I started this book back in January
and began reading a chapter a month. I thought this would be a fun way to
explore the Happiness Project, just like Gretchen Rubin's did. Each
month, she focused on a new topic to improve her happiness goals. I
thought this would be perfect to post since the New Year is just starting!
Title: The Happiness Project
Author: Gretchen
Rubin
Genre:
Non-Fiction, Inspirational
Publisher:
Harper
Publication
Date: January 1, 2009
Pages: 292
Out in
Paperback?: Yes; March 1, 2011
My Rating: 4/5
Review:
Goodreads Summary:
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.
In this lively and compelling account
of that year, Rubin carves out her place alongside the authors of bestselling
memoirs such as Julie and Julia, The Year of Living Biblically, and Eat, Pray,
Love. 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.
Her conclusions are sometimes
surprising—she finds that money can buy happiness, when spent wisely; that
novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that
"treating" yourself can make you feel worse; that venting bad
feelings doesn't relieve them; that the very smallest of changes can make the
biggest difference—and they range from the practical to the profound.
Written with charm and wit, The
Happiness Project is illuminating yet entertaining, thought-provoking yet
compulsively readable. Gretchen Rubin's passion for her subject jumps off the
page, and reading just a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start
your own happiness project.
Characters:
This section doesn't make much sense
with this novel, but I did enjoy getting to know Gretchen and her family over
the course of the novel. Gretchen was a great narrator, and she did a
great job explaining her research regarding the topic of happiness, which could
be difficult as it is hard to measure one's happiness. It was interesting
though to see how she measured her happiness, especially in correlation with
her husband's and her children's happiness. With these little changes
that Gretchen implemented throughout the year, she worked to better herself and
her family.
Plot:
The book takes a new topic, such as
friendship, marriage, or work, and dives into some daily changes that one can
make to improve one's happiness. Each chapter gives 4-5 suggestions
within a topic on ways to improve one's overall attitude. Gretchen works through
these different goals, reporting her results at the end of the chapter, such as
what worked, what didn't work, and how she felt doing these new activities.
It was nice to see how you could customize this happiness project to your own
life; for example, Gretchen would list her suggestions and what she would do
that month to work towards her goals, but you could easily adjust to what you
like and what you want to work on!
Writing Style:
Like I mentioned earlier, I thought
Gretchen did a great job explaining her research on happiness. I also
really enjoyed how each month/chapter was laid out. Gretchen would list
her goals and how she worked toward them each month. Then, she would
place excerpts from her blog about her readers' experience with the same
happiness project topic. I thought it was a great mix of information, and
other readers are able to see different goals and results from multiple
happiness projects.
Have you read this
book? Do you plan to start it in the New Year?
FTC Disclaimer:
All items
mentioned were purchased by me. This is not a sponsored post. All
opinions are my own. No affiliate links were used.
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