Little Pieces of Hope: Happy-Making Things in a Difficult World

by Todd Doughty, Josie Portillo (Illustrator)

One of The Washington Post’s Best Feel-Good Books the Year • A jolt of joy in a difficult world! Perfect for any age, this charming collection is a daily devotional of delight, designed to provide a thought-provoking break in a busy day, inspiring readers to look for and celebrate the good things that surround us.   “This brilliant book will remind you of all the people, places and things you love, forgot you loved, need to love. It’s a book you’ll want to buy for your best friends so you can read passages aloud to them. It’s a poetic, sparkling gem you’ll want to pick up every time you need a smile.” —Kevin Kwan, #1 New York Times bestselling author the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy   Need a pick me up to brighten your afternoon? Skip that second cup of coffee and discover dozens of happy-making lists alongside short essays, musings, prompts, quotes, and playlists. Flip to the joys of red velvet cake or road trips—or dip into “Things You Might Consider Doing Today” (Call a friend and don’t use the pronoun “I” during the entire conversation) or “Things to Look Forward To” (Reaching the other side of something challenging - which you will!) or “That Song … You Know the One.”   LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE can be read straight through, or you can savor a single page at a time. The beautifully designed book contains over 3,000 items on topics such as music, books, paintings, photographs, memories, holidays, recipes, feelings, movies, and so much more.   Brimming with the pleasures of life—and full of gorgeous illustrations—LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE makes a beautiful gift or keepsake.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Psychology, Essays, Health, Biography

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Vanessa M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Doughty made a whole lot of lists of things that bring joy and happiness in an unhappy world. You say to me, "Vanessa, I don't want to read a book about some guys version of happiness in a list form." Fine. Sure. I get it. However, if you are from the Baby Boomer, Gen x, Millennial or Gen Z generations you may find some items on this list that you too will find uplifting. If you are into the humanities you will most certainly agree with Mr. Doughty's choices for the lists.

I took my time with reading this and that added much to my personal enjoyment. It was nice to savor these lists a few at a time during the days between New Years' Eve and today the 4th of January.

I took note of some of the photographs, art installations and pieces, newspaper articles, and playlists that I'd like to further discover.

Josie Portillo's illustrations were cute and added sensory value to the format of the book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout 2020, the Year that Satan Spawned, Todd Doughty was my Comforter-in-Chief on Instagram. Day after day, he offered his followers poignant, cultural touchstones and Proustian madeleines that ranged from great movies to great books to the small, daily moments when we touch the numinous. He reminded us of the remarkable, exquisite beauty that exists in even the toughest of times, and gave us all reasons to — and here is the greatest gift of all — hope. This book will make you nod with recognition and smile with uncontrollable joy. Bonus? You will also find dozens of new songs and photos and books and musicals and TV series to savor. Everything about LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE is a gem. You will cherish it when the world is smiling upon you and reach for it when the world is closing in.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, boy. This is going to be one of the rambliest and tangentiest (trademark pending on those words) reviews of all time. You are officially warned.

Let's start with extended disclaimer time! I came across Little Pieces of Hope by Todd Doughty from a very non-conventional way. See, Todd's full time job is a big-wig at Knopf Doubleday Books (and wait, I just googled and he got promoted! Go Todd!), which is part of Penguin Random House, the largest trade book publisher on Earth. (Tangent from disclaimer: I am still totally confused about how publishers and imprints work and who falls under what. I'd swear completely different companies use almost the same exact name but say they are different. Is this relevant? No, but I wanted to finally type this somewhere.)

Anyway, Todd would probably argue about how important he is, but the point is that when a wide-eyed and clueless new history nerd podcaster (me!) reached out about interviewing authors, Todd did something a lot of people don't do anymore. He responded! Promptly! And kept responding! I can't begin to explain the feeling of someone giving you a shot and I am forever grateful that he did. Along the way, I saw Todd had his own book based on his Instagram. The least I could do is give it a review, right?

Now you may be thinking, "But Brendan, what if you hated it? Wouldn't you be burning a bridge and look like a huge jerk?" Yes, but I get overly excited and sometimes don't think before I do something. It's both a huge character flaw and a superpower. I pride myself on my reviews being the truth. If I don't like it, I'll tell you. There is something that saved my bacon, though. I loved the book.

Let me tell you how it warmed my cold, dead, book reviewer heart.

Little Pieces of Hope is based on Todd's Instagram idea of listing things that give you, well, hope. There are also shorter thought pieces about the seasons, song playlist suggestions, and personal stories. There is a cynical oversimplification to call this just a bunch of lists. However, I can confirm that if you give yourself over to the conceit, there is "chicken soup for the soul" level catharsis. For example, there is a mere mention on one page of "a good plumber." No explanation. However, in my head, I was immediately reminded of the plumber who was in my place two months ago who did amazing work, saved me a ton of money, and fixed at least 3 major problems I didn't know I had along with the ones I knew were there. I also told at least 6 people how amazing this guy was and how it made my day to be able to trust someone to be awesome at their job. This is just one example. The book kept connecting things in my mind or made me time travel to memories I haven't recalled in years. The best books transport you, and this one certainly did.

Now, back to that disclaimer. I am sure you may have assumed it was just my ego adding a whole bunch of material about myself. That is only partially true. I think this book is even more enjoyable when you know that Todd is the type of person who responds to strangers when he could easily not. This book is written by a person who practices what he preaches because I've seen it. Plus, when is the last time you read about an author's love of Hostess cupcakes? Literary gold, people.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The design of this book is doing a disservice to the content. The conversion from Instagram account to book is just page after page of names and objects and so forth in long paragraphs broken up by mix-tapes/playlists (which are pretty good) and short essays. The paragraphs are so long that they become hard to read. It would have been much nicer to have curated the long lists a bit and use some graphic design work to have more interplay between the layout and the text. (see: The Comfort Book, which is going for a similar vibe but is much easier to read)

[Dun's · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book through the Goodreads giveaways (a million thank you!), and started reading it late December 2021. This book is full of cherished, little and big things, situations, and moments, and each page has made me smile. I found myself picking up a few color pencils and underlining sentences and words that relate to me the most, something that I don't normally do as a reader.

Instead of finishing this book in one go, I tend to open its pages on hectic days when I need to decompress or on quiet days when I need to stay in the moment. That's why after 4 months since I first opened this book, I am still at page 50. I want to savor it and will spend time reading it as long as it pleases me.

Donna Summer's recording of "I Feel Love."
Crisp, new sheets.
Charles Schulz, national treasure.
The smell of cut lemons.
Someone who says "How are you feeling?"
The coo of a pigeon.

Updated December 2022: Finished and started rereading this gem all over again. It is a delight to see my notes and highlights in the book from the past year.

[Vanessa Ya Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up from the library not knowing what I was getting into. Initially, I wasn’t too sure about a book of lists but I will say it’s definitely got My mind focusing more on all the good in the world and making my own happy making list.

His book guided me to new articles, new books, new songs, and helped me bathe in the nostalgia of many happy things from my childhood: ie Amelia Bedilia, choose your own adventure novels, outkast “hey ya”, etc

Thanks for expanding my world!!

[John’aLee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes a book comes along that just makes you smile! Todd Doughty, in writing down little snippets of joy in his life caused me to seek out new things and managed to tickle my memory of things lost forgotten over the past several decades.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

****READ THIS IN PRINT!!!!****

I listened to the audio, which was charming and fine, but so many lists and details slipped away from me and it would have been nice to flip through.

I think this could make for some awesome writing prompts.

[Elysse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of 2021. I seriously needed this pick-me-up! I will be buying this for everyone in my life that I know could use a reminder of the magic this world offers us.

[Surita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book as a giveaway from Good morning America's book giveaways and I am so thankful I did.

OMG! This book is exactly what I needed during a pandemic. Every day, I find a new song, I haven't heard of, a twitter account to look up a movie to check out. I have started to keep this in my car and read a passage before I go to work or on my lunch break or on the way home. I love the quotes and the suggestions. I have really enjoyed this book and it is now underlined and highlighted and dogeared.

[Bonnie Dupré Isacks · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - Super fun and brought me a lot of joy reading little by little!

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a most delightful, smile inducing bunch of lists! read this and feel happy:)

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todd Doughty’s book Little Pieces of Hope had its origins on March 11, 2020 when he began to make a list of “happy-making things in a difficult world” and posted the list with a photo on his Instagram account (@todddoughty). That was the day the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.





The post became the basis for his book. Most of his lists are a single page, so this makes it the perfect book to just grab when you have a few minutes and want something to bring a smile to your face as you recognize things that brought you joy as a youngster or give you hope today.



He lists things like “Staying up late and hearing “Live From New York, it’s Saturday Night!”, “A day at the state fair”, and “Ripping open the presents” that evoke a visceral memory for so many of us. He has pages titled “Bucket-List Suggestions” (seeing a Red Sox- Yankees game at Fenway), “Things You Might Consider Doing Today” (make Ina Garten’s weeknight Bolognese), and “That Moment in Life When You” (realized your parents are people too).



There are many things in this delightful book to make you think, make you smile, make you nostalgic. Sometimes it’s just one word- “Kevin!” (from the movie Home Alone), or his Mixtape pages of songs that will have you rushing to make a Spotify playlist to dance to that bring you happiness. I particularly like his lists of characters from my favorite TV shows of yore, or books I Ioved. His name-checking of famous paintings and photographs had me Googling them to take a look.



Little Pieces of Hope is the kind of book you’ll want to take a highlighter to so you can refer back to your favorite sections, or call your siblings or best friends to ask them if they remember this or that. It will bring a smile to your face and earn a permanent place on your favorites bookshelf.

[Kayci Pharaon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely little book showed up in my mailbox one day with no note or gift message, so I started reading it while wondering who sent it to me. A couple weeks later one of my best friends texted me and said “oh! I sent a book to you. I saw it in NYC and knew you would love it!” She nailed it. It’s hard to read a page of it without smiling or laughing out loud or jotting something down to look up later.

Here’s a snippet of my own happy-making list:
Color changing spoons. Bridget Jones. Squirrels. Kids with crazy face paint. Postcard tubs at antique stores. Being seated in a booth at a restaurant. Mister Rogers. Dandelions. American Girl dolls. The fact that Meryl Streep recorded “The Winner Takes it All” from Mamma Mia in one take. Crab rangoons. Keanu Reeves. DCOMS. The score from Amelie. Zabar’s. Animal crackers. Malcolm Gladwell.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a paperback time machine that will take you back to the best parts of your life.
That mixtape for your high school crush?
That song you used to love and haven't heard in forever?
That scene from your favorite 80's flick?
Todd Doughty has found a way to weave the joys of the past and present into what is destined to be the book you give for birthdays and graduations and also to loved ones who are in need of inspiration and laughter.
Written in short bursts of humor and nostalgia, you will return to it like a longtime friend, ready to remind you of the hope in the small moments of everyday life.

[Kristen Claiborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best books of 2021. It’s not even open for discussion.
In March of 2020, my youngest daughter was on Spring Break from her senior year of high school. She was looking forward to the remainder of her last semester in high school, and taking it easy while heading into the stress of college admissions. Then the WHO said Covid-19 had the potential to kill millions of people, declared a worldwide pandemic, and the world shut down. She never went back to school. She never got to experience all of the joys the end of high school can bring: final band and choir concerts, senior ditch days, senior prom, even graduation. As her mom, I was so devastated. We watch our kids grow up and wait with excited expectation for all of the milestones, and this one was stolen from us and there was nothing we could do about it. Unlike Doughty, my daughter and I kinda just sat around and moped. We didn’t try to improve our mood, we didn’t make lists of happy things, we just moped. I wish we had this book back then. I’m sure I would have still been mopey, but at least I would have been mopey with a tiny ray of sunshine. I know I’m not the only person who had a crappy year in 2020, and so I am genuinely impressed that Doughty was able to find all of these little pieces of hope in this book. That’s quite the accomplishment. I strongly urge everyone to get this book and read a page every day, especially when you’re feeling down.

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, the author decides to compile a list of all the "happy-making things" he could find in a complicated world. This included everything from watching a fat goldfish, eating a good burger, or watching any movie with Katharine Hepburn, particularly her entrance in The Lion in Winter. The author included these special moments in a book with over three thousand individual happy-making things.

I love how the author started sharing these happy-making things on Instagram, and soon, people commented to share their own happy-making things. It reminded me that we shouldn't just cherish the big stuff or the big moments—the small moments matter too, including anything from feelings to memories to items to recipes and books. I love how the book included a lot of eighties and nineties references. There are holiday lists for Thanksgiving and graduation. The author also wrote sixteen individual essays throughout the book. This book speaks to a mindfulness movement. Instead of letting the chaos rule the day, we can tap into the things that make us happy and put them in front of our minds.

TO listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/tod...

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the cutesy title and cover, I found this book to be surprisingly entertaining and educational. It's basically just a massive list broken into bite-sized chunks of random things you may or may not have thought about in a way that could potentially make you smile. Many of things he mentioned are from the latter part of the 20th century which, I suppose, ticks the box for the smile "the good ol' days" bring when one takes a trip down memory lane. I read the book on my phone which was great because when the author listed a photo or a painting I hadn't previously seen, a song I hadn't heard, or anything else I wanted to find out about, I could instantly google it and voilà, learn something new. I didn't check out everything that was unfamiliar to me and I didn't always find that certain things the author found "happy-making" made me feel the same. But the big takeaway from reading this book was that there are a surprising number of things in the world that are pretty amazing if you can manage to take time to stop, look, and listen. And think about it.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but the format is a bit overwhelming.

The book has pages of things that bring the author hope, but they're not in list form. These sections are pages with blocks of text written. Like. This. With some of the words bolded. And some of the words may or may not be related to the previous item on the list. The lists of things that bring hope are broken up by playlists and the occasional essay that is also only a few pages long. While those sections are more digestible, the majority of the book felt a little difficult to read because it was just page after page of a bunch of line items. Also Doughty listed commuting as a thing that he missed, so even the hopeful things themselves are highly subjective. Overall not something that brought me joy, but could appeal to others.

[The Reading Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I dove in expecting a list of random things that would maybe be interesting to flip through. What I didn’t expect was to spend the next hour or so reading through them laughing, tearing up and looking up various articles, songs and videos. Who knew that 200+ pages of lists could be so entertaining?

Interspersed with essays, playlists and thematic lists and quotes, this is mostly a collection of the little things that makes us smile. Part nostalgia, part day-to-day, it’s a culmination of the people, places and things that we don’t regularly think about, but that always tend to add a bit of joy to our days. A great stocking stuffer.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lists are fun, but I enjoyed his essays the most. The final essay in the book, The Things That Last, was so moving and my favorite part.

[Danielle Palmer]

DNF. There appear to be a lot of gems in here, but I couldn’t get past all the pop culture references.

[Union County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Todd Doughty before one of my bookish friends recommended this book.
I loved the title and cover which prompted me to get Little Pieces of Hope: Happy-Making Things in a Difficult World from my library without knowing anything about it.

In the beginning, Todd explains how this book came about. If you take the story in the vein that he intended it, you will enjoy it. There are many of his comments that we will all find relatable. For example: "Someone believing in you." There are others you might not get like "Kevin!" (I laughed because my son has made us watch Home Alone so many times that I got it). As Todd said in the introduction: "If you enjoy something listed here that was previously unknown to you, then we have shared that moment. Conversely, you may not like something on the list, and that's okay too."

Todd has included themed lists, random lists, short essays, and sections called "Things You Might Consider Doing Today." There were some things I got and others I didn't. I enjoyed the shared moments and moved quickly through the ones that were not relatable to me. Overall, this is an enjoyable read, especially to someone needing a little hope today. Some of the things on Todd's lists might not resonate, but they will help you create lists of what does make you happy.

- Reviewed by Cindy D. (UCL Volunteer)

[Ann Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a GEM!! What a JOY! I can't love it more. I will however admit that it was written with someone like me in mind - someone who enjoys art, music, food, literature, and doing things. I listen to MPR, I live in a city, I've traveled, I went to college, and I grew up in the 80s. Someone who doesn't have these interests or experiences might feel less enamored with the book.

I wish this book had a workbook with links to all of the articles, photos of art, recipes, podcasts, shows, and playlists mentioned in this book. And a place for us to start writing our own Little Pieces of Hope and recognizing our lives are sprinkled with our personal National Treasures.

I wish Todd would pay me to create that workbook. I would LOVE to do it. Todd- if you're reading this and you're interested, call me!

I think I'm going to take each chapter and spend a month with the experiences and thoughts it recommends. Some of the thoughts are great conversation/story starters. I'm going to sprinkle those into our family Zoom calls. I'll take each chapter as a little to-do list. Perhaps I'll create the workbook as I go. And I'm sure I will chose to ignore some of the "things you might do today". I likely won't be cleaning the grout or restringing the weed whip based on the recommendation.

And I love the memory he shares at the end.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first discovered this book when I was looking for something to listen to and it was available immediately. Quickly I realized that this was not a book you listen to.
This is a book of the author’s lists of things that bring them joy. The concept began with the pandemic and led to this book. Simple things (e.g., a perfectly roasted marshmallow), books, shows, quotes, famous people, places, songs, things people say to one another, foods, etc.
I began reading this book a month again when I was quite depressed regarding the state of politics in this country, inconsolable regarding the likely election outcome in November.
This book became a catalyst for my desire to create my own book of small things that give me hope or make me smile. I figured I might need it as a reminder in a few months and thought it would be a nice thing to pass on to my kids.
My version of this book is totally marked up - highlighted items that made me smile and LOTS of handwritten additions triggered by the author’s words.
A funny thing happened while reading this book - I started looking for things that bring me joy as I went about my day. Similar to a gratitude journal I began focusing on more positives in my life.
At some point I plan to use Shutterfly to make my book - mostly text with a few pictures of favorite paintings and places. One for me and perhaps each of my kids.
Hopefully I won’t need this self-made emotional crutch in November but everyone has times in their lives when it is helpful to remind ourselves of the many things to appreciate about our short time in this world.
Perhaps it will inspire you as well.

[Vritti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very uplifting read!

There is something for everyone in this book. To put it in simpler terms, it is filled with examples of things that make one happy in a difficult world. Reading even a few of the examples can really give hope and motivation to someone. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to reminisce about the past and be inspired to work harder for a better future for themselves.

Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a copy.

[Rachel ♥⁷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Someone who leaves a light on for you.”

“Six friends squeezing into a table for four.”

“Adding a dash of cinnamon.”

“That first sip of morning coffee. That first sip of wine at 5:01pm.”

“Superhero costumes worn by toddlers.”

“The first day of Fall.”

“Putting the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle into place.”

Packed full of “happy-making things” in a difficult world, this book is like one big list of feel-good feelings and memories. It leaves you happy and warm and reminiscent. With bucket list suggestions and playlists, this will sure to make you smile. 🙂

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas gift 2022 | I decided to go through this slowly throughout the year, writing my own happy-making things in here and there as I went. It's hard to imagine reading it as a book, but this worked for me.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute ramblings of things that could give you hope/ make you happy on each page.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There really is a lot of wonderful in the world as clearly illustrated by the author!