Happier at Home

May 28, 2012
In her earlier book The Happiness Project, Rubin dedicated each month for a year to a theme (friendship, work, etc.), each accompanied by “a handful of modest resolutions.” In this sequel, spanning September through May, Rubin narrows her focus to strategies “to feel more at home, at home.” A goal for her for September was to glean more happiness from her possessions by arranging and spotlighting meaningful possessions and getting rid of meaningless stuff. Resolving to cultivate a shrine, Rubin transformed areas of her apartment into places of super-engagement such as painting wisteria climbing the walls of her tiny office. In October, Rubin’s thoughts turned to her 16-year marriage, and she started kissing her husband more often, took driving lessons to share motoring responsibility, began thanking him for tackling chores, and focused on being cheerfully accommodating. Other months concentrated on parenting, time management, body-related resolutions, parents and siblings, and neighborhood. Although it lacks the freshness and originality of her earlier book, this perceptive sequel offers elegant musings about the nature of happiness combined with concrete ways to make the place where we sleep, eat, and watch TV truly a home. Illus. Agent: Christy Fletcher, Fletcher & Company.

December 24, 2012
In her sophomore effort, Rubin (The Happiness Project) narrows in on a single element of happiness: the home. Whether it's decluttering her apartment, falling in love with fragrance, or trying to better manage her time, she wants to discover what it is that makes her happiest in her favorite place. In this audio production, veteran narrator Käthe Mazur's performance is competent but uninspired. Mazur's narration is soft and elegant, which does justice to the many historic quotations and the scientific research that Rubin did for this book. However, it is also slow and almost wholly lacking the indomitable cheer that characterizes Rubin's writing. Mazur does come to life in the more humorous parts of the book, which helps to break up the plodding nature of her performance. The narrator also does a marvelous job with various French names and phrases, and offers strong vocal interpretations of some of the memoir's supporting characters, such as Rubin's two young daughters. Overall, however, the listener may wonder why Rubinâwho briefly introduces and wraps up the audiobook in her own voiceâdidn't perform the whole thing. A Crown Archetype hardcover.