No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. It is the first book in the russel middlebrook series. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world is the new york timesbestselling humorous travel memoir by longtime national public radio foreign correspondent eric weiner. Weiner starts out his journey by going to the netherlands, home of the world data base of happiness where he meets ruut veenhoven, professor of happiness. Join us for this pageturners and focus series cosponsored panel discussion the geography of bliss, by eric weiner, takes the reader across the globe to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is.
Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page. The main characters of this non fiction, travel story are. I roam the world in search of answers to the pressing questions of our time. Dec 30, 2007 the problem with the geography of bliss is one of tone. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. This 38page guide for the geography of bliss by eric weiner includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 10 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. This book starts out a little slow, but is quite funny and informative about life in several different countries. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Free download or read online the geography of bliss. A committee of sonoma county librarians chooses the books.
Henry alford, author of municipal bondage and big kiss. Geography club is a 2003 young adult novel by american author brent hartinger. He has created the worldwide database of happiness. The swiss know that discussions about money trigger envy, one of the biggest. The audiobook version of the geography of bliss runs right around 12 hours. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world author. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world he plots a map of happiness for lack of a better description and then travels to some of the happiest countries in the world to find out why their people are happy. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world article pdf available in the professional geographer 612. It made me really think about this concept of happiness and brought me to the understanding. Here are a few discussion questions to think about as you finish up the book. The geography of bliss discussion questions by kerri wallace august 26, 2009 i hope you have been enjoying the geography of bliss by eric weiner. Librarys good read, the geography of bliss will take you. The geography of bliss by eric weiner as a foreign correspondent for npr, eric weiner spent more than 10 years reporting on problems overseas, such as suicide bombings in iraq and student suicides in tokyo. Im about 12 way through as i start this, but ill keep reading.
We meet for an hour the second thursday of each month at 12. I picked it up because one of the blurbs on the back compared it favorably to bill brysons writing, and i was in a mood to laugh. In the book the geography of bliss by eric weiner, the author weiner travels to ten different countries around the world to find out about the source of happiness of each country. Learn more about the travel couple book club and how you can join. Didnt make me laugh more than a few chuckles, but it did make me think. In the netherlands, weiner meets a man named brute veenhoven. Weiners search for happiness over the course of a year, traveling through ten very different countries, including our own land america. Im wondering what kinds of food i could serve at a book club meeting for this. The geography of bliss in 2008 eric weiner wrote and published the book the geography of bliss, one grumps search for the happiest places in the world. The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science.
Februarys book club selection is the geography of bliss. My book club got into a discussion about how interesting some of the places. The geography of bliss wasnt quite what i expected. The geography of bliss by reading guidebook club discussion. The brown bag discussion group is a monthly book club sponsored by the guerneville library. Pity the writer who attempts a treatise on happiness without resorting to shopworn philosophic quotations and the predictable shoutout to. Im reading the geography of bliss for book club this coming tuesday. Sep 16, 2011 the geography of bliss is neither a selfhelp manual nor a poppsychology book. The book contains his insight into happiness for dutch, swiss, bhutan, qatar, islandia, moldova, thailand, great britain, india, and american.
Book description part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted selfhelp guide, the geography of bliss takes the reader from america to iceland to india in search of happiness, or, in the crabby authors case, moments of ununhappiness. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. Has the geography of bliss by eric weiner been sitting on your reading list. In this case, he classifies as the netherlands seeing happiness as a number. The geography of bliss is no smileyface emoticon, its a winslow homer.
The geography of bliss by eric weiner twelve books. Apr 07, 2011 the brown bag discussion group is a monthly book club sponsored by the guerneville library. The geography of bliss eric weiners the geography of bliss is a wonderful book. To ask other readers questions about the geography of bliss, please sign up. Powells books the worlds largest independent bookstore. Finally, the bhutanese dont spend their time reflecting. I m wondering what kinds of food i could serve at a book club meeting for this. And if weiners being honest about himself, i should be forthcoming, too. The geography of bliss by eric weiner discover bccls. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel. It is the story of a grouch who was travelling the world looking for the happiest place. The first edition of the novel was published in 2008, and was written by eric weiner. I was afraid it was a selfhelp book, that all important promise on how to be happy. Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted selfhelp guide, the geography of bliss takes the reader from america to iceland to india in search of happiness, or, in the crabby authors case, moments of ununhappiness.
Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Powells is an independent bookstore based in portland, oregon. A little tired of all the unhappiness he saw around him he became intrigued with finding the places in the world where people are. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world pdf epub book. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 335 pages and is available in paperback format. It comes across as an attempted amalgam of paul therouxs bleak humor, p. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. This book sat on my shelf a shamefully long time before i decided to read it. The problem with the geography of bliss is one of tone. General book club questions for study and discussion. Instead, its ultimate quest for the objective elements of happiness is, ironically yet intriguingly, just one mans subjective interpretation of the conditions and complexities of wellbeing. With engaging wit and surprising insights, weiner answers these questions and many others.
Im liking the book so far, but would like to be able to discuss it with others that have read it without having to wait until tuesday. Eric weiner part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted selfhelp guide, this book takes the reader from america to iceland to india in search of happiness, or, in the crabby authors case. The relationship between place and contentment is an ineffable one, and weiner cuts through the fog with a big, powerful light. Discuss the geography of bliss with the vsdc book club. I like to think of it as a philosophical humorous travel memoir. The geography of bliss is a tough book to nail down. For years, as a foreign correspondent for national public radio, i covered a multitude of catastrophes, natural and manmade. One grumps search for the happiest places in the world by eric weiner. The geography of bliss by eric weiner part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted selfhelp guide, the geography of bliss takes the reader from america to iceland to india in search of happiness, or, in the crabby authors case, moments of ununhappiness. By turns hilarious and profound, this is the kind of book that could change your life.
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