We discuss how creating before-and-after photo books of renovations or improvements can bring satisfaction and preserve memories. Our happiness hack suggests visiting your local library (or museum) for the first time; that first visit can be surprising to make. We also share listeners’ strategies for handling a spouse who asks too many questions at inopportune times.

Resources & links related to this episode:
Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
Read 25 in 25
Bookshop
Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th 
Visit The Happiness Project shop for Father's Day gifts
Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Amazon, Bookshop)


Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

We discuss how creating before-and-after photo books of renovations or improvements can bring satisfaction and preserve memories. Our happiness hack suggests visiting your local library (or museum) for the first time; that first visit can be surprising to make. We also share listeners&rsquo; strategies for handling a spouse who asks too many questions at inopportune times.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li>Order your copy of <a href="http://happiercast.com/secrets">Secrets of Adulthood</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/join-us-for-read-25-in-25/">Read 25 in 25</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bookshop.org/">Bookshop</a></li>
<li><a href="http://happiercast.com/read25day">Pledge to Read 25 on June 25th</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Visit <a href="http://happiercast.com/shop">The Happiness Project shop</a> for Father's Day gifts</li>
<li>Elizabeth is reading: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (<a href="https://amzn.to/3SEQiUt">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780593540985">Bookshop</a>)</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (<a href="https://amzn.to/3ZkzZ2M">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780141439570">Bookshop</a>)</li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen’s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully. 

Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/  

Gretchen Rubin is HAPPIER, and she wants you to be happier too. The #1 bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before gets more personal than ever as she brings her practical, manageable advice about happiness and good habits to this lively, thought-provoking podcast. Gretchen&rsquo;s cohost and guinea pig is her younger sister, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles, who (lovingly) refers to Gretchen as her happiness bully.&nbsp;
Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media <a href="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-stringify-link="https://lemonadamedia.com/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">https://lemonadamedia.com/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

How to Build Happier Habits into Your Daily Life

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Ep. 536: Make a Before-&-After Book, Enter the Library, and How to Deal with a Questioner Spouse

We discuss why we shouldn't downplay things that are actually important to us (such as saying “I don’t care about my birthday” if you do care). We also review some fun new travel terms, such as "townsizing" and "JOMO travel," and we address the problem of waiting until we're ready to make big decisions. Plus, we tackle a listener's question about dealing with a spouse who makes hurtful comments disguised as jokes.

Resources & links related to this episode:
Order your copy of Secrets of Adulthood
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Amazon, Bookshop)
After Hours with Jamie Rubin podcast
The latest travel lingo
A Little Happier: The Power of Telling the Truth: What Nebraska's and Oslo's Tourists Know
Happier in Hollywood Substack
Secrets of Adulthood Substack 
Design Your Summer Worksheet
Elizabeth is reading: Year Zero: A History of 1945 by Ian Baruma (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)


Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

We discuss why we shouldn't downplay things that are actually important to us (such as saying &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care about my birthday&rdquo; if you do care). We also review some fun new travel terms, such as "townsizing" and "JOMO travel," and we address the problem of waiting until we're ready to make big decisions. Plus, we tackle a listener's question about dealing with a spouse who makes hurtful comments disguised as jokes.
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li>Order your copy of <a href="http://happiercast.com/secrets">Secrets of Adulthood</a></li>
<li>The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (<a href="https://amzn.to/4n2mz65">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780802412706">Bookshop</a>)</li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/after-hours-with-jamie-rubin-a-vital-city-podcast/id1794619189">After Hours with Jamie Rubin</a> podcast</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/travel/new-travel-terms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MU8.tppp.rFyQ0y8hVVXX&amp;smid=url-share&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosfinishline&amp;stream=top">The latest travel lingo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast/a-little-happier-the-power-of-telling-the-truth-what-nebraskas-and-oslos-tourists-know/">A Little Happier: The Power of Telling the Truth: What Nebraska's and Oslo's Tourists Know</a></li>
<li><a href="https://happierinhollywoodpod.substack.com/">Happier in Hollywood Substack</a></li>
<li><a href="https://secretsofadulthood.substack.com/">Secrets of Adulthood Substack&nbsp;</a></li>
<li><a href="http://happiercast.com/summerguide">Design Your Summer Worksheet</a></li>
<li>Elizabeth is reading: Year Zero: A History of 1945 by Ian Baruma&nbsp;(<a href="https://amzn.to/443qE0X">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780143125976">Bookshop</a>)</li>
<li>Gretchen is reading: All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (<a href="https://amzn.to/3SEQiUt">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15926/9780593540985">Bookshop</a>)</li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Ep. 539: Don't Disparage What Matters, Funny Travel Trends & Handling Hurtful "Jokes"

A double anniversary (of a wedding and of a life-saving medical cure) inspired this toast—with allusion to Gertrude Stein, Wendell Berry, and “The Office.”

Resources & links related to this episode:
The most purely happy day of my life


Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

A double anniversary (of a wedding and of a life-saving medical cure) inspired this toast&mdash;with allusion to Gertrude Stein, Wendell Berry, and &ldquo;The Office.&rdquo;
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/articles/today-is-one-of-the-happiest-days-of-my-life-2/">The most purely happy day of my life</a></li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Little Happier: Paris, Rose, a Fortune Cookie—an Anniversary Toast to My Husband Jamie

We bring you a conversation with my friend Zibby Owens on her podcast Totally Booked. Taped in front of a life studio audience, we discuss my new book, Secrets of Adulthood, the beauty of frameworks, and why you should label your next email "confidential."

Resources & links related to this episode:
Zibby Owens 
Totally Booked 


Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. 

We bring you a conversation with my friend Zibby Owens on her podcast Totally Booked. Taped in front of a life studio audience, we discuss my new book, Secrets of Adulthood, the beauty of frameworks, and why you should label your next email "confidential."
Resources &amp; links related to this episode:
<ul>
<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://zibbymedia.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoo-AMKroEM2zSbhyOctmXnR8wIzgHwDGJKctG8_4IQMnmGw05UK">Zibby Owens&nbsp;</a></li>
<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://zibbymedia.com/pages/podcasts">Totally Booked&nbsp;</a></li>
</ul>
 Get in touch: <a href="mailto:podcast@gretchenrubin.com">podcast@gretchenrubin.com</a>
Visit<a href="https://gretchenrubin.com/">&nbsp;Gretchen's website</a>&nbsp;to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the&nbsp;Happier&nbsp;app.
Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.&nbsp;

Ep. 536: Make a Before-&-After Book, Enter the Library, and How to Deal with a Questioner Spouse

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