Gretchen Rubin published The Happiness Project in 2009 when she was a not-unhappy wife, mother of two, and successful writer. The book documented her serious — and often humorous — effort to become happier; an updated version, with an interview and new lessons drawn from both old wisdom and recent discoveries, such as that money can buy a little happiness sometimes, is now available in paperback, as is Rubin’s account of a second project: her efforts to harness the power of habit to enhance her life. Better than Before identifies four basic temperaments: upholder, questioner, obliger, and rebel, and Rubin show how people of each type can develop habits that lead to happiness and discard those tendencies that hold them back.

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