Nowhere have I said, or should it be implied from what I have said, that all airlines should have a similar rule on this particular point. Most airlines require headphones/electronic devices to be shut off and stowed in these phases. This seems more widespread than the "stow everything" approach. Is this also a needless inconvenience to the passenger? If not, why is this more acceptable?

However, I think it is obvious why (in some cases) cabin crew may ask you to stow everything, and even if you think they are being overly cautious, and isn't it just as easy to go along with the crew's directions?

My point about the emergency landing was this: you seem to accept that stowing all reading matter when preparing for an emergency landing is a good thing. But if an accident should occur during either takeoff or landing, there is no time for the crew to react and undertake such additional preparations - so it does not seem unusual (to me) for at least some crew to take extra steps before each takeoff and landing for what is (hopefully, in all cases) an event that will not happen