Pages to Popcorn: Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

I read the book and watched the movie of Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center. Come find what I thought about the book and the movie in real time.

Welcome, book friends!

To listen to my real-time reaction to this book and movie, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below.

I’d love to know your thoughts on the book if you’ve read it, or the movie if you’ve watched it. I invite you to leave a comment on X (Twitter)Facebook, or Instagram.

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Katherine Center is a bestselling author known for her heartfelt, closed-door contemporary romances. Her stories spotlight relatable characters navigating real-life challenges with warmth, humor, and emotional depth. You can always count on her books to make you laugh, cry, and swoon—all in one sitting.

I’ve read two of her novels so far and quickly fell in love with her writing. She’s become one of my favorite romance authors, and I’m on a mission to read her entire backlist (yes, I want to read her to zero!). So when I found out Happiness for Beginners had been adapted into a movie, I couldn’t wait to dive into the book first and see how it compares to the film.

You can learn more about Katherine Center and sign up for her newsletter on her website.

My Reaction to Reading the Book

Happiness for Beginners

by Katherine Center
Published:
Genre:
Format:
Narration:
GoodReads:4.04
My Score:
Spice:None

Book Summary

A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying, ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It’s supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again, but when she discovers that her brother’s even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can’t imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen’s well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming, where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls.

Yet, despite everything, the vast wilderness has a way of making Helen’s own little life seem bigger, too. And, somehow, the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn. Like how to stand up for herself. And how being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.

Kelly Matsudaira
About Kelly

Books have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and today, I read more than 150 each year. Through Bookmarks ‘n Blankets, I love sharing my reading journey, favorite book lists, and reading tips to help you make the most of your own reading life.

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