Ruth Whippman

What a marvelous book! I couldn't stop laughing while reading it. I am so, so glad someone else out there isn't "default happy," I guess I could call it, and is -okay- with her cynicism and occasional unhappiness. I'm American and there's verrry much a happiness default. It's frustrating. I'm not bubbly or cheerful, and I have resting murder face, so people think I hate everything. I don't. I'm very calm most of the time and shy. The book helped me be okay with that. I thought all the research she did was fascinating, and I learned so much.… (meer)

Started out strong, and had a hysterical, dead-on chapter about meditation, or as Ruth puts it, "Meh"-ditation. The theme really isn't about how Americans are too anxious; but about the ridiculousness of the happiness quest and its associated industry. Ruth's discovery seems to be that happiness is other people. I beg to differ, but I still cheered on her take-down of mindfulness.

Unfortunately it frequently devolved into that kind of non-fiction book I hate, the kind that reads like a research paper. "Research shows this. It seems that that. Turns out that..." And chapters about parenthood and Facebook were boring, with nothing we haven't heard a zillion times.

Even amidst all of that, though, I still found myself frequently laughing out loud - not just chortling but outright guffawing. Maybe it's the Britishness of her humor.… (meer)