Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Books That Make You Cry Can Actually Increase Happiness

Huh? Could this be true? A June 2013 Health Magazine article highlighted a study from Ohio State University that found that, for instance, "the more sadness people experienced during a movie, the greater their reported feelings of happiness were after the flick."

I agree.

The same applies to books, doesn't it? Think of the last book that made you cry. The article goes on to say that the sadness we feel at other's misfortunes (death, unfulfilled love, cancer, natural disasters, heartache...) can make us appreciate what we have.

Do you love a good book that elicits a tear? Please share any titles of books that made you cry in the comments! Here are a few stories that made me cry (or at least feel like it!):

THE HELP (so good!)
JUST ONE WISH (I cried and laughed)
WINTER GARDEN (couldn't stop crying, seriously)
DEAR JOHN (swoon, smile, cry...I loved this story)
LES MISERABLES (how could I not cry?)
CHARLOTTE'S WEB (me cry over a spider? Seriously, tell me I'm not the only one who teared up.)
LOVE YOU FOREVER (I remember my mom crying while reading this to me too)

And here are a few other great tearjerkers recommended by my Facebook friends (thanks to everyone for replying to my question and sharing your favorite cry-worthy or otherwise touching books!):











More about these books can be found on goodreads.com or amazon.com 

Am I missing any? Please share your favorites in the comments.

Article mentioned: "9 Way to Go on a Bliss Trip" in Health Magazine

8 comments:

  1. I absolutely agree! The more I felt like crying (or actually shed a tear) the happier the book made me. Definitely agree on The Fault in Our Stars. And one of my all time favorites The Boys of Pal Street

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    1. Great to hear from you, E.D! Thanks for the comment! I will check out The Boys of Pal Street.

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  2. Awesome post, Lo! You are so creative. Do you want to guest blog on my website. I can't seem to come up with anything.

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    1. Thanks, Kel! And YES, I'd love to do a guest blog post. How fun! We'll stay in touch ;)

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  3. Hi Lo, I'm Shelli. Just stopped by. "Anne Frank" always makes me cry as well as "These is My Words." Great collection you have and wonderful website!

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    1. Thanks, Shelli. It's great to meet you! I'll head on over and check out your blog. Thanks for the comment!

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  4. Wow, this was a really useful post. It just gave me a whole new list of books to read. You always come up with such good things to blog about!

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    1. Aw, thanks, Trac! You're the best. Thanks for the comment :)

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