Great Book and Story

What made the experience of listening to The Happiness Project the most enjoyable?

I'm a general happy person living with someone who is commonly negative or depressed. I originally bought it to see if there was something I could learn to help her. However... I loved the book and I am thinking of starting my own happiness project because of it.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

There is one small frustration with the reading of the book... There are points in the book where what is being read are comments from blog readers or from some other source. From an audible book stand point, it is really hard to know when the comments / opinions being read are the authors or someone else. It is hard to know when the reader has switched back to reading book author material. minor issue, but frustrating.

42 people found this helpful

Disappointed

I had great hopes for this audio book. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The author seems like a very nice person and writes in a very casual conversational style. The problem is this book reads more like a diary or blog of a person's journey to find happiness. Cool right? That's what the book is supposed to be about. The problem is that my listening of this book felt like I was on the author's journey towards happiness and she did not take me along for the ride.

I think in spending several hours listening to this audio book I didn't learn anything on how to personally become more happy even though I learned all about the author's life and her struggles toward happiness, criticism and relationships especially with her sister and husband. We learn all about the author being an attorney and a writer and her internal struggles.

I wanted this book to be good, but unfortunately I left disappointed. If you're looking for a book in this particular area I would highly recommend: Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom...Why the Meaningful Life is Closer Than You Think Audiobook which I would put in my list of the top 20 books best I ever read.

This book is set up in a way that the author is working on one principle of happiness each month and basically shares with you her experience. That's the problem the book is written in a nonjudgmental style toward what you should pursue while almost seeming self-righteous about how the author is pursuing happiness her own life. Unfortunately unlike most audio books which I feel a close connection with the author this one left me feeling uncomfortable.

163 people found this helpful

Shallow and Disappointing

Any additional comments?

I had high hopes for this book, but it just didn't live up to the hype. I might have had more appreciation for it if I had read the actual book rather than listening to the author's narration of it. I really disliked the narration. What disappointed me most was just how superficial it all seemed to me. I expected something deep and enlightening, but this wasn't it.

43 people found this helpful

I just can't...terrible narration & bad advice.

Would you try another book from Gretchen Rubin and/or Gretchen Rubin?

Probably not. She is terribly boring and too monotone to be narrating. I don't actually think she was successful in her happiness project.

What could Gretchen Rubin have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

She shouldn't narrate. Also, to be frank, she sounds like an UNHAPPY person, still, even though she supposedly went through this year of attempting happiness. Honestly, I feel like she missed the whole point. The book may have been more enjoyable read by a more lively person but, I just think it's a bad self-help book too because it's totally subjective to her life and doesn't make me feel motivated to take any of the same steps she took.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She was a terrible story teller, boring, monotone, and clearly just an achievement focused person who's view of happiness is, in my opinion, very skewed. It was also very difficult to tell the difference between when she was talking from first person or as someone else.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe...only because perhaps it would be better portrayed by other actors.

Any additional comments?

As a therapist, I feel the need to advise people NOT to follow this woman's advice or even look to this book as a guide to happiness. It seems that, what may come off as funny if read directly from the book, is actually Gretchen's attempt to make light of times when she is actually quite unhappy....WHICH IS HEALTHY AND NORMAL TO BE. She puts a lot of blame on her husband for petty things and plays it off as "loving his quirks" when clearly, you can tell throughout that she is still pissed at him and seeking his approval through the project. Maybe I haven't gotten to it yet, but she rarely talks about how happiness simply comes from being in whatever state you're in, instead of trying to plan happiness. She rarely talks positively about her family, she admits she's motivated by "gold stars" and its obvious throughout that she is just seeking another big golden star by writing and selling this. If you want to listen to a woman's struggle with bringing her boring life somewhat more color, then you might like this. Besides some statistics, which I think are irrelevant to happiness anyway, this is not a useful book.

35 people found this helpful

Fantastic project!

What did you love best about The Happiness Project?

Perhaps what I loved the most was the invitation to participate, in my very own way, into this fun journey of joy within the beautiful simplicity of my day to day life. I appreciated the very honest approach, and sharing, of the author's life experiences throughout her year of happiness.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gretchen, of course, but I also loved listening about her relationships with her in-laws and her husband/daughters.

Which scene was your favorite?

I do have a few months of her project that I found particularly inspiring and probably the ones I was able to connect the most with such as August, the month dedicated to contemplating the heavens; September, the month she dedicated to write a novel and spending more time with books as well as November when the concept of laughing out loud while lightening one's attitude came about.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were plenty of moments, but the one that comes to mind right now, is when she realized that her bus ride to school in the mornings with her daughter was that magical moment of her every day that was never going to be there again. That moment when she realized this and it became such a happiness producer for her, reminded me of a similar situation I have gone through this year. Since last September, I have been driving my daughter to her first year of high school for her zero period class (which means that I have to be up at 5:00 a.m. every morning in order to make it on time.) At the beginning it was such a struggle for me until I realized, like Gretchen, that this is it: the magic is happening right now. And I have loved every minute of every early morning since then!

Any additional comments?

So looking forward to her new upcoming book, "Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life."

16 people found this helpful

The Happiness Project

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it - and then wanted the hardcover edition as well. I'm inspired to start my own happiness project. This book opened my eyes to ways that I can increase not only my happiness but also that of people around me. It made me happy!

44 people found this helpful

The gift that keeps on giving...

This book was an awesome lucky find. I shy away from anything that sounds "self-helpish" but this book gives the gift that keeps on giving. In fact, I listened to it twice and then went out and purchased the book and will purchase more for family. This book is a great source of reality. We are responsible, in most part, for our own happiness. I guess we all just need an example to show us how to start. I love the web pages and the stories from others. Now if I could only find the Orange Blossom candle, I'd be set. This book has helped me recognize my truths and has made me actively count my blessings. The best line, "the days are long but the years are short."

54 people found this helpful

weary

some interesting ideas... early on got weary of hearing blog comments ... felt like filler.

7 people found this helpful

Superficial

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better content, a real actor. The voice of Gretchen is unbearable after 2min.

Would you ever listen to anything by Gretchen Rubin again?

Never. I have read hundreds of books but I felt compelled to write this review as this book is completely superficial, doesn't provide any meaningful advice - except reading the classics.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Gretchen Rubin?

Someone talented, or just anyone.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Happiness Project?

The part when she cleans her closet, all sections shall have been cut.

Any additional comments?

Worst book I have ever read.

9 people found this helpful

FULL of herself!

Yup, the writer of this book is over-the-top full of Gretchen! Even with that rather annoying aspect, I have listened to this fully about 3 times. I actually bought the book. I really had to get over Gretchen in order to benefit from what are rather good messages and strategies for becoming more awake and aware, of living in a state that supports happiness. I'm grateful to Gretchen even though she subjected me to things like writing a novel while she worked out a exercise program while she was extra nice to her husband while she planned a birthday party par excellence for her mother-in-law while she created family archives, and on and on, almost all simultaneously. She breaks it up into months, but the activity is so frenetic and so intense and constant that it can be exhausting. The best part is perhaps Gretchen's honesty although even that is excessive.

29 people found this helpful