“Scientific studies have told us again and again: human beings need nutrition, we need exercise, we need purpose, and we need each other.”
For many of us, the pursuit of a happier and more fulfilling life can often seem easier said than done. Joy is frequently perceived as something that naturally comes to us, be it through events, encounters, or the environment around us. While this is true, science has unveiled the fact that joy is also something that can be learned and nurtured.
Beyond uplifting our mood, enhancing productivity, and even positively impacting our physical well-being, there are compelling reasons to actively cultivate more happiness in your life. Join us at What We Reading as we showcase the best books on joy. These reads not only teach you how to live a happier life but also blend real-life case studies with the latest scientific findings, revealing the profound impact that fulfilment can have.
The Power Of Fun: How To Feel Alive Again – Catherine Price
Journalist and screen/life balance expert Catherine Price explores how our tech-obsessed lifestyles have warped our perceptions of joy and happiness in her 2021 book, The Power of Fun. In the book, Price argues passionately that true happiness comes from a concoction of playfulness, connection, and flow. The Power of Fun tackles why so many of us view ‘fun’ as being self-indulgent and something that we don’t have time for in our everyday lives.
Furthermore, Price breaks down why ‘fake fun’ pursuits on social media and through mediums such as television have become replacements for real happiness, to the detriment of our mental, physical, and cognitive conditions. It is an empowering book on joy that explores the benefits of incorporating true fun into our lives and utilises both scientific research and personal case studies as a guide on how to start achieving a healthier screen/life balance.
Happier Hour: How To Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, And Focus On What Matters Most – Cassie Holmes
Award-winning teacher of time and happiness Cassie Holmes guides readers on how to adjust their time around life’s happiest moments in Happier Hour. Based on her incredibly popular MBA class at UCLA, Holmes’ 2022 joyful book provides empirically based insights and easy-to-use tools that immediately challenge how readers perceive and invest their time.
From creating and savoring moments of joy, and building schedules with a purpose to looking back on the past with no regrets, Holmes’ upbeat voice, optimistic narrative, and groundbreaking research are the perfect companions for overcoming distractions and overscheduling.
Joyful: The Surprising Power Of Ordinary Things To Create Extraordinary Happiness – Ingrid Fetell Lee
Renowned writer and designer Ingrid Fetell Lee teaches readers how small changes to their environments can invite more joy into their lives. This book on joy explores how even the mundane and every day can have surprising impacts on our moods and well-being. Leaning on the latest neuroscience and psychology findings, Joyful explains why certain environments make us feel anxious or competitive, while others encourage bliss, pleasure, and happiness.
By understanding how joy is hiding in plain sight, Joyful is an invaluable resource on how to harness the power of our surroundings to create more lighthearted, joy-filled, and fulfilling lives.
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life – Dacher Keltner
Professor of Psychology Dacher Keltner explores the mysteries behind awe and the power it has in our collective lives in his 2023 book, Awe. Both a radical and profound investigation and a deeply personal inquiry into the emotion, Keltner examines the history of awe in our history and cultures to explain how cultivating it in our lives inspires creative pursuits, fosters cooperation, and nurtures a sense of community.
Keltner also utilizes lessons learned during his time dealing with grief and explains how awe sharpens our reasoning, soothes our immune system’s inflammation response, and helps keep our bodies healthy. For books on joy on how to live a life with more awe as a driving force behind it, Keltner’s book is not to be missed.
The Good Life: Lessons From The World’s Longest Scientific Study Of Happiness – Robert Waldinger And Marc Schulz
Nominated for Best Nonfiction Book in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards, Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz use the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted to attempt to answer the question: ‘What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful?’ in The Good Life.
Through the findings of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, Waldinger and Schulz argue that the relationships we form are the biggest contributors to a happier and more joy-filled life. The personal stories of hundreds of participants reveal how the stronger the relationship, the more likely the chances are of living a happier and healthier life, with the study even revealing how the strength of our connections can even predict the health of our bodies and our brains. Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk on the study remains one of the top-ten most watched TED Talks of all time, and The Good Life is one of the most compelling books on joy for insights on what strong connections look like, and why it is never too late to build new ones.
The Fun Habit: How The Pursuit Of Joy And Wonder Can Change Your Life – Mike Rucker
Similar to The Power of Fun, Mike Rucker’s The Fun Habit is another book on joy that uses the latest scientific findings to chronicle the effects that fun has on our lives and how readers can set about filling their calendars with more of it.
Through groundbreaking evidence, we now have the most comprehensive understanding of the physical and psychological benefits of fun in our lives. Whether you’re a high-achiever looking for a better work-life balance or someone who is being completely overwhelmed by life’s many challenges, The Fun Habit is one of the best books on joy that gives readers practical tips, tools, and tactics for living a more fulfilled life by turning fun into an actionable and habitual part of their routines.
Microjoys: Finding Hope (Especially) When Life Is Not Okay – Cyndie Spiegel
Cyndie Spiegel introduces readers to the concept of microjoys in her 2023 curation of intimate, inspiring essays, and thoughtful prompts designed to keep readers afloat during the hard times in their lives and sustain them throughout their routines.
Spiegel’s unflinchingly honest book documents how a series of devastating losses enabled her to begin taking stock of microjoys in her life – fleeting, inconsequential moments that gave her hope and allowed her to move through time with a renewed sense of comfort and a lot more joy. Her beautifully-told narratives give readers insight into the power of these microjoys in keeping us strong when moving forward, as well as guiding them on how to see and hold onto the microjoys in their own lives.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
