jeanwk's review against another edition
5.0
Always refreshing, always uplifting to read Gretchen Rubin.
annaka's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as The Happiness Project. It had some interesting points and was a decent read but didn't have as many points that intrigued me as with the first book.
lynnaeaowens's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the Happiness Project and was eager to read more by Rubin on the topic. This book is focused on applying a happiness project to home life specifically, although in reality the topic kind of branches out to include aspects that aren't directly tied to home. (To be more argumentative - if we're happier at work/out with friends/getting groceries etc. won't we become happier at home too? I guess the premise is stated simply but really isn't that intuitive).
I didn't relate to this book the same way I did to the Happiness Project. I'm probably not the taret audience as I felt I'm not in the life phase for this book (I'm unmarried and childless in grad school). Also, a lot of the strategies she used seemed frivolous and unpractical. I don't have room to create a "shrine for scent" in my one-bedroom apartment. In the Happiness Project her specific examples were always couched in the idea that this would be incredibly personalized for someone else, and I never felt boxed-in or unsure how to apply it to my own life. In Happier at Home I continually found myself "throwing out" her ideas because I couldn't figure out how to adapt them to suit my life.
Side-note: It also really bugs me that she still won't try meditation. I mean, you're getting paid to write books where you experiment with strategies for increasing happiness, and you're unwilling to try a strategy that has tons of research evidence for improving psychological well-being? Really? You can't suck it up for 20 mins a day for 1 month for the sake of your book? *sigh*
3/5 Stick to the original.
I didn't relate to this book the same way I did to the Happiness Project. I'm probably not the taret audience as I felt I'm not in the life phase for this book (I'm unmarried and childless in grad school). Also, a lot of the strategies she used seemed frivolous and unpractical. I don't have room to create a "shrine for scent" in my one-bedroom apartment. In the Happiness Project her specific examples were always couched in the idea that this would be incredibly personalized for someone else, and I never felt boxed-in or unsure how to apply it to my own life. In Happier at Home I continually found myself "throwing out" her ideas because I couldn't figure out how to adapt them to suit my life.
Side-note: It also really bugs me that she still won't try meditation. I mean, you're getting paid to write books where you experiment with strategies for increasing happiness, and you're unwilling to try a strategy that has tons of research evidence for improving psychological well-being? Really? You can't suck it up for 20 mins a day for 1 month for the sake of your book? *sigh*
3/5 Stick to the original.
rsarnelli's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I liked this, but it did at times feel like a repeat of The Happiness Project. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, as I like the idea of a "happiness project" and I did appreciate the different approaches and insights. It just didn’t feel particularly new or anything. But whatever, I enjoyed it, and I liked the tips/resources section at the end.
dearmonicad's review
I liked this book less than Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project". It's more of the same resolutions driven, methodical working towards happiness that her first book highlighted. I like the subject matter and do feel motivated to work towards my own happiness, but I found Rubin to be very preachy and high-minded in this book - more so than her first on the subject. What struck me most from reading " Happier at Home" is the idea of making the most of the time that you have; taking the time to slow things down and enjoy life. As Rubin discovers, "I am living my real life, this is it. Now is now, and if I waited to be happier, waited to have fun, waited to do the things that I know I ought to do, I might never get the chance."
canuckmum's review against another edition
3.0
Some months (chapters) were stronger than others. The last month seemed particularly rushed. Rubin’s tone is often a bit preachy and she relies heavily on quotations from other authors.
grayxen's review against another edition
1.0
instead of having great ideas and inspiring concepts that would fill a book, she decided to write a book on a whim and then went around the house trying to find good content for it. spoiler: it didn't work. there's nothing new here; she takes some ideas from other people's books and others from her own previous publications, and in the end it's just a really short book full of 'me, me, me' with nothing helpful or inspirational.
i'm guessing that what made her happy from the previous book (the happiness project) was all the attention, so she wrote another to be in the spotlight again. i didn't read her previous book but she summarizes it in this one several times, and the bullet points all start with "i" or "my" (off-putting at first, but i kept going. it didn't get better).
she doesn't seem to have had a good reason for writing this book, it was a random idea that popped into her head while doing dishes. even her husband was like didn't you already do this? the way she came up with the subjects for each chapter is really irksome. basically thinking for a few seconds. hmmm neighbors, yeah that's a thing that could relate to a house... because it's surrounded by them! that's it, i'll include it.
nothing in the book is about helping people be happy at home, just a recounting of her going around her house making shrines for herself about herself. it reminds me of the people who have a daily planner full of stuff to do like "manicure, lunch with friend, hair appointment, coffee", etc, and then at the end of the day a big sticker that says "ME TIME" like the whole day wasn't spent selfishly enough.
it comes across as very self-serving and disconnected from reality. she claims she doesn't like to entertain or have pets because it's "too much trouble" and has a "big realization" at one point that "when i'm excited by an idea" she doesn't procrastinate "like when a project is tedious". that's something all 5-year-olds know. and she's an adult with children of her own.
she quotes famous/cool people randomly but doesn't seem to understand their ideas. other times she mentions that scientists, philosophers, minimalists, buddhists do things a certain way and then proceeds to do the opposite because 'their ideas don't work for EVERYbody' (no reason other than because she feels like it). any time a question of whether something is good or not pops up, she dismisses it with her new mantra of having to be herself, and anything that doesn't let her feel like herself gets rejected.
insisting that getting rid of clutter isn't the way to go, she pulls stuff out of boxes and drawers and displays it everywhere making even more clutter than the one her kids have all over the house (that way things aren't useless because now they're being looked at). then she buys more things to organize the clutter, like frames and bins, and even has a mural painted in her crowded home office. (because her shrines to herself around the house weren't enough i guess).
random statistics are scattered throughout just to make the book seem well-researched. yet when it would actually matter she shies away from research, too lazy to do the work, saying 'it's beyond the scope of my project' (like how depression affects happiness). a book about happiness that doesn't talk about overcoming depression because she's busy making shrines of kid books she's always loved. makes sense. for a tween's personal diary, not a book people pay for to learn something!
she's not teaching us anything and clearly she didn't learn anything herself... during one conversation where another mom tries to teach her the benefits of meditation she tells her she's wrong and goes off to get pizza. mature!
and that's just chapter 1.
i'm guessing that what made her happy from the previous book (the happiness project) was all the attention, so she wrote another to be in the spotlight again. i didn't read her previous book but she summarizes it in this one several times, and the bullet points all start with "i" or "my" (off-putting at first, but i kept going. it didn't get better).
she doesn't seem to have had a good reason for writing this book, it was a random idea that popped into her head while doing dishes. even her husband was like didn't you already do this? the way she came up with the subjects for each chapter is really irksome. basically thinking for a few seconds. hmmm neighbors, yeah that's a thing that could relate to a house... because it's surrounded by them! that's it, i'll include it.
nothing in the book is about helping people be happy at home, just a recounting of her going around her house making shrines for herself about herself. it reminds me of the people who have a daily planner full of stuff to do like "manicure, lunch with friend, hair appointment, coffee", etc, and then at the end of the day a big sticker that says "ME TIME" like the whole day wasn't spent selfishly enough.
it comes across as very self-serving and disconnected from reality. she claims she doesn't like to entertain or have pets because it's "too much trouble" and has a "big realization" at one point that "when i'm excited by an idea" she doesn't procrastinate "like when a project is tedious". that's something all 5-year-olds know. and she's an adult with children of her own.
she quotes famous/cool people randomly but doesn't seem to understand their ideas. other times she mentions that scientists, philosophers, minimalists, buddhists do things a certain way and then proceeds to do the opposite because 'their ideas don't work for EVERYbody' (no reason other than because she feels like it). any time a question of whether something is good or not pops up, she dismisses it with her new mantra of having to be herself, and anything that doesn't let her feel like herself gets rejected.
insisting that getting rid of clutter isn't the way to go, she pulls stuff out of boxes and drawers and displays it everywhere making even more clutter than the one her kids have all over the house (that way things aren't useless because now they're being looked at). then she buys more things to organize the clutter, like frames and bins, and even has a mural painted in her crowded home office. (because her shrines to herself around the house weren't enough i guess).
random statistics are scattered throughout just to make the book seem well-researched. yet when it would actually matter she shies away from research, too lazy to do the work, saying 'it's beyond the scope of my project' (like how depression affects happiness). a book about happiness that doesn't talk about overcoming depression because she's busy making shrines of kid books she's always loved. makes sense. for a tween's personal diary, not a book people pay for to learn something!
she's not teaching us anything and clearly she didn't learn anything herself... during one conversation where another mom tries to teach her the benefits of meditation she tells her she's wrong and goes off to get pizza. mature!
and that's just chapter 1.
eacastillo84's review against another edition
4.0
Even thought the author and I are nothing alike in temperament I still found her journey to find more joy in her everyday life interesting, helpful and engaging. This book, along with the first book, have inspired me to make small changes that can boost my own happiness. However, I don't think I will be using her resolutions chart, that's just not my style and as the author states she must "Be Gretchen" I have to be me. :)