Review: The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I had been wanting to read this book for a while, so when a friend of mine offered to lend it to me, I jumped at the chance. I was curious how it would go, since I've been reading Gretchen's blog for a few years and, while I love the idea of the blog, had never been as inspired as I thought I should be. The book was exactly the same. While it's inspirational in a way (I love the idea of becoming more "me" and doing things I like to do instead of things I think I should want to do), I also think that many of her ideas were fairly similar and the ideas weren't that far outside the box. It also really bothered me that she would not attempt meditation, even though people kept repeatedly telling her it was the No. 1 thing for them in being happy. Granted, I realize it's HER project and not mine, it just seems like she wasn't THAT willing to try new things in order to reach her goal. Many of the things she did was just increase something she already did, such as be more polite. I've hear her new book, "Happier at Home" got better ratings than the first, so I'm still undecided on whether to give it a chance. I'd love to hear if anyone did their own happiness project, especially if they went a little more "outside the box."



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Review: Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I'll be real honest. I bought this book because I read a tweet that was talking about how great it was. When I began to read, I wasn't so sure. The beginning felt very shallow, but over time I grew to like it (not love it, but like it).

This book, aimed at teens is the story of a girl who fell into popularity just before middle school and, while she wasn't a super-terrible person, she wasn't willing to step out of her box and be nice, or even pay attention to, people outside of her four-person popular group (except for her shallow boyfriend, who just wanted to get into her pants).

The story starts out with the main character, Sam, who dies in the first scene in a car wreck. But the weird thing is, she wakes up the next day only to find herself at the beginning of the day she relived before her death. Much like Ground Hog Day, her day keeps starting over, allowing Sam to try things a little different each time--sometimes for the better and sometimes for the best.

Will Sam ever become a better person and makes things right or will she spin out of control with the power she has at knowing she will likely just wake up again to relive the same day?

Overall, I liked the idea and think it was well-written. I just had a hard time liking some of the main characters very much, although the minor characters will pull at your heart strings as you see them suffering in the typical high school popular/unpopular scene.



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