Our summer reading theme for Summer 2023 is “All Together Now”. For the next three weeks, we will be exploring themes of TOGETHERness, in an acrostic using the word “together” in celebration of our summer reading program.
This week’s theme is Happiness! Happiness can be defined as a state of well-being and contentment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience or good fortune. Synonyms of happy include cheerful, contented, delighted, ecstatic, elated and joyful.
Whether you are a child, teen or adult, happiness has touched your life. Happiness has been the subject of study at the global level resulting in an annual World Happiness Report, pondered by several individuals in Ted Talks and many books, poems and songs have been written about happiness and the pursuit of happiness.
Bobby McFerrin recorded an a cappella song in 1988 with the simple message of not worrying, and to just enjoy life. His song, titled “Don't Worry, Be Happy” topped the charts and became one of the most well known one-hit wonders of all time.
You might have heard the song “Happy” by Pharell, a feel-good anthem that made it to #1 in 35 countries on the music charts—it was the best selling song of 2014 for the soundtrack of Despicable Me 2
Gretchen Rubin asked herself, “What do I want from life, anyway?” Her answer: “I want to be happy”—but she spent no time thinking about her own happiness. At that moment, on a rainy afternoon, while riding a city bus, she decided to dedicate a year to her own happiness project. The result was book with a companion website to help others learn and discover their own journey surrounding happiness.
What is happiness? Different things to different people that’s what happiness is.
This week, we encourage you to reflect upon your life, think about what makes you happy and to find the joy in the moment, to savor the small things in life that bring happiness.
You can check out our recommended reads on happiness here, or ask a librarian for a more specific recommendation!
If you haven’t already, be sure to log your reading in Beanstack for our summer reading challenge! All ages are welcome to sign up. For every book you log until August 15th, your name will be entered into a drawing for a reader basket. Each library branch will host its own drawings for 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, Children, Teens and Adults. Also worthy of note is that children get small prizes as they read books during the program. Register yourself and your family on Beanstack.
This is a collaboration from A to Z!
Alison Robles is a part-time page at the Crestwood Library. She is an avid reader with a passion for YA lit, historical fiction and fantasy. A Yonkers native, she graduated from Iona University in 2020 with a dual-degree in Marketing and Public Relations. She is pursuing a Masters in Information and Library Science from the University at Buffalo.
Z is the Branch Manager at the Crestwood Library. She has been with YPL for over a decade.