How to be happy on Blue Monday
Today getting you down? Then get a lift from Patti Smith, Kurt Vonnegut and Henry James in Every Day a Word Surprises Me
Writers sometimes aren’t the cheeriest bunch, and Kurt Vonnegut was surely among the grouchier novelists in the 20th century canon. However, our book Every Day a Word Surprises Me & Other Quotes by Writers proves that when it comes to taking the long view on happiness Vonnegut, and many of the other writers in the book, can offer some helpful insights.
On Blue Monday – the day that news outlets will have you believe is the most depressing of the year – we’re turning to this book of inspirational quotes to perk up your day.
The Slaughterhouse-Five author’s unexpected flash of mindfulness – “I urge you to please notice when you are happy,” he counsels, “and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is” – is just one of the quotes from the book that could lighten your day.
Every Day a Word Surprises Me is is the ideal keepsake for readers, writers, and everyone who appreciates the exquisite power of words, but some pieces of advice – such as Ray Bradbury’s line, “the blizzard doesn’t last forever; it just seems so” – apply to both life on the page and life off it.
Want to live as successful and varied a life as Patti Smith? Then, “be happy, take care of your teeth, always let your conscience be your guide,” she advises.
Maybe also treat yourself to a little break every now and then. US novelist Anne Lamott advises “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes - including you.”
Perhaps also don’t aim for days upon days of pleasure. In 1884, a couple of years after the publication of The Portrait of a Lady, when he was in his early 40s, the great American novelist Henry James concluded: “I shall never marry; I regard that now as an established fact, and on the whole a very respectable one; I am both happy enough and miserable enough, as it is, and don’t wish to add to either side of the account.”
For more advice, strong opinions, and personal revelations by the world's greatest authors - exclusively researched for this new book – order a copy of Every Day a Word Surprises Me & Other Quotes by Writers here. It's not just for Blue Mondays. . .
