household crumbles in ruin around his library. No sensible woman wishes destruction upon her house in making time to read. How is one to strike a happy medium? To read or not to read, in due season.

To Lady Havilah:

Greetings and rich favour,
bestowed by all the gods,
be upon you this fey-eternal day
as in the twenty seven hundred years past,
since your descent to the terrestrial sphere--
with love from the Garden fairies.

Do unto Others

The question of the day is: how do we love ourselves like we love our neighbours? What does that mean and how can I do it?