The Happiness Project

On a personal level this was about a 2.5 star read. I was hoping for more insights and revelations for myself because of the buzz I'd heard. However, I can see this being a 4 star book for those who find it at the right time in their journey.

I feel like the author didn't really challenge herself at all. She brings up a lot of ideas about how to “improve happiness” but refuses to try highly recommended things (meditation, regular dates with her husband, etc.) because she doesn't anticipate they will work. I get that most people take those ideas and immediately see why they won't work for their situation, but most people aren't writing a stunt book. She should have thrown herself into the concept further, instead of writing the whole book from her (upper class and generally worry-free) comfort zone.

Prior to reading this book, I had read Gretchen Rubin's blog (also titled The Happiness Project) and read many of her peers' work online. I was fascinated by the idea of happiness studies, mostly because the idea of studying happiness seemed so random and scattered.

This book is a personal journey—a memoir—where Gretchen Rubin both enhances her blog's content and adds new material. Her family is mentioned by name and given character and personality. You get a sense of Gretchen's personality as the book develops as well. I can kind of relate to her; I'm a list-maker, a task-doer, someone who likes structure and order.

At the same time, I always felt that Gretchen's blog was too hokey. I felt like it was preachy, and at times it seemed to miss the whole point of happiness. Spontaneity and fun and laughter seemed planned, stinted, or stiff.

This book isn't like that at all. But what I did find is that this book seems to speak more to the issue of mindfulness. Perhaps one of my ‘splendid truths' is that mindfulness begets happiness. When a person is more mindful, he is more cognizant of his behavior and his actions.

I also think that this book sounds like a personal quest to feel right and to feel in control of one's own emotions and behaviors. I think the word ‘happiness' makes cynics everywhere feel automatic scorn for the concept or the reasoning behind this book, but the undertaking is well-developed and actually quite interesting.

I find Gretchen to be an interesting and engaging narrator, though she certainly takes her happiness seriously. Even her lighthearted fun is quite serious in nature.

For a more critical eye on Gretchen's happiness project (and her unhappiness, some might say), you may want to check out this review that I found: http://www.beruly.com/?tag=gretchen-rubin.

Okay, I finally read this at the recommendation of a friend and thought it was pretty good. While I would probably have gone about the task of taking on a year of self-improvement projects differently (and the goal of trying to just “be happier” seems a little shallow), there was notable substance that most people will connect to along the way.

The best part, in my opinion, was just learning the random things that people try to do to be happier - and how sometimes what works for other people won't work for you (which is absolutely okay). This idea does not seem to resonate much in society, where, despite the diversity of beliefs and opinions, certain “mainstream” concepts (meditation, yoga, mindfulness, etc.) tend to take the lead on people who are trying to “find balance” or “be happier”.

The author, to her credit, concludes that she needs to just “be Gretchen”, which is actually more profound of a statement than it may appear at first blush.

I came away from this book challenged to identify (and face) more about myself (fact and fiction) in order to make the most of however much time I have left. And, you know, I think the funny anecdotes and embarrassing stories shared in this book have made that goal seem more attainable.

Let me know what you think!

A combination of 12 mini books, each in the form as a months goals. Somewhat a condensed version of Getting Things Done, relationship advice, family, friendship, religion and time. One interesting insight by Gretchen was the comment that Agnostics/Athiests read biographies to identify with people for a similar reason that Catholics read the bible. Some good insights and many good reminders on how to be happy.

I thought it was a little slow in the middle but the book quickly picks back up again. For a “self help” book I found it interesting. I normally can't get through help books but this wasn't a book that felt as if the author told you what to do, just what she did, which maybe can be really inspiring for some.

Sometimes it's not too bad when someone states you the obvious. Although, there was also some interesting new information. Still, this book could have easily been about 150 pages shorter. Not sorry I read it, anyway.

Has encouraged me to have a clean out of my wardrobes and drawers! She had some really good ideas.

Interesting

Should happiness be this complicated?

Couldn't read. Abandoned over a year ago, so I can't remember why, but my recollection was that she just seemed so shallow. Not enough eudaimonia.

A combination of 12 mini books, each in the form as a months goals. Somewhat a condensed version of Getting Things Done, relationship advice, family, friendship, religion and time. One interesting insight by Gretchen was the comment that Agnostics/Athiests read biographies to identify with people for a similar reason that Catholics read the bible. Some good insights and many good reminders on how to be happy.

I absolutely love this book! It is so full of inspiring quotes and great ideas. I really want to launch a happiness project!

The premise of this book is that a lady spends a year trying to make herself happier through various themes.

I wanted to like this book, and I think at times it has a lot of promise, but it ultimately fell flat for me. At times I had a hard time relating to the author because it doesn't really seem like she has a lot of challenges in her life. I also didn't like how she was so dismissive of certain things - therapy, meditation, etc. If the goal is to try everything, why not? She came across as entitled many times throughout the book.

One thing I was disappointed with was that I was hoping there would be more takeaways on how to create our own happiness project or find what makes our happy. Instead the book is 95% me, me, me, and there's a small section in the back talking about how the reader could apply the principles.

There are a couple good nuggets throughout the book, and there were times I could relate to the author and her relationship with her husband or friends. It wasn't a hard or difficult read, but it definitely wasn't as enlightening as I'd hoped. I think I just wanted more.

What better book for me to read today, the first day of a new year, a new decade?

I've been waiting and waiting for this book to be published. I first heard about it when I kept getting snippets in the wonderful Google e-mail I receive every day about items of interest about happiness. I love happiness. I'm fascinated with happiness. I suppose you could say that just thinking about happiness makes me happy. So I couldn't wait to read this book.

It was not a disappointment. I've been reading the author's blog about the project on an almost daily basis, so the book felt, well, a little short. But that is okay. It was a good book. It gives readers lots of lovely ideas about how to be happier. Even if you just try one idea and it works for you, I'd say that would be worth the price of the book.

I resolve to use these ideas and try them myself. I'm going to read through the book one more time and this time I'll write down a few notes.

I think i was compelled to finish this so that i finally could give a non-4 or non-5 star review on Goodreads. This and the fact that its a light read made me power through this. It's a working mom's perspective on how to become happier, and there is nothing wrong with that, and a lot of the things she talks about are useful and thought-provoking in some way. But what really made me dislike it, is that I simply didn't like her, and she puts a lot of herself into it. Her love for scrap-booking, her constantly nagging at her husband, her dislike of shopping, her seemingly criticizing herself for characteristics that are not criticize-worthy or that she must be secretly proud of. But hey, one secret to happiness is to be less negative! ;)

Started reading this book when I was in a slump—overworked, exhausted, and burnt out. I bought the book because I wanted to start intentionally including moments of happiness in my life. And, honestly, it was such a great read because the author mentioned small positive actions that I can do without drastically changing my life. One of the most helpful tips was to tackle the small nagging reminders at the back of my mind. I keep procrastinating them because they’re not as important as my work responsibilities. But it’s such a positive thing to just cross them out of my mind since I already did them. And more often or not, these would just take me a few minutes to accomplish. This book is a reminder that we actually have the ability to create small avenues of happiness for ourselves, so why not do them? :)

for the self-help month, #bookclub4m I have complicated thoughts about this genre but generally I enjoyed reading this one.

Too many comments cut/paste from her blog comments but otherwise thought provoking.

A fun, light read if you're looking to change your ways! A great read as I prepared my own New Year's Resolutions.

Was a little hokey, I'm sure some of the lessons will work but not really sure it needed to be so long to convey such simple ideas.

“Enthusiasm is a form of social courage.”