The Geography of Bliss

"I may have to revisit the 5 stars in a few days, but hours after devouring this book the first time around I almost want to start from the beginning and savor it. Eric Weiner is a gifted writer, and a wonderful storyteller. I found his take on happiness incredibly refreshing and very interesting. Plus, I love a good travel memoir, especially when written by someone as astute and observant as he is. His accounts of these countries (especially Iceland, Thailand, and India) nearly made me book a plane ticket. Although I freely admit that is not a difficult feat. For someone who describes himself as a grump, I thought this book was optimistic and full of moments of pure joy."

"Excellent book for the traveler."

"There are books that can elevate your energies, this surely is one of them!<br/><br/>I have developed a liking for travel memoirs lately. And this one was a combination of few of my favourite genres, travel, psychology, spirituality and of course a bit of India(can't have enough of it, ever).<br/><br/>Eric Weiner sets out on the search for happiness based on a research by a dutch scholar. He decides to visit the happiest and the least happiest places on earth and tries to finds out that one reason or reasons of happiness. <br/><br/>It takes him to Netherlands, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Moldova, Thailand, India, Great Britain, and finally America where he lives. He finds out that the reason for happiness can be many and it highly depends on the perception of an individual. <br/><br/>The writing is concise, only sometimes overly descriptive, witty and at times makes you chuckle. Its fascinating to know about different places in the world , their customs, idiosyncrasies of people, their habits up close.<br/><br/>As much as I liked the whole book, I loved the conclusion. Eric's pursuit of happiness sure left a smile on my face :)"