product image
product image preview

Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in EverydayLife

13.98

Save 13%

Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in EverydayLife

4.2

Highest ranking 101

9 comments

$13.98

Save 13%

Related products

Reviews From
avatar

Jennifer W.Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2012

This is an excellent companion book to The Happiness Project. Gretchen's books are engaging, easy reads, yet you learn so much as you are reading for pleasure. Obviously her books strike a chord with many people. They're clearly universal, when you consider how many are selling. Yet I felt like she wrote them just for me! She's my "therapist on a shelf!" Her practical ideas are easy to implement, and they can improve the lives of families. I was sad to come to the end of the story. I've purchases lots of copies of both books for friends.

avatar

Penelope SchmittReviewed in the United States on September 6, 2012

Gretchen Rubin may be the most honest self help writer I have ever encountered. Really, she's a memoirist of the daily effort to live a better life. Or, as she would put it 'choose the bigger life.' Here you won't find any exotic escape into Tuscany or anywhere else but 'home.' You won't find Gretchen rappelling out of helicopters--gosh, she dislikes driving a car! Nor will you find her throwing effortless dinner parties for two dozen. Nope, you'll actually find her standing outside the bathroom door yelling at her five-year-old. She's fighting the good fight for those she loves, and against the tide of stuff and hard-to-govern details of behavior that make us each who we are. On the one hand, she's brainy, high-achieving, and fearless about exploring her beloved New York City. On the other hand, she's afraid to drive, and admits to having a battle with snappishness and nagging. She acknowledges that many of the problems she wrestles are problems she is lucky to have--yet reminds us that the constant struggle to be a better person and make the world we live in a better place is a worthy enterprise. How refreshing not to be sold a line that my life really can easily be transformed utterly in ten easy steps--but that it can be made better, little by little, through the steadfast exercise of loving, conscious choices. I'm not at the same age and stage of life as Rubin--I wish that she had been writing when I was struggling to be a better mother to young sons. But she brings back great memories of the struggle, helps me to forgive myself for my imperfections, and assures me she's going to help many a parent to learn about de-conflicting the household and promoting small joyous moments. And her life lessons have a lot of utility for me, and I would suspect for many people outside her 'demographic.' Like one of her primary spiritual guides, St. Therese of Lisieux, she recognizes the power of small actions. Rubin's 'Little Way' is not the way of the saint, it's the way of a person living a life in the secular world with a family and friends and possessions. The depth of thought and intelligence she's willing to give to this enterprise of daily life sets her apart. I'm grateful for this book and for the ongoing, probing discussions she carries on in her blog. Good work!

avatar

Sue CagleyReviewed in the United States on March 13, 2025

Anyone familiar with Rubin’s books or podcast might have already read this. I’m just catching up with an earlier book. Gretchen follows the school year to pursue various resolutions to make herself happier, and to create an atmosphere where her family could be happier. Written before her husband’s cure and their acquisition of a dog, one ends the book waiting for the rest of the story.

avatar

Library girlReviewed in the United States on September 8, 2012

As other reviewers have said, I really wanted to like this book. I loved The Happiness Project, and found it life-changing--in fact, I re-read it at least once a year. I bought copies for family and friends, I recommend it constantly to students in my college writing classes. I love the author and her writing style, too--she is so refreshingly honest, with a wonderfully accessible style. But this book, which I'd eagerly anticipated since I pre-ordered it earlier this summer, feels more like a diary or a The Life of Gretchen Rubin documentary than a self-help book. I love detail, normally, but so much of this book seemed to be "and then this happened to me, and then I did this." Hard to say how that differs from the first book, but it did--maybe it was the dearth of new insights, or the inclusion of the seemingly trivial (to me, at least). For example, I love scent, too, but the number of pages devoted to Rubin's exploration of smell, including creating a Shrine to Scent, just seemed like an awful lot of attention spent trying to elevate the incredibly mundane. I do realize that paying attention to the details was a big part of Rubin's prescription for happiness in her very successful first book, and it's hard to put my finger on what made this one less enjoyable. I guess in the end it felt as though this one was rushed--that she put in the effort to record the details, but perhaps not the same effort towards making those details add up to something relevant and useful to the reader. Sort of a "This is what I did" rather than "Here's what to do"--more of a memoir of nine months than the instructional, follow-this-path tone of The Happiness Project. And I love a good memoir--but this wasn't a good memoir, either. It's like she didn't have much significant to say, but still took up a lot of space saying it. If this is your first Gretchen Rubin book, you may not have the same problem with it that I did--I guess I just loved the first book so much that I had very high expectations. I still do, and will look forward to her next project and her next book. But I probably won't be re-reading this one.

avatar

SemmebreslReviewed in Germany on April 3, 2020

Love the book! Gives an energy boost right when you need it! Made me and my husband definitely happier at home.

avatar

ENWReviewed in France on January 13, 2019

Donne de bonnes idées pour améliorer la qualité de vie. Tout le monde est différent, et il ne s'agit bien sûr pas de tout adopter à la lettre, mais plusieurs de ses idées me plaisent beaucoup.

avatar

AReviewed in Mexico on December 16, 2017

De mis escritoras favoritas, que placer es leer sus libros, nunca los quiero terminar de leer. Definitivamente BUY IT Too much inspo❤️

avatar

Hilary BardoelReviewed in Canada on April 13, 2019

Love Gretchen Rubin. I purchased this book after reading The Happiness Project. Love her style and simplistic way of looking at making your own life a happier one

avatar

TravelmelReviewed in Australia on December 11, 2014

I'm surprised at some of the negative reviews of this book - I really enjoyed it. I like Gretchen’s writing style – I feel I know her from her writing. I like her practical ideas for increasing happiness which can be worked in around a normal life and are quite quirky. I’ll happily re-read this book and would recommend it to others – there’s so many ideas in here, you can pick and choose what works for you.