Could you please stop cheking emails??

I came up with the idea of this post after reading an article in a magazine called 'Is your email killing you?'. The article describes and explores how the overuse of emailing affects and 'invades' a person's work and private life. It mainly states that "increased emaling can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, mental breakdown and even alienation and detachment".
As you all may know, an email or e-mail, i.e. electronic mail, is a way of exchanging messages across the Internet. It gained popularity at the end of the 1990's, and has become the most common method of exchanging information all over the world. Nowadays, most people use e-mails to keep in touch with relatives, friends and loved ones, no matter if they live just around the corner or 10000 kilometres away. The email has also become the best way of establishing and developing labour relations, especially because it allows you to send any kind of information by the minute to any computer in the world. But now, emailing is not only restricted to computers.

There are millions of IPhone, Blackberry and other smartphone users in the world. This is, according to the article, the main reason why emails are the same as text messages to some people: you receive them at the spur of the moment, there is no need to turn on the computer and check your emails. I agree with this idea because I personally have a blackberry and I have realized that emails and text messages are the same for me, and when I talk to other people this is not so to them.

The article points out that "emails actually affect a person's mental state and can even put somebody front of the line for a heart attack". I totally agree with those who believe that we are living through an information overload, but I also think that the article is, up to a point, going to extremes. My personal belief is that this excess of emails can be, in some cases, the main source of stress, both mental and physical, but I don't think that it can lead to death. As the article explains, "work-related stress can manifest itself in a diminished appetite and lack of libido, headaches, skin problems, difficulties with digestion, increased blood pressure and heart disease". But can a person suffer from any of these just because he receives an email in his mobile phone every five minutes? I don’t think so.

Girls, I hope you find the article I chose to comment on as interesting as I did!

Book Clubs-a growing trend

Social book clubs have become extremely popular in the last few years among group of friends all over Britain. These people gather regularly to discuss a pre-agreed book, which each member of the club has to read previous to the meeting. These are generally held in homes, but can also take place in pubs, public libraries or even bookshops. Nowadays, being a member of a book club has become a part of a British person's identity.
One of the main reasons why this trend has become so popular is the fact that congragating in people's houses is, as a form of entertainment, much cheaper than going to the cinema or to the theatre. Besides, it is a golden opportunity to mingle with other book lovers.
You may be wondering where and how everything started. Well, in television. Richard and Judy's Book Club started in 2002 as part of the regular daytime chat show hosted by Richard Madeley and Judith "Judy" Finnigan, who are married English TV presenters. The couple also launched a wine club, these two clubs being very similar in style to those used by the famous Oprah Winfrey in the States. The club featured literature by both new and unknown writers. There was a book revision each week and the winner, the 'Read of the Year', was announced at an awards ceremony. The Richard and Judy's Book Club was a great success, as every book that was reviewed was then sold out in a matter of minutes.
There are even reading group guides online where book club members can find useful tips and questions to take discussions to the next level, both for fiction-novels, short stories- and non-fiction-biographies, memoirs, essays, historical accounts.
In my opinion, the most remarkable aspect of book clubs is that they promote reading as a leisure activity. This is important especially for adolescents, who prefer surfing the Internet or watching TV instead of taking up reading as a hobbie. Besides, they are generally in contact with school books only, and are forced to read them by parents or teachers. Another point to consider is that many of the books that are in fashion at a certain time are made into films later. So, if teenagers decide to start a book club, they can agree on a book to read, then discuss it and finally watch the film to compare their interpretation to that of the film director.
I would finally like to share with you some links you might find useful if you are interested in knowing more about book clubs or in forming one yourself:


Online articles on Book Clubs:
-Why the book club is more than just a fad, by Charlotte Higgins

-How the Richard and Judy Book Club has shaken publishing, by Bryan Appleyard.

-On Book Club Discussion Questions and Topics

There is also a film I have watched and would like to recommend: 'The Jane Austen Book Club' (2007). Directed by Robin Swicord. With Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker.
Well, I hope you find this topic as interesting as I did.

Regards to all of you!

A Greek Tragedy

Hi there!!

I know the pictures have nothing to do with what I'm going to write about, but I wanted to share some more with you! Hope you enjoy them!

Now tell me, is the country paralized by Argentina's performance in the World Cup??

I read the newspapers on the Net and I still can't believe it! It's a game, you win or you lose guys! It's as simple as that!

But well, here in London people were extremely sad last weekend when England lost to Germany. That day, we were on a tour in Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge and streets were deserted, everybody was at home watching the match! And when the match finished, we 'interviewed' our guide and he was sadly disappointed at the result. I said 'Come on! Life goes on!' and he laughed, but yesterday I have to admit I had a similar sensation. I think the problem is that there were great expectations of success and now that we were beaten by Germany it's a Greek tragedy. It's a game!!! Terrible things happen in the world and everybody is worried about a football match! Whether we win the World Cup or not all the political, economic and educational issues in our country will still exist. I know many people will disagree with me but well, this is the way I see it.

Hugs to all of you!

Constanza.