The Happiness Project

I am only part way through a terrific bit of nonfiction, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She has written biographies of both Churchill and Kennedy and has a researcher's passion for any subject she undertakes. She actually stumbled upon this idea about decoding happiness one day as she says while riding the subway. What makes us happy? How can we maximize happiness? Happiness is a trendy topic these days with a class at Harvard dedicated to the very subject. Rubin's not a depressed type; in fact, she says on a scale of 1-5, she was close to a 4 in her own happiness when she began the study. However, she wanted to investigate the substructure of that ephemeral term and devised a year- long project, which incidentally she blogged about. Each month she sets specific goals to increase her happiness quotient. These may be as physical as a thorough de-cluttering of office and closet or as luxurious as a moderate splurge. Rubin works to not only increase her own level and understanding of happiness but also includes excerpts from her blogs when readers offered their own responses to the questions she posed. Since I have only arrived at July ( her book follows a calendar year) I am not sure if her final analysis will be earth shattering, but I must say I have enjoyed her journey. And by the way, I am a 4 on the 1-5 scale myself!