The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the… (2009)

An enjoyable read peppered with interesting studies on happiness (which could have used some citations). To me, The Happiness Project read like a novel with the author and her family being the characters. I enjoyed getting to know all of them in addition to gaining insight into happiness. I will be buying this book so that I can highlight the points that really hit me. I am also looking forward to starting a happiness project of my own; I could really use one since my life has gotten into a slump ever since starting full time work after graduating from college several years ago. I will definitely do some things differently than Gretchen Rubin did. I found some of her resolutions were too vague and difficult to measure whether you've accomplished them, even though at the end of the book she gives the advice to have specific, measurable resolutions *shrugs* There also is not very much guidance on how to set up a happiness project of your own unless you want to go the route the author did and do research on happiness first and then put your project together from scratch. I'm not interested in doing months of research on happiness, so I will be visiting her web site where a happiness project toolbox is available. Hopefully that has a nice outline of all her research so it will be easy to customize it to my personality.
According to Gretchen Rubin, there are many things in my life that I have been doing/not doing that are working against my happiness. I gave this book 5 stars because it gave me the gift of hope, the hope that maybe I can make my life sparkly and fun again ;)
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Read from May 16 to June 01, 2011

Happiness is defined a little differently by everyone. Reading a book and sitting in the sun makes me happy. Other people like to go to concerts and stand in a crowd (that stresses me out). While Rubin's happiness isn't mine, her book lays out a really nice guide for someone that might want to complete their own happiness project. ( )

I loved this book! It is thoughtful, funny, and inspiring. I find myself bringing it up in everyday conversation to friends, coworkers, and family members. I'm glad I own a copy -- I know I'll want to refer to it again and loan it to friends. Last night I started my one-sentence journal, and I suspect I'll be implementing more of Rubin's ideas. ( )

Interesting read. Lots of good quotes and summaries of scientific studies and research and theories. Similar in a way to Elizabeth Gilbert's book Committed; that was on the topic of marriage, this was on the topic of happiness. Both authors took a scholarly/research approach; Gilbert's presentation was more personal, written with a chatty tone. Rubin's writing is a bit less informal, and there is also the regimented "project" aspect of it.


Happiness and unhappiness aren't opposite sides of the same emotion - they're distinct and rise and fall independently. (p. 65)

Enthusiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability...because the single most important element in developing an expertise is your willingness to practice. (71)

Research shows that the more elements make up your identity, the less threatening it is when any one element is threatened. (78)

For both men and women...the most reliable predictor of not being lonely is the amount of contact with women. Time spent with men doesn't make a difference. (52)

"One is not always happy when one is good; but one is always good when one is happy." -Oscar Wilde (54)

"We are doomed to choose and every choice may entail an irreparable loss." -Isaiah Berlin (126)

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that if you having something you love or there's something you want, you'll be happier with more. (179)

"The years as they pass plunder us of one thing after another." -Horace (198)

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I'm really quite torn as to what I feel about this book. On one hand, I did mostly enjoy it and I took from it some helpful ideas. On the other hand....some of the negative reviews of this book make some very good points.

1.) I really am growing weary of the "stunt" genre of books. Do something for a year, write a book about it. It was interesting the first few go-rounds, but it's losing its appeal.

2.) The author really is not particularly likeable. Maybe she's nicer in person, but she casts herself as a bit of a shrew. As I was reading through the marriage chapter (chapter 2, perhaps?), all I could think was, "Good God, I'm glad I'm not married to her." She strikes me as nagging, unpleasant, and intent upon bringing everyone down to make herself feel better. I suppose she gets points for honestly, but not for much else. (And what's with her emailing her husband throughout the day, and then getting snippy because he doesn't respond? Is she his mother? Does he need to check in with her regularly? I found this especially bizarre.)

3.) She is without a doubt a woman of a certain privilege. I suspect she came from money and she certainly married into it. It's all well and good to tell me to take time for myself, take classes, exercise more, etc... I understand she's right about these things. But as a single, working mother, my life is vastly different from hers. Not everyone has the time, money, and other resources readily available to her. This is not to say that I gleaned nothing from this book, but I just can't imagine that many people would find her very relateable.

4.) She really doesn't say anything new. I think we all already know most of her "epiphanies": money may not buy happiness, but it certainly makes it easier; regular exercise makes you happier; hobbies, friends, and a social life will make you happier; etc... While her conscious effort to do all these things (in a year, natch) is perhaps unique, not much of the information contained herein is.

5.) I felt like a fairly big chunk of this book was devoted to quoting comments from her blog. I also feel like these quotes were not separated from her writing very clearly. Perhaps it was a problem unique to the Kindle version, but several times I found myself wondering, "Is this Gretchen or someone else?"

Over all, I wish I could give the book 2.5 stars. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. It was ok. I can't say that I regret reading it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to a friend, either. ( )