I love reading books, but during the last few years life just got to be so time-consuming that I couldn’t read as often as I wanted to. I’d even tried reading Game of Thrones because I’d heard so many good comments about it. I couldn’t get past the first eight chapters or so. Not because it wasn’t interesting. I was just so busy that I would have to put it down for a while which doesn’t work with a book that changes characters every chapter. You tend to forget what you’ve read. Now that I’m living in Washington and I have a different job, I have had oodles of time for reading. Yay!!!

The book I’m reading is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I like the way this book is written. Gretchen writes in first person and discusses her desire to achieve a happier life by incorporating different life tasks into each month during a year. During her year, she focuses on boosting her energy and improving her marriage and relationships with her children (who seem absolutely adorable, by the way). It’s really just one woman’s journey to creating a better life for herself. A happier life. She doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not. She candidly shows some of her bad moods and displays of anger when someone else might have tried to cover up these aspects of his or her personality, and I really appreciate that about the book.

While the book is about her views on happiness, she backs up much of her writing with research. For those who just like to read novels of self-discovery, this book will do the trick. For others who want something a little more substantial, Gretchen has it in this book, and she’s even included a “Suggestions for Further Readings” section if you’re feeling ambitious.

The book is not a step-by-step instructional guide to becoming happier, but it can give you a blue-print to some of the things that you should think about in your journey to self-improvement and happiness.