You've Been Reviewed: The Happiness Project!

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into reading The Happiness Project with reservations and hesitations, because I was scared it was going to be a sappy-ish self-help guide. I had a chance encounter with the author at a conference in September, and after meeting her and liking her very much, I decided to read at least one chapter in the book. And then I was hooked, for several reasons.


1) I'm a quote junkie. For as long as I can remember, I have jotted and journaled influencing quotes. For me, they often make me laugh, reconsider a subject, and/or evaluate an emotion. Gretchen Rubin applies the quotes she has collected throughout her book with great examples. I often found myself quoting her, as well as the quotes she quoted, to great personal effect.


2) I like stunt nonfiction. I like trying a project for a month or year. I like knowing how some object or subject can change your life if you stay open to it long enough. I like the successes and failures, and Rubin shows us both. She doesn't pretend she's an expert at change or in this case, happiness, but she acts as a voyager on this trip, discovering what does and doesn't work for her. It's fun to see her struggle and oftentimes, win.


3) I like the idea of thinking more deeply about what makes us emote - whether it's sadness or joy or numbness. And by Rubin's deep probing into what the great philosophers, surveyors, doctors, and writers have theorized about the human animal's emotional nature, I felt like I got a general overview that made me think specifically about myself, and my close circle. I'm not saying this is a form of therapy, but The Happiness Project provided a structure way to take time, slow down, and care about what makes me, and others I know, tick.


4) There are some genuinely funny moments.


5) There are some genuinely revelatory moments.


If you are interested at all in this newish genre, stunt nonfiction, I highly recommend this little number. I'm not sure if I will start my own Happiness Project or not, but it did make me think more about what specifically makes me happy. And the very first thing I thought about after finishing this book was that I wanted to buy a jump rope. I surprised myself, thanks to The Happiness Project.




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