The Happiness Project

This is an interesting and insightful book in which Gretchen Rubin outlines her year spent trying to make herself and those around her happier. She admits up front that she isn't particularly unhappy when she starts the project, but she just feels that she and her family and friends could benefit from more happiness in their lives. Full disclosure, I haven't finished the book, I'm only up to July, but a library book I'd had on hold came in so I put this aside for the time being.

Rubin is a good writer with an accessible style. She does a nice job of interspersing personal anecdotes with research about the causes and consequences of happiness. She doesn't set herself up as any paragon of perfection and she is forthcoming about her mistakes and shortcomings.

I've read a little over half the book and I will definitely finish it at some point in the near future. I've also already checked out Rubin's blog (http://www.happiness-project.com) and signed up for the Moment of Happiness daily email. Although I doubt this book will cause any epiphanies for anybody, it's a book that makes you want to try to improve your outlook on life, even if just in little ways, and that's a pretty positive thing.

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun