[throw0101d]

Books on happiness (research) have become a bit of a thing in recent years, but Dunn seems to have published one of the earlier ones in 2013:

* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803098-happy-money

I'd also recommend Morgan Housel's various writings:

* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231148075-the-art-of-spe...

He had an interesting observation: the popular saying "don't spend money on things, but on experiences" only goes so far. Spending on things can bring about experiences: the big house/cabin/cottage per se may not bring you happiness, but if it's a place that you can gather family and friends, that can bring happiness/meaning. His first car didn't bring him happiness because it was a car (and not even fancy), but because of all the road trips he did with his friends in it.

[MattSayar]

I just finished reading this book while taking a train for a weekend vacation. To your point, he mentions that if spending money doesn't make you happy, it's because you're spending it on the wrong things. You shouldn't spend money to get the respect of others, because it's fleeting, causes envy, and is the fast food of getting respect. You need to spend money in ways that give you new experiences until you discover what kind of spending DOES make you happy.

[yboris]

I'm a huge fan of Positive Psychology and have read dozens of books (by Ph.D researchers of the subject).

My favorite academic summary is The Good Life: Unifying the Philosophy and Psychology of Well-Being by Michael A. Bishop. As a hyper-short summary: psychologists studying well being have used different definitions and approaches, yet what unifies them is positive feedback loops - behaviors and activities that beget more positive affect in the future. Think spending time with good friends, etc.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22897962-the-good-life

A classic read is Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. It shows how humans are systematically bad at predicting to what extent future events will make them happier or sad. His TED talk is a nice 20 minute summary of the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56627.Stumbling_on_Happi...

[BrenBarn]

Daniel Gilbert (one of the authors of the study linked above) published "Stumbling on Happiness" in 2006. There were happiness psychology books before but it does seem that the popularity of this book primed the pump for more and more in its wake.