Happy This Year! The Secret to Getting Happy Once and for All

The pursuit of happiness is as relevant now as it was when America's Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence. Recent titles such as Meg Leder and Rachel Kempster's The Happy Book and Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project (both books, LJ 11/15/09) indicate that the quest is still going strong. Bowen, founder of the nonprofit organization, A Complaint Free World, and financial consultant Jones offer varied suggestions for how to achieve happiness. Bowen proposes that readers can achieve personal satisfaction by recognizing when negative internal thoughts occur, ridding themselves of resentment, and accepting life on its own terms. His steps include changing self-talk from negative to positive, freeing oneself of clutter, and developing a spiritual practice. Jones, on the other hand, reminds readers that they are in control of their own lives and encourages them to make lists of short- and long-terms goals—now lists and wish lists—and to review them daily.