I just finished reading The Happiest Life by Hugh Hewitt, which is a book about giving. The basic premise, as you might guess, is that the best way to live a happy life is to give. Hewitt describes seven gifts that anybody can give. They include intangibles, such as encouragement and energy. The chapters about gifts are followed by descriptions of givers. Basically, he outlines how you can be a giver in various arenas of life based on relationships you have in those arenas.
I appreciate that this book has some great truth about what it actually means to be happy and what are some of the best things to give and best ways to give them. I was able to glean much from the wisdom and experience of the author.
However, at many times, The Happiest Life seems like it should have been written as an autobiography with giving as a major theme throughout Hewitt's life. While I appreciate the stories and examples, I think the book often crossed the line between effectively communicating ideas and merely rambling. At times, I was reminded of the Bible's genealogy sections. While I think those section are important for the complete understanding of God's Word, I don't think they were necessary or helpful for this book. Not only were they not helpful but could often come across as name-dropping.
I would most likely recommend this book to people along with a warning about the amount of unnecessary information.
Thanks to BookSneeze, now BookLook Bloggers, for sending me this free book for review.
