Review: Stumbling on Happiness

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book gives a clear idea of why people make decisions they think will make them happy, but don't always end up that way. In the end, we learn that the best way to determine if we should do something is to ask someone how they feel right now as they are doing the thing we are thinking about doing. Notice I didn't say to ask someone who has done what we want to do. The reason is we often have different feelings about what we have done or are going to do than what we actually felt while doing that thing.

For instance, how often does someone scream with fear while on a roller coaster, but then later say it was awesome? The same goes for those who get a masters degree. They may say once it is over it wasn't that bad, but ask anyone in the middle of getting their master's and you will hear a much different story.

Ultimately, your mind plays tricks on you on how you felt about circumstances and events in the past and how you'll feel about them in the future.

Read the book for a more extensive look at all of the ways we trick ourselves and to see some of the events people assume will bring happiness versus which ones actually do.



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Review: Love in the Time of Cholera

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Gosh! it took so long to read it's hard to know what to write. I did enjoy it, but it stretched on, taking me months to read.

This is a bit of a complex novel in that it has many, many loves explored throughout--fleeting love, young love, persistent love, long-term love and old love.

It's an interesting look at how people choose who they want to love and who they choose to keep at a distance.

I'd recommend it to readers who don't mind a novel to take it's time in telling the story and want to explore ideas of different kinds of love throughout life.

I'd skip it if you're looking for an easy read or something that gives you immediate pleasure. While I've just finished "Love in the Time of Cholera," I get the feeling it's one of those that will have me reflecting the different aspects of it for a long time. I've been told that I need to read "One Hundred Years of Solitude," but I may need a bit of a break before embarking on that adventure.



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Review: Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life: How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect, and Happiness

Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life: How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect, and Happiness by Karen Rauch Carter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a great intro into Feng shui. Several years ago, I was really into reading about Feng shui, but had not really practiced it in a while. When I found this book at Half Price Books last week, I decided it might be time to revisit it.
If you're not familiar with the concept, Feng shui is all about placing things in your home with intention in order to have the best outcomes in your life in terms of money, love, fame, health, etc. it also teaches about creating space for energy to flow in and out of your life more easily.
It's a quick read and offers many solutions to whatever design problems your home may have. For instance, there are good and bad places for your toilet to be positioned in your home. Your bed should not face a door.
I also liked that the author invited readers to learn other practices of Feng shui besides her own, being open to different practices of Feng shui.
Overall, I found the book helpful and easy to read and was able to apply the tips to my own home easily.



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Review: Mad About the Boy

Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



In some ways, I'm ready for Bridget Jones to grow up a bit. Even though she's middle-aged, I feel like she's got a lot to learn and maturing to do. I get that she is supposed to represent that part of us that sometimes just can't get our act together, but I had hoped she'd grown just bit from her earlier days. She also seems to end up with the men who make her most fell like a little child, so perhaps she has daddy issues?

Overall, I think it's hard to rate this book, as there is so much pressure to be the the first book we fell in love with. I'm not sure if I wasn't terribly crazy about this book because 1) it's not the first book 2) I'm not as young as I once was and therefore can't entirely identify with Bridget the way I could in my 20s or 3) it just wasn't as great as the earlier books.

All that to say, it's an easy read, that flies by, has some entertaining bits and can keep you occupied over the holiday. Just don't expect too much in the line of character growth, as I'm not sure that's where this character is headed.



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Review: The Valley of Amazement

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



As always, Amy Tan tells a great story that winds its way this way and that.

Again, she shows the complicated relationship between mothers and their daughters through the lens of American-Asian women. Regardless of coming from a different ethnic background, there are enough similarities between mothers and daughters to lend a familiarity among most women.

While I have seen this book being compared to Memoirs of a Geisha, that should not make you think that this story will unwind in the same ways. This novel has its own twists, turns and surprises.

Some of the themes around love and relationships with men are also interesting as the main character gets a taste of some of the best and worst relationships possible.

If you enjoy stories that are original, complicated, yet keep a thread winding the story along and character development, you'll enjoy this one.



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Review: Coming Clean: A Memoir

Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really enjoyed this book about the author's upbringing living with hoarder parents. I guess we all have things that our parents do that drive us crazy repeatedly, but in this case, she literally has to live with their filth ongoing. It was also interesting from the standpoint that I'm a mix of minimalism and cluttered, so I could understand where her dad was coming from in feeling somewhat soothed by having his information surrounding him. The difference is that I eventually have a point at which I cannot tolerate it any more and will completely clean everything and I cannot stand for shared spaces, such as the kitchen and living room to have clutter. It's also interesting to hear how someone can be frustrated and loving to their parents at the same time. Her parents seem to take their lifestyle just as a thing that's somehow happened to them and don't seem to notice they've created this lifestyle. In fact, it doesn't seem like the dad even realizes there's anything wrong with it. Regardless of whether you grew up in a spotless house like mine, or a completely messy house like the author's there are themes that will likely strike a chord with you.



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Review: The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm not sure why I've been reading books about death, but somehow I've been finding myself reading about 2 things: women who are left single while pregnant and those who are left single by their husband's death. I suppose this could show a fear of abandonment, but since I'm already single, it seems an odd trend to say the least. "The Year of Magical Thinking" is along the lines of widowhood, not pregnancy. It's about Joan Didion's year following her husband's death.

While I've never had anyone really close to me die, I can still understand some of the obsession she goes through in this process after losing someone. She begins methodically going over every last moment and every conversation looking for a way to change the reality that has already happened. If she could just understand how her husband died of a heart attack, perhaps she could prevent it-never mind the fact that it's already happened.

She also goes through the pain of trying to move on, but feeling guilty if she is enjoying herself. It's a natural feeling, and yet, does her not enjoying life bring her deceased husband any closer to feeling joy once again?

If you've ever wondered what it's like to lose someone after a long marriage, this is probably one of the few books that tries to show exactly the things being thought without trying to give a happy ending or a false sense of everything happens for the best. This isn't to say it's a depressing book-it wasn't. It was a fast read that gives a glimpse into the odd way we try to deal with death, even when we act like everything is as it always was.



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