The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin)

****

         Gretchen Rubin wasn't depressed when she started her Happiness Project; she just realized that she wasn't as happy as she wanted to be.  So she made a one-year plan to become happier, complete with resolution chart and monthly goals.  This book takes you through what she learned and decided over the course of her Happiness Project.

         I loved this book!  It was so interesting and informative.  There was a good blend of factual information and Gretchen's opinions based on her personal experiences.  It wasn't too dry, either.  I found her classification of clutter completely hilarious (probably because my house is pretty cluttered).  One of my favorite parts of The Happiness Project was that, unlike many other "self-help" books, Gretchen doesn't try to sell her system.  She doesn't claim that her way is the best or only way.  In fact, she emphasizes that everyone's happiness project will be different from hers.  I think many of the things she did could be applicable in my life, but I appreciate that she didn't try to force anything on me.  The Happiness Project makes me want to make positive, happiness-inducing changes in my life.  For a while, I even wanted to clean my closet like Gretchen did, which is really saying something.  You are very likely to find something in here that resonates with you.  Anyone who's interested in the concept of happiness will enjoy this book.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: September 21, 2012

Self-help books can be really great (like this one), or really terrible.  Personally, I despised The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Robots . . . er, Teens because it came across as condescending and was full of no, duh kinds of advice.  What's your experience with this genre?  Helpful and inspiring or unrealistic and condescending?