The Story of My Life

The Story of My Life is Helen Keller's autobiography, and I became interested in reading it because we've been talking a lot about Helen Keller in our house recently.  (Emmeline was really into the Helen Keller DVD in the Animated Heroes series.)  Helen chronicles her life experiences from childhood through college and how she gained her knowledge and education.

This was a very interesting read, but it took me forever to get through.  I actually didn't finish the version of the book I got from the library--it had 3 parts.  Part 1 was Helen Keller's autobiography, part 2 was letters Helen had written, and part 3 was a "supplementary account" written by the book's editor.  The autobiography was very interesting--it's quite fascinating to read how a deaf-blind woman learned so much through her teacher and experiences.  I didn't know much about the details of her life (besides what was in Emmeline's DVD--ha), so this was really cool to read.  Part 2, the letters, was less engaging but still occasionally interesting.  By part 3, I just wasn't really interested anymore.  I figured that if I kept reading, I'd like the book even less, so it was better to stop while I was ahead.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Happier at Home

I loved Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project, so when I saw she had this new book, Happier at Home, I knew I wanted to read it.  The subtitle to the book reads: "Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life."  The book chronicles the author's resolutions to be more happy--focused especially on her home life.  She points out that it's not that she's not happy--it's just that she wanted to make her home happier by appreciating how much happiness was already there.

This was another really thought-provoking book.  It had lots of points that really stuck out to me and helped me realize where I can find more happiness in my life.  Not all of her points or experiences related to me exactly, but the book's overall ideas really resonated with me.  I realized how choices like getting rid of meaningful stuff or starting a memory box for my daughter or treating my husband better (or a myriad of other ideas) would bring me so much more joy in my life.  I liked a quote she shared from Walt Whitman: "Happiness, knowledge, not in another place, but this place, not another hour, but this hour."  So often it's easy for me to wait for happiness to come later...as soon as I get through this stage of life or as soon as this happens.  But, this book reminded me that now is the time to be happy: "How breathtaking, how fleeting, how precious was my ordinary day.  Now is now.  Here is my treasure."

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)