We’ve talked a bit about how reading is good for you here on the blog, but there is the distinct possibility that reading can actually make you happier and feel better. There is a delightful term for this that is so on-the-nose it almost seems bibliophiles like myself, Arabella and many of you wonderful patrons simply made the term up. But, happily, the term Bibliotherapy exists and with it, a possibility to make our lives a little bit better through books.
Ceridwin Dovey relates his experiences while he ponders whether reading can make you happier. When I bookmarked this article, the New Yorker also noted that WWI soldiers were often prescribed reading to cope with their experiences after the war. I know that I’ve used a less formal version of bibliotherapy to get myself through the cold, dark winter months (with or without a blanket fort), for comfort as delicious as any chicken soup when I’m sick and sometimes even to prolong a good mood.
One thing that Dovey notes in this article is how books are a very individualized experience, stating: “I’ve long been wary of the peculiar evangelism of certain readers: You must read this, they say, thrusting a book into your hands with a beatific gleam in their eyes, with no allowance for the fact that books mean different things to people—or different things to the same person—at various points in our lives.” So to avoid this particular evangelism, just for this week, I’m encouraging all of the readers out there to find the books for their own version of bibliotherapy. For you that might mean rereading a favorite, discovering something new to take you out of your comfort zone or get out of a rut, or maybe just reading something to take your mind off of the world at large. All of these reasons, and many more are perfectly valid reasons for getting lost in a book for a bit. So, dear readers, this weekend go ahead and participate in some bibliotherapy. You have a librarian’s prescription.
For all of you who celebrate: Happy Easter! (Remember the library will be closed tomorrow in observance of the holiday, but we’ll be back open on Monday for all your reading, watching, listening, research and recreational needs.)
