“This book made me happy in the first five pages.” —AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible Award-winning author Gretchen Rubin is back with a bang, with The Happiness Project. The author of the bestselling 40 Ways to Look at Winston Churchill has produced a work that is “a cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of … that is “a cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love.” (Sonya Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want) In the vein of Julie and Julia, The Happiness Project describes one person’s year-long attempt to discover what leads to true contentment. Drawing at once on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world applicability, Rubin has written an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation.
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This is one of the few books that I recommend to EVERYONE when they ask for a book recommendation (even though it’s classified as “self-help,” it’s SUCH a good book for everyone regardless of genre). It was originally recommended to me by my sister and have now started reading Gretchen Rubin’s other books as well. She’s straight forward in her journey and occasional struggles, and I love the forwardness of her writing. She’s personable and encourages you to become the happiest you can be without being obnoxious or unrealistic.
This was a fun book. It follows the author as she investigates activities which she feels will increase her happiness. I liked it because it was informative and presented the information in a way that the reader could relate to. Also included in the books are guidelines on how to undertake a happiness project of their own and I thought that this was helpful. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
This book has a lot of really inspiring and helpful strategies. I enjoyed reading it and was motivated to start a manageable exercise program. The book helped me think about things in my life differently.
A great book about looking at the things in your life that make you happy and improving your relationships with those that matter most to you. In a funny, witty banter style, Gretchen Rubin shares her quest for improving her own happiness and what she learned from others along the way. I’m certain everyone who reads this book will take something away that lets you look at your own life in a new way.
Goodreads provided this title in my daily email suggestion list and the timing was very apt. I really enjoyed this book because, for me, it approaches happiness in a realistic, doable, and thoughtfully individual way. Gretchen uses humor throughout the book; her examples, ah-ha moments, and goals are incredibly relatable. This is a book for people who are generally happy but think they could be happier through gratitude adjustments and valuing aspects that make you, you. The first “splendid truth” the author simply titles, “Be Gretchen”. I took this to heart; so often in the busyness of life, we forget what truly makes us happy and replace it with what we think should make us happy. Another thing I really liked was the amount of research on happiness the author includes. For example, she introduces information about St. Therese of Lisieux (of France) and how, even after dying at age 24, she became a saint because of her tremendous number of small acts of kindness. It wasn’t her work on projects that touched hundreds of thousands of lives but the everyday, consistent kindnesses she afforded everyone around her that made each person feel valued and respected. The implication is that we can each make a difference and the size of that difference matters far less than the action of simply doing.
This book was a CHORE to read!! And it definitely did not make me happier! The author is an extreme over-achiever, and she undertakes way too many projects in an attempt to discover if and how she can be happier. While I applaud her desire to answer those questions, and she does say that her approach will not be for everyone, I completely disagree with her approach. She did EXTENSIVE research on happiness, and she reminds the reader of that every few sentences with copious quotes and sources. I come from an academic background, so I love good research to support what you’re saying, but this was way too much! The reader doesn’t need all of that. She could have simply said “become happier by making small changes in your everyday life” (which she does say in the August chapter), and been done with it. Truthfully, she doesn’t follow her own advice—she makes so many changes, she can’t keep up with them all! In fact, in the final month of her year-long project she tried to keep all of her resolutions everyday, and she has to admit that she can’t.
I was reading this for a book club, so I was really determined to finish it. By the June chapter, I really had no desire to keep going, but I did, and I finished it. Even when the author herself said in the September chapter that she vowed “to stop reading books that [she] didn’t enjoy,” I persisted!
Save your time and energy, and don’t read this book. Maybe skim it, and then just make a few small changes. You’ll be much happier than if you waste your time on the entire book.
I’m a fully committed reader of fiction books so rarely do I have time to read non-fiction, but recently I did, check out The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It’s such an easy read, one chapter at a time she takes you through her year long happiness project with some relatable goals she sets herself to make life happier (´`) My personal favorites are; Stop buying useless crap, start where you are, keep it simple, spread joy – there are so many more in the book, including a long list from her readers. A great read for all
This book is a great reminder to fall back in love with the little things. Learn to notice the good. Prioritize the positive things. I might put this book on a yearly reread list.
It was, in the final analysis, too much sunshine…..
Loved it so much I bought a hard copy!
I’ve been thinking about this wonderful book whilst in lockdown. Gretchen Rubin does something that could help those of us coping with the strange new circumstances of being holed up at home. She creates set goals — something to swim towards — as well as a puzzle to figure out (how to be happy.) The book is well worth revisiting as we navigate our new strange reality.
This was very good, but I would not say great. I actually had hoped for more.
A good way to remind yourself of the things you have to be happy for as well as helping you to evaluate the way you view things.
Gained a lot of perspective from this book. I’ve shared it with others, as well as buying it as a gift for my adult daughter.
I did not enjoy taking “life lesson” advice from a very privileged person, but her advice and information was sound — until two-thirds of the way through the book, when she stopped writing her own content and let blog messages take over. However, the book itself is a great idea, and if you get some of your own ideas from this book, all the better.
Not really what I expected. Did not hold my attention.
Enjoyable insights on how to enrich your life.
Too hippie for me. I sold it
Gretchen has a way of making her life sound interesting. No matter what she is doing or has done, I love how everything relates to her podcast with her sister.
She is truly an inspiration.
I thought it was an excellent perspective. She made changes in her life that were practical & easy to achieve. It did not cut anyone out of her life like Eat Love Pray did. I believe that if we all made conscious decisions deciding what makes us happier and then actually took the steps to actually do them we would benefit immensely.
Thank you for writing this book.