I’ve been using Twitter a lot lately as a way to find out about some of the stuff that’s brewing out there just a bit outside of the mainstream. It sort of reminds me of when I’d go into a record store and browse heavy metal CDs, just looking for a band with an interesting name or a great album cover or song names that sent my imagination running. Like anyone else, I still listened a lot to whatever was being played on the radio, but I also enjoyed the excitement of actually finding something myself, without the help of big advertising. Then I’d mercilessly harass my friends about this great band that they absolutely have to hear! My friends are probably very grateful that the Internet has been so successful and I now have an outlet other than them. Feel free, my millions of anonymous friends, to click on to something else, but I’m telling you, you’ll be missing out on me giving you the details on a pretty cool author I ran into on my random Twitter treks… Meet Gretchen Rubin. She’s a writer who, for a while, was stuck in a lawyer’s body. Post-freedom, she’s published four books and has one on the way: The Happiness Project. That’s the one that drew me in to find out some more about her. The premise is pretty cool. It’s a memoir of a year spent trying out all the various tips and tricks, from gurus and scientific studies alike, that are intended to make us happier. Now, there are A LOT of books out there about how to make yourself happier. Hell, there are entire “self help” sections dedicated to it. What makes this one different? Well, I think the really refreshing thing about it is that Gretchen isn’t a guru or a psychologist or a scientist or anyone else you’d expect to be writing on the subject. And she doesn’t pretend to be. Instead, she’s made herself the guinea pig and is giving us her insight on how these ideas work for someone who isn’t trying to sell them. (more…)