Portland Public Library

The totally unscientific study of the search for human happiness, Paula Poundstone

eng

autobiography

no index present

non fiction

The totally unscientific study of the search for human happiness

953599438

Paula Poundstone

"A hilarious story of jumping into new experiences with both feet and a surprisingly poignant tale of a working mother raising three kids"--, Provided by publisher"'Is there a secret to happiness?' asks comedian Paula Poundstone. I don't know how or why anyone would keep it a secret. It seems rather cruel, really ... Where could it be? Is it deceptively simple? Does it melt at a certain temperature? Can you buy it? Must you suffer for it before or after? In her wildly and wisely observed book, the comedy legend takes on that most inalienable of rights--the pursuit of happiness. Offering herself up as a human guinea pig in a series of thoroughly unscientific experiments, Poundstone tries out a different get-happy hypothesis in each chapter of her data-driven search. She gets in shape with taekwondo. She drives fast behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. She communes with nature while camping with her daughter, and commits to getting her house organized (twice!). Swing dancing? Meditation? Volunteering? Does any of it bring her happiness? You may be laughing too hard to care. The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is both a story of jumping into new experiences with both feet and a surprisingly poignant tale of a single working mother of three children (not to mention dozens of cats, a dog, a bearded dragon lizard, a lop-eared bunny, and one ant left from her ant farm) who is just trying to keep smiling while living a busy life. The queen of the skepticism-fueled rant, Paula Poundstone stands alone in her talent for bursting bubbles and slaying sacred cows. ... She is a master of her craft, and her comedic brilliance is served up in abundance in this book. As author and humorist Roy Blount Jr. notes, 'Paula Poundstone deserves to be happy. Nobody deserves to be this funny.'"--Jacket

The get fit experiment -- The get wired experiment -- The get earthy experiment -- The get organized experiment : part one -- The get reel experiment -- The get organized experiment : part two -- The get rolling experiment -- The get up and dance experiment -- The get warm and fuzzy experiment -- The get purring experiment -- The get positive experiment -- The get over here and help experiment -- The get quiet experiment -- Final report on the totally unscientific study of the search for human happiness