Helpful Score: 1
Gretchen Rubin writes a book that is partly a memoir and partly a self-help book. She draws on the work of those in the field of positive psychology, and her book is peppered with quotes from various historical personas including Samuel Butler and Seneca. She asks if happiness is a worthwhile goal to have, and if its possible to be a happier person.
For Rubin, this isnt a difficult question. The paperback edition of the book shows tenements in New York but Rubin herself isnt an impoverished single mother; shes a successful attorney. Money makes a big difference in how happy a person can be, and most people already know this.
She divides the book into monthly sections and details what shes going to be working on. While she apparently has done some research, there are points in the book where I wondered how she couldnt know some of this information already. While discussing her marriage, she notes that "you can't change your partner, you can only change yourself." Is this really new information for her, because it has been the focus of many, many articles on relationships. In another example, she has an epiphany that she can store her childrens photos in file boxes. How does someone get this far in life without having ever heard of organizing papers into files?
Rubin does make a good point in stating that learning from someone elses example (success and failure) can be a catalyst for change more so than learning an abstract concept. She generously reveals personal details in her book about her own happiness project, and the reader takes away ideas for identifying sources of joy in daily life and taking steps to become happier. She writes in a conversational style, so you dont feel as though you are reading a self-help book with checklists of what to do and when to do it; you feel as though youre conversing with someone. She also writes a blog and much of the book is simply comments from readers from her blog, which seems like shes taking the last way out and just wants to fill more pages. Its an interesting read nonetheless.
For Rubin, this isnt a difficult question. The paperback edition of the book shows tenements in New York but Rubin herself isnt an impoverished single mother; shes a successful attorney. Money makes a big difference in how happy a person can be, and most people already know this.
She divides the book into monthly sections and details what shes going to be working on. While she apparently has done some research, there are points in the book where I wondered how she couldnt know some of this information already. While discussing her marriage, she notes that "you can't change your partner, you can only change yourself." Is this really new information for her, because it has been the focus of many, many articles on relationships. In another example, she has an epiphany that she can store her childrens photos in file boxes. How does someone get this far in life without having ever heard of organizing papers into files?
Rubin does make a good point in stating that learning from someone elses example (success and failure) can be a catalyst for change more so than learning an abstract concept. She generously reveals personal details in her book about her own happiness project, and the reader takes away ideas for identifying sources of joy in daily life and taking steps to become happier. She writes in a conversational style, so you dont feel as though you are reading a self-help book with checklists of what to do and when to do it; you feel as though youre conversing with someone. She also writes a blog and much of the book is simply comments from readers from her blog, which seems like shes taking the last way out and just wants to fill more pages. Its an interesting read nonetheless.
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