Anxiety and E-book Readers

One thing that is a welcomed distraction to the anxious noise that fills my head, is reading. I am so in love with books and the idea of books. I always have a couple of books on the go, fiction or non-fiction, what ever my brain and mood desires. Reading has really helped me in resisting an anxiety attack on public transport, but if you do try this then do make sure it's a book you are seriously enjoying. I say this because you need a genuine distraction otherwise it's not really a distraction.

If you're having an anxiety attack and you try and read something vaguely interesting or you're finding it difficult to connect with the story then the distraction technique won't work. Your brain will be far more interested in the anxiety chatter in your brain then some plot-less book about the evolution of office supplies. (comments welcome on whether this book actually exists).

Speaking of books, I overheard a conversation the other day as I was waiting for the tube, it was about how we definitely won't need libraries anymore because of the e-book reader revolution. Now I'm not a Luddite and all for technological progress but I do have a particular disdain to the rise of e-books and e-book readers. Some things should be left in their original purity like period features of a house or the design of a hammer. Altering them alters their whole justification for existing.

I know there's probably tons of reasons why one should invest in an e-reader but I don't care. Here's my top 5 reasons why not to convert to an e-book reader:

1. E-book readers are dull- a monotone, flat oblong, hardly inspiring.

2. E-book readers are incompatible with humans- people look like idiots reading from it. It's like they just picked up a roof tile from the street and thought "hey why don’t I stare at this piece of slate for an hour" and "hey everyone look at me I'm really cool 'cause I've got a kindle and I don’t need to turn the pages anymore".

3. Traditional books symbolise creative charisma- they are the very essence of books- the illustrative cover, the thickness, the smell, the ability to flick through pages, the feel of a book in your hands- these things can't be replaced.

4. Book shops are progressive hubs- I would be gutted if the e-reader at some point down the long windy road, signalled the extinction of the 'bookshop'. Wandering around a bookshop makes you feel like you are a part of the world where humans are progressing, churning out shards of their imagination. You get to meet real people looking to buy real books, in a real bookshop.

5. Traditional books connect people- can you imagine a parent reading to their child from an e-reader? Enough said.

I'd love to say that a traditional book is better for anxiety distraction then an e-reader but this would be wholly unscientific of me, but I'll say it anyway. 

Love Amelia.