Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Stumbling on Happiness.

Not self-help. One of those "a psychology professor explains some aspect of behavior to us with quirky examples and simplified study synopses and sells a lot of books" books. A pretty good one, too. Principally about why it is that we aren't very good at projecting future sources of happiness. Practically speaking, why we suck at picking spouses and careers. Except when we don't, and why that might be, too.

Pretty interesting all around, and I generally find this category of books frustratingly surfacey. But I read neuroscience textbooks for fun, so the hell do I know? Anyway, nicely put together, sufficiently thoughtful while still covering a lot of ground, occasionally even funny. Good times.

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath, edited by Karen Kuril

This just in: Sylvia Plath's journals? kind of a downer.

Also disorganized, vast, incredibly rich. I enjoyed the early college years the most, when she's all casually fantastic writing and cycling ecstasy and alienation. The later stuff is heavier with self-consciousness and deeply frustrating relationships with men. She's one of those people that I would be friends with and love dearly, but every year or so I would lose it and snap "oh just fucking deal with it," at her.

But man could she write. Worth it just for a week of deep, oceanic reading, coming from nowhere and going everywhere.