For Your Consideration: 7 Reasons to Read "Happier at Home."

Gretchen Rubin

Warning: blatant self-promotion to follow! You've been warned!

My new book, Happier at Home, comes out in a few weeks-on my wedding anniversary, which seems auspicious for a book about happiness at home. If you read this blog, I hope you'll consider reading it. "Um, why should I buy your book," some people have asked nicely, "when I can read the blog for free?" Other people have asked, "I read The Happiness Project; is this book more of the same?" Here are some reasons to read Happier at Home:

1. One smart friend who has read both said she thought the blog was process, the book was conclusion. The ideas in the book are presented in a more distilled, thoughtful way, and the book framework allows me to tell longer stories and explain more complicated ideas.

2. On the blog, I write about whatever subject interests me that day, so it skips from topic to topic. The book is organized by subject matter: Time, Possessions, Parenthood, Body, Marriage, Neighborhood, etc. If you're interested in particular subjects, you can focus there.

3. The Happiness Project is broad and lays out general principles; Happier at Home goes deeper into the one particular area of life that, at least for me, is the foundation of happiness. It has a more specific focus and carries ideas further. My sister, in fact, says she likes Happier at Home better than The Happiness Project.

4. If you've been enjoying the blog, and you'd like to share it with a friend, you can give the book as a gift. You can't give the blog as a gift. Or if a friend was a fan of The Happiness Project, you can give Happier at Home.

5. In a book, you can more easily take notes about what applies to you and your happiness project. Underlining, highlighting, and taking notes in the margin allow you to engage with the material.

6. In Happier at Home, I write about many ideas and episodes that I've never mentioned elsewhere. Also, I include photos from my own life (which I took myself).

7. Many of my readers have written that they want to buy Happier at Home to show their support-a "thank you" for everything I do for free. Which I very much appreciate!

If I've convinced you, and you're so inclined, pre-orders gives a big boost to a book by creating buzz among booksellers and readers. So buy now! Holiday gifts for friends and the whole family!

As a thank-you for people who pre-order, I created a fun one-page guide on "Patron Saints." You can request it here. (And, truth be told, you can get it even if you don't pre-order.)

If you're thinking, "Yes! I'm intrigued! But, Gretchen, how can I learn more about Happier at Home?" well, you're in luck. You can…

- read an excerpt from the chapter on "Time"

- listen to a clip from the audio-book

- watch the Behind-the-Scenes video (though you'll enjoy that more after you've read the book)

Also ...

  • Speaking of Happier at Home, would you like to win a free copy? I'm giving away one book each day until publication.

    Enter your name and email in the sign-up form here, and every day, a name will be picked at random. U.S., Canada, and U.K. only-sorry about that restriction on the give-away.