Be Happy by Lois Blyth | Wellbeing and Joy Gift Book

Happiness behaves like the answer to a riddle. The harder you chase it, the further it moves, and then it arrives unannounced on an ordinary afternoon.

Lois Blyth builds Be Happy around that idea. Rather than a formula, the book offers strategies for consciously reframing how you see the world, practical ways to lift both your own mood and the mood of the people around you, and honest advice on identifying the barriers standing between you and contentment. Blyth draws on the experiences of others throughout, and the result is closer to a considered conversation than a set of instructions. If you like her voice, look for her other titles in our Books collection. What will I actually take away from it?

Three things run through the book: laugh more, live longer, love life. Underneath the simplicity is real substance on shifting perspective, on the link between contentment and health, and on the small deliberate choices that make a difference over time. Is it a quick read?

Yes. At 176 pages in a pocket hardback format, roughly 152 x 115mm, it can be read in an afternoon or kept beside the bed and taken a chapter at a time. The soft watercolour cover makes it a pleasure to have out on display.

It suits someone going through a flat patch, a friend marking a milestone birthday, or anyone who would appreciate encouragement without a lecture attached. Pair it with a candle, or find something complementary in Gift Ideas for the Wellness Guru. Why You'll Love It

- Practical reframing strategies rather than vague encouragement
- Considers your effect on the people around you, not just your own mood
- Beautiful soft watercolour cover in pale blue and lilac
- 176 pages in a pocket hardback, easy to read in short sittings
- From CICO Books, published by Ryland Peters and Small Where It Lives Best

The washed blue and lilac cover is quiet enough to leave out anywhere. It suits a bedside table, a bathroom shelf or a window ledge, and it stacks beautifully with other small-format hardbacks in a coastal palette. For a larger companion on the same theme, try No Place Like Home. In short

Be Happy by Lois Blyth is a 176-page pocket hardback from CICO Books offering strategies to reframe your view of the world, lift your mood and remove the barriers to contentment. Warm, practical and beautifully produced, it is available from Flux Boutique in Mount Maunganui with New Zealand-wide shipping.