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The Geography of Bliss - Community Reviews back

by Eric Weiner
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Can't Stop the Signal
Can't Stop the Signal rated it 8 years ago
Yawn. While there are some good bits in this book it reads more like some sort of stream-of-consciousness retelling of a couple holidays paired with whatever anecdotes the author happened to remember while writing. Not my cup of tea (and actually not quite unlike Three Cups of Tea when you think abo...
always in love with books
always in love with books rated it 12 years ago
I liked it okay as a travel memoir, but not as a study of happiness. For me, the problem was mostly tone--it was hard for me to get beneath the layers of snarkiness to see any kind of earnest search for happiness. Eric Weiner was prone to over-generalizations and sarcastic take-downs, which would pu...
Michelle CH
Michelle CH rated it 12 years ago
An interesting concept around what makes people happy: Switzerland has happy folks, Moldova, well not so much. Weiner discovers that maybe it is because when life is predictable and there are societal rules to follow in your country, life is better. It makes sense. I want to know that corruption isn...
cindywho
cindywho rated it 12 years ago
Weiner was a decent narrator and though it seemed like he found a good way to go to countries he wanted to visit (except perhaps for Moldova) - he never did go to Denmark. It was an entertaining travelogue with no particularly unexpected insights into happiness.
Stacia's books
Stacia's books rated it 13 years ago
I'd probably give this book 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed The Geography of Bliss, especially the first half of the book. The first half had some interesting insights, profound ponderings, and neat facts/trivia about the places visited. The later parts of the book, though, seemed to lose some steam, im...
Olga Godim
Olga Godim rated it 13 years ago
What makes you happy? Eric Weiner, a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, attempted to find out. He traveled to 10 countries of the world in search of this elusive feeling. His travelogue in pursuit of happiness answers the five critical ‘W’ questions any news story must answer? What? Wh...
Kiwiria
Kiwiria rated it 14 years ago
Part happiness project, part travel memoir. I really liked reading about Eric's experiences and have to agree with him that Tolstoy got it all wrong - people are happy for all kinds of different reasons, and what works for some won't necessarily work for others. It's an incredibly quotable book, and...
Ms. Margie
Ms. Margie rated it 14 years ago
Sort of a combination travelogue and collection of musings on happiness. It's interesting and well-written, but didn't get me too excited about the topic, the locations, or the writer.
Listening to the Silence
Listening to the Silence rated it 15 years ago
Eric Weiner is on a mission. A lifelong reporter, used to reporting the ugly side of life: war, death, and disease, he has now turned his attention to the other side of the coin. In a word, happiness. He starts his journey at the World Happiness Database in the Dutch city, Rotterdam. From there ...
Bettie's Books
Bettie's Books rated it 16 years ago
What's the chances of this - three raspberries in a row!How can the only stop in Holland be Rotterdam to give an anaylsis that the Netherlands is not where you would find bliss!Meh.
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