This is an enjoyable book that I picked up a few days ago. It is not a Christian book and will not tell about the true source of joy that we find in Jesus, but it is sweet book full of good reminders and encouragement to make goals and work to achieve them. It reminds us to be grateful for the good things we have and to do our best to enjoy our lives.
Don't expect the meaning of life, but do expect to relate to the author's desire for order, self-improvement, and the desire to appreciate the blessings that we have. The bonus for us is that we know to Whom to be grateful!
Post a comment here if you would like to win a copy of this book. I have 2 copies to giveaway. In your comment include one little thing that you would like to do as one of your goals for 2010. Nothing is too small. Maybe floss more. Maybe smile more. Please enter by January 29. The drawing will be held on January 30.
Thanks!
Book Bullets:
- My rating: 5 stars (but only read through "January")
- Genre: non-fiction
- Themes: goals, remembering what really matters
- Part of a Series: no
- Publication year: 2009
- Pages: 320
Description:
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.
