Punches in the Gut, Happiness, and Books Read 8/23/2019

​Happy Friday!  I’m back into the swing of things at work and also trying to get all of my steps in, keep the house clean, and take care of 4 kids so my reading has taken a bit of a hit.  But that’s okay! Real life comes first.  Plus, the whole house-cleaning thing is going to get old pretty fast so soon enough I’ll just prop myself up on the unfolded laundry with my dust-bunny pets and get lost in the latest best-seller! 
I did finish two books this week!

 ​A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt about this book until I read the last word on the last page and closed the book, started tearing up, and just wanted to roll around on the floor for a while.  It punched me in the gut in a wonderful way.  How on Earth is this author only in her twenties?  Please read this book about a Muslim family living in America in present day, with flashbacks to 2001ish which is really mostly about sibling relationships and a stormy and conflicted father-son relationship.  It’s sorta hefty, and felt like it took me a million years to finish it, but I was just right there in the center of this book every time I picked it up, despite that being during lunch hours, in drive-thrus or for a few minutes before bed.  Beautifully written.  Sometimes sad but not depressing.

---

​Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
I’m not wild about Gretchen Rubin.  I read the book that launched all of her ships, The Happiness Project, and I remember being super annoyed with her then.  I ordered Happier at Home because it was cheap on the Kindle, I’ve been pretty home-focused lately, AND I thought maybe I was just being a jerk about Ms. Rubin.  Maybe I’m a more tolerant person now than when I read Happiness Project?
I did really enjoy many aspects of this book.  I loved several of her recommendations, jotted down some notes for myself, started following her on Twitter, etc.  But I still don’t like the author and I need to remember not to read any of her other books.  The deal is – she takes herself super seriously, psycho-analyzes EVERYTHING, goes on rants for pages and pages about some aspect of happiness, and is super self-congratulatory.  She describes a moment on the subway where a water bottle is rolling around and she everyone is super annoyed by it and she thinks, “If only someone would pick that up!”  Then she realizes that SHE could be that person!  So she picked it up, etc, etc, what an epiphany, simple things like this contribute to happiness, etc, etc, OMG is this book almost finished. 
Still!  There are so many great takeaways if you can figure out how to skim through the pages of BS.  If you are good at such things and are interested in reading about some fun and practical ideas of how to inject a little more joy into your life (beyond picking up litter), then I would definitely recommend.  Otherwise, grab some coffee and take a walk and become happier all by yourself.

Upcoming Reading Plans:  I JUST started the book club book and we meet in two days.  Can I finish it in time?  Do I attend book club if I haven't finished it?  I'll keep you posted!

---