Initial charge should only take about 2 hours, not like the old days when new appliances take 16 hours.
To maximise battery life, ensure wireless is off when not in use, and equalizer set to off also. Switching it completely off by holing the top button sometimes consumes more power than just putting it on standby, as it draws a lot of power to start up.
I use mine in bed to view BBC iPlayer for about an hour every night, but set the screen to low backlight and get about a weeks worth of battery from it.