A Dose of Happiness?

(image from the Happy Guy)


David Leonhardt, the self-proclaimed “Happy Guy,” believes that anyone can find a small dose of happiness with a few clicks around his website. Although I find his website somewhat charming, it is hard to believe that someone in serious need of true happiness will find it on his page. Not to mention that a constant reminder of the author’s published books lead the reader to draw conclusions about the author’s ulterior motives. However, the humor articles on various topics would probably muster a smile for some.


It seems that Mr. Leonhardt is a busy man who works at home and takes on many roles including father, author, speaker, and consumer advocate. Being an author seems to take priority and was probably the motivation for creating his website. The expected audience was most likely a group of easily persuaded readers with a credit card in their hands. Although I strongly want to believe this website’s purpose is to help humanity attain happiness, observation of the numerous references to his books leads me to think otherwise.


After sifting through a few articles, I started to get used to the author’s distinct style of writing, which lies between rambling jokes and a well-told story. I actually enjoyed reading “The Art of Kissing.” I found his point of view on kissing as the world’s greatest sport refreshing, and I liked that he carried it throughout the article. “The Happy Hermit,” in which we see the side of The Happy Guy that works from home, provided quirky tips on how to be stinky and stay married.

The Happy Guy’s website takes small steps toward making the world happy, but I feel it achieves the author’s intended purpose. With the assumption that Mr. Leonhardt’s underlying goal is to interest people in his writing enough for them to want to purchase his books, it is clear that his website is accommodating.

(above image from Google)