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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Customer Comments
happinessresearch has commented on (13) products
Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World
by
Jim Johnson
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
How to Find Long-Term Happiness This is currently my favorite happiness book. In less than 100 pages, it offers a reader all they ever wanted to know about the subject of happiness- and then some. While some readers might be turned off by its brevity, I wasn't bothered, and in fact, appreciated it! As the insert of the book points out, "What good is a big book full of useful information if nobody ever finishes it?" So if you're looking to live a happier life, want to start concentrating your life's efforts on what will really make you happy in the long run, OR if you simply want to learn more about the science of happiness- get it. Happy trails!
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Happiness Now Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good Fast
by
Robert Holden
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Got Happiness? I've read a lot of happiness books and those written for the popular read always seem to fall into one of two general categories. Some of them, like "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World", are based on scientific research and what has positively been proven to make people happier in controlled trials. Yet others take a less scientific approach and try to make you happier by re-framing your thinking through wisdom and enlightening stories- which is just what you'll get in "Happiness Now!: Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good FAST". Now while I'm a little more biased towards the scientific approach, let it be said there is MUCH to be gained by reading a book like this. It's what I like to think of as a "cognitive therapy" approach to making one happier. Cognitive therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps people overcome their problems by identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking- which is just how I feel this book accomplishes its goal of trying to make people happier. One interesting point of the book is that happiness is a decision, and that you can have it right now- hence the title of the book. Of course if it was thar easy, you or I wouldn't need to be reading a book about how to be happy, now would we? Therefore, the bulk of the book is spent discussing obstacles that get in the way. To that end, one of the many quotes in the book goes like this, "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." And changing your attitude for the better is definitely one thing this book succeeds at. Happy trails!
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Authentic Happiness Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
by
Martin Seligman
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Authentic Happiness Written by the former president of the American Psychological Association, and author of over a dozen books including the popular "Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life", this title is one of the better selling happiness books out there. First off, this book was a little harder read for me than most happiness books- I have the paperback book which has small print, perhaps that was a factor. I'm also partial to shorter, just-give-me-the-facts happiness books, such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World"- so that might also explain why I plodded my way through pages at times. But having said that, there's IS lot of gems in here for happiness searchers like myself. While this is the kind of book I could write a really long review about, I think I'll just discuss what I consider to be the best bits for those looking for ways to become happier- which I think is why most people would buy this book. Soooo..... 1) the book provides the reader with a "happiness formula", which is H = S + C + V. This works out to happiness = your genetic Set point + intervening Circumstances + factors under you Voluntary control. So, since your can't do much about changing your genetics, when it comes to becoming happier, that leaves room for improvement in the areas of circumstances and voluntary activities. 2) the book suggests that if you want to lastingly raise your level of happiness by changing the external circumstances of your life, you should: live in a wealthy democracy, get married, avoid negative events and negative emotion, acquire a rich social network, and get religion. Conversely, you needn't bother to do the following: make more money, stay healthy, get as much education as possible, or try to change your race or move to a sunnier climate. However even if you could alter all of these things, it would not do much for you as this stuff accounts for only a small part of your happiness. On to Voluntary efforts... 3) This is where most of the book spends a substantial part of its efforts showing you how to be happier, and there's a lot of "meat" to sink your teeth into, with sections on how to obtain more satisfaction with your past, what consitutes happiness about the future, and happiness in the present. Also, the book spend much time talking about how happiness can be cultivated by identifying and nurturing our traits, such as humor, optimism, generosity or kindness. Readers who have read other happiness books, such as those by Jim Johnson or Sonja Lyubomirsky, will already be well familiar with the idea that the best way to increase your happiness is through intentional or voluntary activities. It makes a lot of sense, as you can't change your genetics, and circumstances are either out of your control, or make very little contributions to your happiness. Like this book, I agree that using intentional activities is the route to go when it comes to raising lasting happiness levels- and this book will help you out with that a lot. Happy trails!
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Happy for No Reason 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out
by
Marci Shimoff
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Happy for No Reason Written by the author of the best-selling "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul", this is one of the most popular happiness books around. While the author isn't a bona fide positive psychology researcher, that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to happiness books- although opinions vary. Some people think that the best happiness books are written by the positive psychology researchers themselves- because they know the info the best. On the other hand, there are excellent happiness books around written by non-happiness researchers, such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World" -penned by a physical therapist who began studying happiness after wondering how some of his patients in the hospital could be so happy- despite being so sick or faced with a grave prognosis. Sometimes its nice to get a non-happiness researcher's point of view- to avoid the inherent biases that people have when they discuss and write about their own research. You be the judge- on to the book. The idea presented is to get the reader to become "Happy for No Reason"- which the book defines as true happiness that isn't dependent on external circumstances. You can then take a questionnaire to see how close you are to being "Happy for No Reason." So if you're not quite there yet, how does the book intend to get you there? By several ways: -you'll learn three guiding principles that will help you get past the common blocks to happiness -you'll learn how to apply the "Law of Attraction" to being happier (the author was featured in the mega-bestseller "The Secret" which focuses on this law) -you'll learn about a seven-step program to become "Happy for No Reason". Each step has three "Happiness Habits" with corresponding exercises. -the author interviewed 100 happy people and shares 21 of their stories that define what it means to be "Happy for No Reason"- stories reminiscent of the "Chicken Soup" series. A few comments. First, having read much happiness literature, readers should know that some of the things the book suggests you do to become happier ARE research based, such as focusing on gratitude (readers can check out Emmon's book "Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier" for more on expressing gratitude), while other advice, such as "trust life's unfolding" have NOT been shown to increase happiness levels in controlled trials. Also, it should be obvious by my brief synopsis that the book has a lot of stuff for the reader to "do" in order to become happier. And, if readers "do" the exercises and become happier, the reason they're happier is because of the things they've done. This kinda goes against the whole point of the book- which is to show us how to become happier for NO reason. This confused me a bit. Logic aside, there's plenty of value in this book. Happiness books written for the popular read seem to fall into one of two general categories. They're either mainly based on scientific evidence and give you research-tested techniques OR they primarily give you advice and things to think about to help you "reframe" your thinking. "Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out" seems to fit in the latter category- and for that I can recommend it to happiness searchers everywhere. Happy trails!
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Happiness
by
Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Well-Balanced, Scientific Book on Happiness I was always wondering if Ed Diener would get around to writing a happiness book for the popular read. For those not in the know, Ed Diener is one of the most well-known happiness researchers out there- and has been contributing to the positive psychology field for literally decades by adding piles of his own research papers to the ever growing stack of happiness studies. Based on a lot of his work that I have read, I figured the book would be pretty scientific-minded. And I was right- you'll find no baloney here. "Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth" contains over 250 pages explaining in layman's terms, more or less, just about everything you ever wanted to know about happiness. Some of the more interesting topics covered include: -health and happiness -happiness and social relationships -happiness at work -money and happiness -spirituality and happiness -the happiest places on earth -the genetic set point and happiness Not since "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World" have I found a happiness book that covers so many happiness topics for the reader. While Johnson's book is a LOT shorter, and a sort of "Cliff Notes" version of this book in a sense, get this one if you want a more detailed review of the happiness literature. Great research findings aside, perhaps the most impressive thing I found in this book was the author's attitude about happiness. Here are people who have spent years researching happiness, and yet they seem to have put it all in a sensible perspective. Consider this: --happiness is something to shoot for most of the time, but negative emotions serve a useful purpose as well on occasion --while happiness can be reaching a desirable place, such as having good health, a successful carreer and a great family, don't overlook the process side of happiness in the pursuit of the good life (this is also a major point of another favorite happiness book of mine "Happier: Can You Learn to be Happy?"). In other words, happiness isn't only a destination, but also the journey. --happiness isn't JUST about feeling good, it is also good for you in a number of other surprising ways What more can I say? For anyone looking for a detailed, well-balanced, scientific look at happiness, its a great read. Happy trails!
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Thanks How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier
by
Robert Emmons
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Thanks for a Great Book Happiness books written for the popular read seem to fall into one of two general categories. They're either based on scientific evidence and give you research-tested techniques (such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World"), OR, they give you advice and things to think about to help you "reframe" your thinking (such as "The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living"). While I can't say that one is better than the other, as they both have their attributes, I will say that I personally prefer the research-based books the best- like this one. In this book, positive psychology researcher Robert Emmons, who is very well published I might add, will tell you all about the emotional disposition of gratitude- and how cultivating it in your life will not only make you happier, but just plain healthier all the way around! So what exactly is gratitude anyway? While the defintion depends on who you ask, the book tells that it is helpful to think of it in terms of two stages: the acknowledgement of goodness, and the recognizing that the source of this goodness lies at least partially outside yourself. I never thought of it like that, but it makes all the sense in the world to me. With that in hand, the book goes on to tell you exactly what gratitude has to do with happiness. As the book explains, there are three main things that determine your happiness: circumstances, genetics, and intentional activities. Cultivating gratitude fits into the happiness equation by being an intentional activity- one you can practice that has been shown to increase happiness levels. But does it REALLY work? In a word, yes, and I can say this with certainty because the author himself has conducted randomized controlled trials that have proven this. (For those not in the know, the highest form of scientific proof that something actually works is the randomized controlled trial). And so, as you might have guessed, a good portion of the book is spent talking about his, as well as other's research, that will probably convince many, if not all readers, that cultivating gratitiude can not only make one happier, but healthier as well. But while the book contains it's share of research, it very much leaves the reader with some practical tools by its end. Obstacles that get in the way of gratitude are discussed, as well as some very practical options to incorporate gratitude into your life, keeping a journal being just one example. My final comment on this book is that if there were more like 'em, this world would truly be a better place. Here is a simple book that convincingly showed me that something as small and easy to do as being thankful, not only has the potential to change a person, but perhaps the rest of the world too. Thanks for a great book!
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Thanks How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier
by
Robert Emmons
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Thanks for a Great Book Happiness books written for the popular read seem to fall into one of two general categories. They're either based on scientific evidence and give you research-tested techniques (such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World"), OR, they give you advice and things to think about to help you "reframe" your thinking (such as "The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living"). While I can't say that one is better than the other, as they both have their attributes, I will say that I personally prefer the research-based books the best- like this one. In this book, positive psychology researcher Robert Emmons, who is very well published I might add, will tell you all about the emotional disposition of gratitude- and how cultivating it in your life will not only make you happier, but just plain healthier all the way around! So what exactly is gratitude anyway? While the defintion depends on who you ask, the book tells that it is helpful to think of it in terms of two stages: the acknowledgement of goodness, and the recognizing that the source of this goodness lies at least partially outside yourself. I never thought of it like that, but it makes all the sense in the world to me. With that in hand, the book goes on to tell you exactly what gratitude has to do with happiness. As the book explains, there are three main things that determine your happiness: circumstances, genetics, and intentional activities. Cultivating gratitude fits into the happiness equation by being an intentional activity- one you can practice that has been shown to increase happiness levels. But does it REALLY work? In a word, yes, and I can say this with certainty because the author himself has conducted randomized controlled trials that have proven this. (For those not in the know, the highest form of scientific proof that something actually works is the randomized controlled trial). And so, as you might have guessed, a good portion of the book is spent talking about his, as well as other's research, that will probably convince many, if not all readers, that cultivating gratitiude can not only make one happier, but healthier as well. But while the book contains it's share of research, it very much leaves the reader with some practical tools by its end. Obstacles that get in the way of gratitude are discussed, as well as some very practical options to incorporate gratitude into your life, keeping a journal being just one example. My final comment on this book is that if there were more like 'em, this world would truly be a better place. Here is a simple book that convincingly showed me that something as small and easy to do as being thankful, not only has the potential to change a person, but perhaps the rest of the world too. Thanks for a great book!
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How of Happiness A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want
by
Sonja Lyubomirsky
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
The "How" of Happiness Indeed This book is one of the more readable "do-it-yourself" happiness books out there. By that, I mean that your average person can sit down and read the book, understand what it is saying, and come away with some practical advice. This is even more of gem when you consider that it was written by someone who has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Many times writing can come across more technical than it needs to be when a Phd. writes for the popular read. Not the case here. The first thing I liked about this book was the fact that it was written by someone who actually makes their living by studying happiness. Serious happiness readers like myself will be glad to know that the author is not only well-published in peer-reviewed journals, but is also an associate editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology- the field's academic journal. What more do you want? So we're off to a good start with this one. Instead of giving you a blow-by-blow of each chapter, I think this particular book review lends itself better to telling potential buyers some of things they can expect from it: -you will be able to determine your current level of happiness on a scale that the author has developed and validated. The good thing about this is that you can re-check you happiness levels after doing some of the suggested activities to see if they actually boosted your happiness levels (like you wouldn't know anyway, but being a researcher myself, I like to be able to quantify things) -you will learn what determines your happiness. The book points out three major things: circumstances, your genetic set-point, and intentional activity. Since intentional activities is the area that offers the most potential to increase your happiness, the book's strategies come from this area. This is a common theme in some of the more recent happiness book, such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World", simply because it makes the most sense and there has been a surge of research on intentional activities to increase one's happiness. -you get a slew of activities to increase your happiness such as expressing gratitude, practicing acts of kindness, or increasing flow experiences (readers liking this strategy should be sure to check out the authoritative book on flow aptly titled "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience". So I think the above represents the major "goodies" in the book, and the info that a typical reader would buy this book to get. However if its more you want, there's also plenty of that. For instance there are plenty of happiness facts cited and even a section on depression. All-in-all, as you can tell, I really liked this book a lot. If I had to pick one thing I DIDN'T like about it though, it would be it's length. The book is well-over 300 pages and readers of my reviews know that I personally prefer short, to-the-point, practical books. But, when all is said and done, if you want some great happiness info and some practical happiness strategies, check it out. Happy trails!
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Art of Happiness a Handbook for Living
by
Dalai Lama
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Happiness According to the Dalai Lama This book is suppose to represent the Dalai Lama's views on happiness. Readers should know right off the bat that the Dalai Lama didn't actually write this book. Rather, the book is written by a Western psychiatrist who has had extensive converations with His Holiness. To insure that there were no "inadvertant distortions" of the Dalai Lama's ideas as a result of the editorial process, the Dalai Lama's interpreter reviewed the final manuscript. You be the judge as to whether that means this there was nothing "lost in translation". So who is this Dalai Lama, aka "His Holiness" anyway? And, why should we read a book about happiness by him? Well, the Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism- which in my book makes him a person I'd want to listen to when he talks, especially when it's on one of my favorite subjects, happiness. And if this all sounds like an interesting topic for a book, you should read it- you won't be disappointed. Now this is the kind of book I could write a long review of- simply because there's just so much wisdom packed into it. But, I think I'll take a short-cut with this one and just hit the highlights. The Dalai Lama believes that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Other happiness books have also taken this same position. For example, the book "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World" refers to happiness as "the ultimate pursuit". On this most will agree, but what exactly does the Dalai Lama tell us about finding it? As with most of his ideas on things, the concept is clear and simple: happiness can be achieved through training the mind. According to the Dalai Lama, one begins by identifying those factors which lead to happiness, and those factors which lead to suffering. Having done this, one then sets about gradually eliminating those factors which lead to suffering and cultivating those which lead to happiness. That is the way. To that end, that's exactly what makes up the majority of this book's pages- ways to eliminate factors in your life that lead to suffering, and learning to foster those factors that lead to happiness. Some specific topics include: -facing suffering -dealing with anger, hatred, and anxiety -building self-esteem -deepening your connection to others When all is said and done, I'd have to say that the time you spend mulling over the book's 300-plus pages is going to be well worth it. For most readers, the Dalai Lama's wisdom and views will probably be very beneficial, if not transforming. Happy trails!
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Flow: the Psychology of Optimal Experience
by
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Flow: A Path to Happiness Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience". So what exactlty is flow and what does it have to do with finding happiness? There are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it." Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness. Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice. In a nutshell, Flow is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life. I didn't find it as easy to read as some books written by academic individuals, such as David Myer's "The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy", but it's definitely a "digestable" read for the general audience. I'll tell you, though, after reading a lot of positive psychology books, you start to see some common threads. In "Flow", one of the conditions that makes flow occur is that you have a clear goal. And in the book "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World", it reveals that one proven way to increase long-term happiness (according to controlled trials cited in the book) is to set intrinsic/self-concordant goals. With much happiness research coming to similar conclusions, perhaps an important take-home message is this: the kinds of things we choose to spend our time on can have a HUGE impact on how happy we are. Happy trails!
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Pursuit Of Happiness Discovering The Pat
by
David G Myers
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
Superb Review of the Earlier Happiness Research I've been a big fan of David Myers for years. His writing style is very entertaining and casual, and perhaps best of all, his writing is based on solid, published research. Mr. Meyers, a psychology professor by trade, has written many books, including a very fascinating one on intuition, but perhaps his most popular one is the academic text "Psychology", now in its 9th edition! Anyway, this particular book came out in the early 90's (I have a 1992 copy) which means that is was written before then- which means that all the info you read is about the happiness research PRIOR to that. I bring this up, just so that potential buyers know that they aren't reading the lastest and greatest happiness research. Now while it might sound like a negative thing, it isn't necessarily. This is one of the few books that disucusses happiness research and does so in layman's term. Thus, the reader is getting a good overview of the early happiness research. While many new findings have energed since the publication of this book, such as in the areas of gratitude and goals, much of the information you'll be reading is still true to this day. A few specifics about the book. It's actually about an inch thick, with a good quarter inch of that being the extensive bibliography in the back- so a lot of the book in your hands is actually reference data. This may turn a lot of people off, but I rather liked it because it just shows how well-researched the book is (and that's an understatement). The content of the book? Well, its pretty comprehensive and complete. The author. always the scientist and researcher, covers absolutely every major area of happiness, such as wealth, the demographics of happiness, love and marriage, and so on. Everyone but the most well-read happiness researcher will probably learn something new. One last thing you need to know. The book doesn't actually show you how to become happier. Therefore, readers looking for a book that will show them actual strategies on how to become happier should look elsewhere. As the author points out, the book was written more to inform than to prescribe or advise. But, if it's a good overview of the earlier happiness research you want to read about, this is your book. Happy trails!
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Science Of Subjective Well Being
by
Michael Eid
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
The Latest and Greatest Happiness Research First off, potential readers need to know that this is basically an academic book and not written for the popular read. People looking for a general book about happiness that discusses ways to increase long-term happiness might want to check out books more for the lay-person, such as my personal favorite, "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World". Tal Ben-Shahar's books are very readable as well. Secondly, if you're confused by the term "subjective well-being", feel free to substitute it with the word "happiness." Although a lot of happiness researchers study "subjective well-being" and not "happiness", I can tell you that most researchers use the two interchangeably in their writing for clarity's sake. For those wondering, studying subjective well-being is preferred by researchers because it taps into several aspects of happiness such as life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Having said that, this is just a great book that looks at cutting edge happiness research. As with most academic texts, it is written by not one, but many experts in the field, each contributing a chapter or two to the book- and then the whole thing being edited by one or two prominent experts. Briefly, the book is divided up into VI sections: Section I covers some history and philosophy. Section II discusses how researchers measure subjective well-being. Section II talks about "the happy person". Section IV looks at the subjective well-being research in specific areas such as young people, job satisfaction, in other cultures and nations and so on. Section V discusses the various interventions that have been shown to increase happiness (goal setting, expressing gratitude, etc.) And lastly, Section VI covers a few of the common myths in the science of happiness and talks about future directions. 7 myths are presented and address some pretty misunderstood issues, such as why you can't understand the causes of well-being by looking at a pie chart of influences (ex. 50% of your happiness is determined by your genetics, 10% by demographics, and so on). No doubt parts of this book will become obsolete in 10 years or so as new research continues to pour in from the flourishing field of positive psychology. But for now, its just a great up-to-date look at the latest and greatest findings. Happy trails!
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Happier Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy & Lasting Fulfillment
by
Tal Ben Shahar
happinessresearch
, February 23, 2009
No-Nonsense Happiness Info I really liked this book. While conducting my ongoing research on the subject of happiness, this book caught my eye with its bright red and yellow cover. Glancing through the book, the information caught my attention. I guess what I liked best about it, and what sets it apart from the rest of the happiness books on the shelf, was the author's approach. Right off the bat, the book makes it clear that one's goal should not be to merely strive for a great state of happiness. As it points out, this approach suggests happiness is a point you try and reach, and then you've "made it"- game over. Wrong. Nobody goes around in a perfectly blissful state all the time, and pursuing such a goal is doomed to fail. Instead, our approach should be to try and continually work on being "happier" (hence the reason for the title of the book). The trying to be "happier" approach leaves us with a much more realistic goal- and suggests that it is more of an ongoing process in life we should be shooting for, rather than trying to reach a state of happiness and then you're good to go forever. So just how does the book intend to make one "happier"? In two words, the research. Since the author teaches a class in positive psychology at Harvard, the book's tips to increase your happiness, such as setting goals and expressing gratitude, stand on solid ground. I also believe most readers will find them pretty doable. When all was said and done, I found this book to be pretty good read with a sensible approach to becoming happier. Not only does it explain the happiness research in a digestable language, and give you practical happiness boosting tips, it's biggest asset to readers just might be that it helps re-frame the whole idea of how we should go about pursuing happiness. Readers who like this evidence-based book may also want to check out "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World". Happy trails!
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