The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin

[goodreads]

Title: The Happiness Project
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 296
Date read: April 2010, May 2010

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

With humor and insight, she chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier.

Rubin didn't have the option to uproot herself, nor did she really want to; instead she focused on improving her life as it was. Each month she tackled a new set of resolutions: give proofs of love, ask for help, find more fun, keep a gratitude notebook, forget about results. She immersed herself in principles set forth by all manner of experts, from Epicurus to Thoreau to Oprah to Martin Seligman to the Dalai Lama to see what worked for her... and what didn't.

It's been a long time since I last was this sad to finish a book - even longer since it happened to me with a non-fiction book! I ended up limiting myself to just one or two chapters a day, or I'd have breezed right through it. As it is, I'm now seriously considering turning back to page 1 and starting all over again.

Gretchen Rubin's book is down to earth, easy to read, and easy to relate to. Most of what's in the book can also be found on her blog (http://www.happiness-project.com), but I've found that I like things in a more condensed and structured manner, so I definitely benefitted from reading the book - I'm going to continue to subscribe to her rss-feed though.

"It's the rare person who can't benefit from starting a happiness project", Rubin writes, and I'm inclined to agree with her. Naturally everybody's project will look different, but it's been inspiring for me to follow Gretchen on her journey. She interspersed her book with comments from her blog, and while there occasionally were a few too many of them, it was fascinating to see this more interactive approach.

No matter if you'd consider yourself happy or not, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Comments

[make-meabird.livejournal.com]

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this last month for our book club! I am really glad I read it! :D

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

Same here! :)

Thank You

[(Anonymous)]

I saw the nice mention of my book, The Happiness Project, here! I very much appreciate those kind words and you shinning a spotlight on my work!! Thanks and best wishes,
Gretchen Rubin