own kitchen

Reading this book helped me to realize that all of my favorite books - the ones I can't put down - have nothing in common except for a voice / narrator / author that I really like. Elizabeth Gilbert, Bill Carter, Wally Lamb, Kelly Corrigan, Jeanette Walls: these are all people and/or characters I'd really like to hang out with. At first I was skeptical if I could add this author, Gretchen Rubin (who posted a comment about our book club at http://happinessisrealwhenshared.blogspot.com!), to my list of fantasy-author-friends. But tonight I decided I liked her, when she said: "I wanted to change my life without changing my life. I wanted to find happiness in my own kitchen."

Do you like her / her voice? I've heard some feedback that it's too sugary sweet or that it's too analytical. What do you think?

!!!!!!

Check out this comment from my blog http://happinessisrealwhenshared.blogspot.com/:

Gretchen said...
Erin,

Thanks so much for picking my book, The Happiness Project! I appreciate you and your book club shinning a spotlight on my work.

Best wishes,Gretchen

Maybe we'll have the author in our book club, too! :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and a chance to pick up our first read.

Here's someplace to start our chat:

In the note to the reader, the author says, "A 'happiness project' is an approach to changing your life. First is the prepartion stage, when you identify what brings you joy, satifisfaction, and engagement, and also what brings you guilt, anger, bordem, and remorse."

Can you easily identify these things? What brings you joy, satisfaction, and engagement? How did you choose these things? What about guilt, anger, bordem, and remorse?

Also, in the dedication pages, the author quotes Robert Louis Stevenson and says:

"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy."

Do you agree?

Do you think some people have an easier time being happy than others?

How much of happiness do you think is determined by our mindset

and how much by our circumstances?

Share your thoughts, ideas, questions, comments, ramblings, etc below.

Enjoy!

The Happiness Project!

The people have spoken: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin will be our first book club book! Go ahead and order it, borrow it, or buy it and start reading! (I just downloaded mine onto my iPhone, thank you for being so awesome, Apple!)

Whenever you have a question or comment about what you've read, just sign onto our blog and leave a comment. Hopefully we will generate an interesting conversation around what we're reading. Even if you don't have something to say, check back regularly and see if you agree/disagree/relate to/etc something another Book Clubber said.

Basically, read the book, check the blog, and enjoy! :)

If you'd like to be emailed updates, please send me your email address to erinjdaly@yahoo.com.

Vote, vote, vote!

Like the people of Massachusetts did yesterday, VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! There's only one day left to cast your vote for our first book club choice! Tomorrow we will have a book to start reading!

Check out www.bookcrossings.com and see if you can find a copy of the book floating around in your neighborhood!

Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

~P.J. O'Rourke

Welcome!

We're glad you're here! This is intended to be an easy way to connect to other people who are reading the same book as you. We can share ideas, connections, questions... anything goes. Or you can follow along quietly until you have something to say! No worries. Here's how it'll work:

1. We'll choose a book. Scroll the the bottom of this page and click on the links to the books. Vote in the poll to the right. If you have another suggestion, we're open to it (except for Warrior Cats, Bridget.) Leave your suggestion below.
2. We'll read the book within a reasonable time frame. (6 weeks? We're all busy, right?)
3. As we read, we'll post our questions, comments, and connections. There is no "right" comment. Pose a question about something you didn't understand. Make a comment about the character's motives. Connect what we're reading to your own experience in the world. Anything goes.
4. No obligation. No homework. No enrollment. Hop in and out at anytime. Just read when you have a chance. Read the blog and comments when you have a chance. And comment when you feel moved to do so.

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