Recently Read

I know i first started this blog as a mainly beauty blog but along the line it has taken more of a general lifestyle turn. I'm enjoying having more freedom in what I am writing about so hopefully you enjoy reading as well! I thought today I would share some books I have been reading lately and give you a very brief overview of what I thought about them.

The Happiness Project - Gretchin Rubin

• Blurb - An autobiographical account of how Gretchin (the author) tried out various ideas of how to improve ones' happiness. It takes place over a year with the book broken down by month in which she would try to improve happiness in one area of her life (i.e. friendship, marriage).
• Quick review - Although this isn't the kind of book I would normally read I did enjoy it. There were a lot of useful ideas and she had obviously done a lot of research. I did enjoy learning about the different theories and history of happiness (which she shares throughout). I can't say that the whole book was relevant to me but it was meant to be her personal account so that makes sense! If you are interested in a mixture of practical ideas and learning more about happiness in general then this book would be worth  checking out

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Walked Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

• Blurb - A Swedish book translated to English. It gives the account (as the name would suggest) of a hundred year-old man who one day decides to leave his nursing home and go on an adventure around Sweden. It is split between talking about his present day adventure and about his past life throughout the 20th century. He has definitely had some adventures over the years!
• Quick review - This book is very clever, funny (in a strange and dark circumstances) and uplifting. The main character has a unique philosophy about life and although the story is so unrealistic you really believe in him. It did take me a while to get into, mainly because there is a lot happening in nearly every sentence so you have to really concentrate (I'm a simple creature really). This is probably one of the cleverest ideas for a book I have seen and I haven't read anything like it before.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

• Blurb -This is a similar concept to the last book although set in a different place with a different character. This sees the main character (Harold Fry) set off on a walk from the south west of England to Berwick-upon-Tweed (in the north east) all because of a letter he received from a long lost friend.
• Quick review -I found this book terribly sad at points but I am glad that I read it. I think a lot of people will in some ways relate to the main character and his reflections on his life. I did think that some aspects of the book that were meant to be subtle came across as fairly obvious (hard to explain without giving anything away!) however I do have a habit of trying to speculate about plot lines so maybe some people would feel differently. I did like the way it was written and the way the chapters were set out so I didn't struggle at all to get through it. If you enjoy the concept of an older man reflecting back on his life and past mistakes then you would probably enjoy this. It does deal a lot with death and grief so beware that it's a bit of a tear jerker!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Or if not, what books have you enjoyed recently?

Keep up with my goodreads 2014 reading challenge.