I picked up this book to buy for my kids to occupy them this summer, but I ended up really enjoying it myself. I've never had a non-fiction book strike me as a page turner, but this book hit the spot for me and I read it in two sittings (it's over 300 pages). It's easy for …more books like this to preach to the reader, but this felt more like a conversation with a really smart friend about meaningful stuff. It covers a lot of territory, including love, hate, happiness, addiction and death without losing its positive, and at times very humorous tone.

I thought the chapter on addiction in particular was really well done - one of the most easy to understand explanations of addiction I've read, and it wasn't scary or judgmental. I also liked the chapter on happiness, tracing the concept from antiquity to the present with some very practical, science-based advice. The comics were a good accent piece. As an adult in my 40s, I loved the combination of prose and comics. I think this book will also appeal to the nerdy kids in your life as well as adults, and will give you great entry points for meaningful conversations. (less)