Thursday, December 24, 2009

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
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
by GRETCHEN RUBIN


ABOUT THE BOOK:


“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 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.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gretchen Rubin is the author of The Happiness Project, as well as the bestselling Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill; Forty Ways to Look at JFK; Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide; and Profane Waste. (She has three dreadful unpublished novels locked in a drawer.)

Her popular daily blog, The Happiness Project, appears on Slate and the Huffington Post and ranks in the prestigious Technorati “Top 2K.” There, she recounts her adventures and insights as she grapples with the challenges of how to be happier. She also blogs for RealSimple.com.

She’s talked to Matt Lauer on Today and to Brian Lamb on Booknotes, has been profiled in The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” and Psychology Today, and has done radio shows from the Leonard Lopate Show to Talk of the Nation to Voice of America to the Playboy Channel.

A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School (where she was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal), Rubin started her career as a lawyer, and she was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she really wanted to be a writer. Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters.

REVIEW/REACTION:

With so many people writing help books or memoirs about how they spent a year to change their lives, I believe this it the first book that made some practical sense the I could apply into my own life in an easy and satisfying way. While we have read how to pray, or eat, or walk ourselves into a mental state of Nirvana, this book shows us how to be happier.

Rubin set up general themes for each month and then writes about a few behaviors that are included in that theme. The book itself is not a "how to" but rather a great reference source of ideas that people can try in order to make themselves happy in life. The flow of the ideas is easy to follow and enjoyable to read about. I think it would be very easy and beneficial to incorporate these ideas into our lives.


GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KYLE AND GOOD PEOPLE
AT HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING,
I HAVE 3 COPIES OF THIS HAPPY
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY. HERE IS WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN A COPY!

RULES:
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS LISTED ABOUT AUTHOR GRETCHEN RUBIN HERE IN THE "FUN STUFF" SECTION ON THE HARPER COLLINS WEBSITE.

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING THAT YOU DO THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

DEADLINE FOR ENTERING IS
6 PM, EST, JANUARY 10

69 comments:

sharon54220 said...

This book is something I could really use. Sounds interesting but also really helpful.

It sounds like writers are in her family: her sister writes for TV shows.

I enjoy going to work everyday to see what kind of challenges await me.

Thanks for the chance.

sharon54220@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

She twists her hair. If that is her worst habit I think she'll be ok! :-)

Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I eat chocolate chips right out of the bag.

Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com

rhapsodyinbooks said...

No need to enter me! Just stopping by to see what Ms. M had to say today! Love "Kneeman Barkus"!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

g.g. said...

Her greatest love is her family and so is mine!

anjamie4 AT gmail dot com

wheresmyrain said...

her perfect day includes(no suprise)reading

wheresmyrain@yahoo.com

LibraryGirl said...

This sounds like a great book.

The author's favorite drink is Diet Coke.

angela.donner (at) gmail.com

LibraryGirl said...

Something that makes me happy is cuddling with my daughter.

angela.donner (at) gmail.com

wheresmyrain said...

+1 something that i do is take time to really spend a good ten min stretching sometimes in the day,happy making for sure

wheresmyrain@yahoo.com

Missa said...

Her greatest achievement is switching careers from law to writing. That must have been an interesting transition.

sweetmissa at gmail dot com

Missa said...

Cooking and baking for family and friends makes me happy.

sweetmissa at gmail dot com

Missa said...

Tweeted: http://twitter.com/hunniebee724/status/7003698551

sweetmissa at gmail dot com

Margie said...

Her favorite item of clothing is her running shoes!
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

(This book looks very inspirational...everyone can use a little more happiness!)

Margie said...

I'm always happy when I get an email from my daughter who lives out of town. I get one almost every day! Also winning a new book makes me happy!!
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

holdenj said...

The book sounds great.

I think it was fun to hear that she once thought law was appealing and then switched. I know many folks like that!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

holdenj said...

I stop every week at my "happy" place, the library! Always puts me in a good mood after work.
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Linda Kish said...

Her favorite food is cereal

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

What I do that makes me happy is spend time with my dog.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Glenn said...

Her least favorite food is beets - I'm with her on that! Thanks for the giveaway.

glenn_pessano AT yahoo DOT com

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

One thing I found interesting was the name of her dearly departed pet, Paddy-Wack. Certainly not a pet name I've ever heard of...

Please enter me in the giveaway.

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

One thing I do that truly makes me happy is reading... Which is why I spend a lot of time blogging and reviewing books and writing of course.

brokenteepee said...

I also dream of losing my glasses as I can't see worth a hill of beans without them...heh heh
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com

brokenteepee said...

Going out and petting my goats makes me happy
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com

brokenteepee said...

I tweeted
thank you
kaiminani at gmail dot com
http://twitter.com/BrokenTeepee/status/7067504946

traveler said...

Thanks for this giveaway. What a unique book. Being a writer after being a lawyer. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I enjoy walking and intense sunshine and warmth. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Susan O'Bryant said...

Gretchen Rubin does not like beets. And I don't blame her!

susanaudrey316 at gmail dot com

Susan O'Bryant said...

I take a two-hour nap whenever I can (usually on the weekends). Voila! Happiness upon waking.

susanaudrey316 at gmail dot com

Benita said...

I thought this was fun-

"If a movie were made of my life, I would be played by...
Holy cow, no idea!"

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Benita said...

Doing yoga and reading (not at the same time) make me happy.


bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Angie said...

Nothing makes me happier then taking some time just for me and snuggling in a warm blanket with a book

aksimmo@brainerd(dot)net

Angie said...

The author has been inspired by a Catholic saint and a deist inventor

aksimmo@brainerd(dot)net

DCMetroreader said...

Her favorite food is any kind of cereal.

kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com

DCMetroreader said...

Spending time with my dogs makes me happy.

DCMetroreader said...

Blogged about giveaway under my current giveaways on my blog http://metroreader.blogspot.com/

LoveMyCoffee said...

I would love to win this book, I would share it with my mom!

I was very interested to hear that she switched from a law career to writing.

I enjoy my two toy poodles immensely, they make me laugh and smile everyday.

Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com

rubynreba said...

Her best habit is that she works hard.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

rubynreba said...

I love to see the happy look in the eyes of my little granddaughter when we get together. This makes me very happy!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Unknown said...

I found it very intriguing and different that in the "Writing Tips" section of Fun Stuff, Gretchen Rubin writes that we need to be aware of our "physical comfort". I have read tips for writing from many authors but I think it's the first time an author has pointed out that it's important to be comfortable, physically, when you are writing. I realized how right Gretchen is. If I'm not comfortable where I am sitting when writing, I can't focus!

Thank you Gretchen and Karen. Even if I don't win this book I learned something important today!

Thank you for a great giveaway!
Amy
Aimala127@gmail.com

Unknown said...

One thing that makes me very happy besides reading is playing with my cats. They love to chase balls, play mice and string and at almost anytime of the day or night 1 or 2 of them want to play! It's a lot of fun!

Aimala127@gmail.com

Rebecca Orr said...

I think that it is funny that she doesn't like beets: I LOVE them! haha!
Thanks for the chance!
bekki1820cb at gmail

Rebecca Orr said...

Something that makes me happy: reading! :0)
bekki1820cb at gmail

Anonymous said...

This is a great book - I'm impressed she gave up her prestigious law career to pursue her passion for writing. Looks like it's paying off. Thanks Bingo for adding this book. Looks like a great book club book.

SusieQ at Hinson

Deb K said...

I would love to win this book!

And~I was laughing as she wouldn't tell her first crush..

deb55106(at)gmail(dot)com

Deb K said...

Something I do for fun is read~I love to read and do it every chance that I get!

deb55106(at)gmail(dot)com

Deb K said...

Tweet!
http://twitter.com/Deb55106/status/7348462762


deb55106(at)gmail(dot)com

Wendi P said...

I found out that Gretchen draws inspiration from Benjamin Franklin.

Thanks for the chance to win.

parodi821 at yahoo dot com

Wendi P said...

Walking fast listening to some upbeat music on my Ipod makes me really happy.

Aik said...

Her worst habit is that she twists her hair.

aikychien at yahoo dot com

Aik said...

Helping others makes me happy!

aikychien at yahoo dot com

Jaime said...

her greatest love is her family
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Jaime said...

one thing that makes me happy is spending time with my family
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

Running shoes are her favorite clothing item. My kind of person!

rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

Retail therapy makes me happy.

rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

catss99 said...

she says that "My greatest achievement so far is…
To have switched careers from law to writing."

I think it's great that she had the guts to do that!
amanda
catss99@yahoo.com

catss99 said...

napping makes me happy:-)
amanda
catss99@yahoo.com

Lacey said...

something that make me happy is when my husband cooks dinner.

Lacey914@sbcglobal.net

Lacey said...

her favorite animal (or pet!) is…
her dear departed Paddy-wack.

LAcey914@sbcglobal.net

Lacey said...

http://twitter.com/HtxAstrosFan/status/7454330419

Tweet!

janetfaye said...

The TV show she can't live without is…
whatever show my sister Liz Craft is writing for at the moment.

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

Spending time with my grandchildren makes me happy.

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

Tweet:
http://twitter.com/Janetfaye/status/7568130609

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

Renee said...

a good friend recommmended this book... reading makes me happy

reneesuz82(at)msn.com

Renee said...

Last great movie she saw was JuneBug - super book, didn't know it was a movie

reneesuz82(at)msn.com

Eidin said...

I'm a hair twister too!

niteswimming at gmail dot com

Eidin said...

Riding my bike makes me happy.

niteswimming at gmail DOT com

Nancye said...

I learned that Gretchen's favorite item of clothing is her running shoes.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

I am happy when I spend time with my family.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Tweet! Tweet!

http://twitter.com/NancyeDavis/status/7606737545

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

CLICK HERE TO
SEE MY POLICY