What Really Makes You Happy?

I started reading a delightful book today called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It chronicles the year in which the author documents her efforts to discover what really makes her happy. She thoroughly researched the topic of happiness and set happiness goals for her self that she deliberately put into action and then documented her resulting happiness levels. She also includes all the little bits of wisdom she learned along the way and I have to say that I found lots of wisdom here. The book breaks down her happiness quest month by month and encourages the reader to set about creating their own “Happiness Project” by encouraging each person to think about what uniquely makes them happy. I am so enjoying reading this and it has me thinking…

I feel as though I have been in the middle of my own happiness project without really knowing it. Last year I started this blog. It really does bring me much happiness! It lets me create and document things I am interested in and gives me a place to talk about them. And the best part I’ve learned is that there are a lot of other people out there that are interested in some of the same things I am.

I am trying to be more thoughtful about how I spend my time and trying to make sure that I am spending it in ways that truly make me happy. I’ve made a lot of changes. Some might be quick to say that I am having a midlife crisis. I don’t think so. It’s true that my kids are older and don’t need me as much but you know what…My kids are older and don’t need me as much!! I feel like so many doors are starting to open up because the things that use to occupy all my time and energy are no longer consuming me! This is a great time!

I am about half way through the book and my book reading has been diverted temporarily because I discovered that Gretchen Rubin also has a blog which is also called The Happiness Project. Yes! Another blog to add to my long list of favorites. :) So I am jumping back and forth between the two.

So how about you? Have you made any changes lately that have brought more happiness into your life? I’d love to hear about them. :)

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

As I have mentioned before, one of my most favorite books of all time is The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood written by Rebecca Wells and so I was thrilled to be asked to read her latest novel, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder and write a review.  Rebecca Wells is a gifted writer and there is something about the way she puts a sentence together that draws me in every time!

Calla Lily Ponder grows up in the small town of La Luna, Louisiana and she narrates her own story from when it began on the day she was born in 1953 until the book closes in 1984.  Over these years we hear from Calla Lily herself as her life unfolds.  When she is very little she describes her life and describes it with the perceptions of a little girl.  We feel the love and the tight bonds she has with her family but especially the special connection between her and her mother.  We are there as she grows up in her small town, meets and forms the friendships with her lifelong friends.  We are there as she moves through high school and throughout her teen age years.  And of course we are there when she falls in love.

Calla Lily Ponder realizes she has a “gift” for doing hair just like her Mother had.  She learns more than the basics from her Mother sitting at her side in her mother’s beauty shop and then goes to New Orleans after she graduates from high school to attend beauty school.  It is a coming of age story in many ways and a lot of the story is set in the 1970’s.  I got a kick out of all the fun references and descriptions of the fads and fashion of that time.  You can feel the heat and humidity of New Orleans and smell the beignets in the air.  Life, love, and loss are all here with more life and love thrown in.

While it is hard not to compare this latest novel from Rebecca Wells to her hugely successful “The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”, the books are really quite different.  Both books are set in the South, and the love and fun of the friendships between the women is delightful in both books, but for me, that is where the similarities end.  Heavier topics like the loss of a loved one and alcoholism make an appearance in both books but here in Calla Lily’s story, you do not have the gut-wrenching  sadness and grief nor the serious consequences that you find in “Divine Secrets”.  The deepness of the friendships and sense of connection that the women in the  Ya Ya’s had is quite different from what I felt reading The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder.  Calla Lily Ponder’s book is lighter.

        

This book is what I would call a great “Beach read”.  And the book is now out in paperback just in time for packing in your vacation tote!  :)    So while the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood swallowed me whole, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder entertained me.  And sometimes that is just what the doctor ordered!  It’s a fun story, it makes you laugh, makes you shed a few tears, but in the end you feel like you really know Calla Lily Ponder and the world she lives in.   So to answer the questions of did I like the book and would I recommend it?????  I say YES to both!

Here are a couple of clips of Rebecca Wells herself telling us about her book The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder.

 

Are you part of a Book Club????    Book Club Girl is running a contest from now until October where  if your club is one of the fist 25 Book Clubs to commit  to reading Rebecca Wells’  new book “The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder”,  your group will win a King Cake to enjoy during your meeting from Randazzo’s Bakery in New Orleans!!!  Stop by Book Club Girl for more details.  Mmmmm……..

 Book Club Girl is also hosting a live on-air discussion with Rebecca Wells to discuss her book on May 5, 2010 at 7:00pm.  Mark your calendar and click HERE for more details.