“Let’s put a smile on that face.” While Heath Ledger intones these words with dread in his legendary Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, it’s a phrase that shouldn’t inspire fear in people. In 1963, artist Harvey Ball created the iconic smiley face image, which has become a significant symbol good will ever since. As the image became more popular (and more monetized), Ball feared that the original intent of his image to inspire joy was being ignored by the public. He decided he needed to do something to bring back good will and good cheer to his image.
Thus, World Smile Day was born. Celebrated on the first Friday of October every year, the goal of the day was to inspire the public to complete random acts of kindness for others. The first World Smile Day was celebrated in 1999 and was established as a global holiday. According to the official website, “The smiley face knows no politics, no geography and no religion.” Harvey Ball passed away in 2001 with the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation created in his honor. This group now serves as the official sponsor for the holiday every year. The holiday has one simple motto every year: “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile.”
We here at Technica want to do our part in helping at least one person smile, a small shining good deed in a weary world. We know things can be tough. Stress is everywhere whether at home or at work. It seems only fitting that this holiday comes one week before World Mental Health Day (October 10) as the two can seemingly go hand in hand. According to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 adults live with a mental health issues and at least 1 in 5 youths (ages 13-18) have experienced mental health issues including serious depression.
While I’m not saying that the following books will in any way cure a mental health disorder (anyone suffering should reach out to mental health professionals), the books in the list below were all written with the intent of putting smiles on the faces of their target audience, whether that be adults or children. So, if you need a little pick-me-up from the stresses of the day or maybe you need something to put that smile on your face to go out and do some good deeds to honor Harvel Ball’s message, here are a few books that might just do the trick:
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Let’s start with a classic that is perfect for any kid looking to get into reading. It is in fact the first chapter book I remember reading as kid. Roald Dahl’s 1964 classic about young good-hearted Charlie Bucket’s adventures in the chocolate factory of eccentric candy-maker Willy Wonka is well-known for its two film adaptations, but the book itself is a magical journey full of humor and just enough morality to inspire life lessons for both children and adults.
- Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. The oldest book on this list is a comedy so good, it wasn’t even supposed to be a comedy. Written in 1889, this comic novel was originally planned to be a legitimate travel guide about three men and a dog taking a two-week boating trip on the Thames River. The book focuses on the hijinks and jokes made by the men during their voyage. While almost 150 years old now (and still in print!), the book is praised by most modern critics for how timeless the humor is proving that people laugh pretty much the same throughout history.
- The Guncle by Steven Rowley. Jumping from the 1800s to the 2020s, The Guncle is a modern comedy about a washed-up former actor and “guncle” (that’s gay uncle for those who don’t know) who has to take care of his niece and nephew after a series of family tragedies. While the premise might seem to hue into tragedy, the situational comedy is straight out of a Mike Nichols movie with quick, flying jokes and dialogue to make it a breezy and lighthearted read.
- Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey. A romantic comedy novel about romantic comedy films feels so meta that it shouldn’t work. Yet, Kerry Winfrey’s novel is light and breezy telling the story of Annie Cassidy, an aspiring writer, who dreams of being the next Nora Ephron and finding the Tom Hanks to her Meg Ryan. When a new rom-com film begins filming in her town, she gets a job on set and meets Drew, a cocky actor who seemingly has little to nothing in common with Tom Hanks’ good guy characters. If you’ve read or seen any rom-com, you know what’s coming next but that doesn’t make the novel any less charming.
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. A massive bestseller that was late adapted into blockbuster film, Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians is a charming rom-com with just enough satiric bite to make even the most jaded of readers chuckle. The first of three books in a series focuses on Rachel Chu, an Economics professor at NYU, who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young, for a wedding. During the trip, she learns that her boyfriend’s family isn’t just rich, but crazy rich (sorry, I had to do it). The first book focuses on the culture class between the middle-class Rachel and Nick’s extremely upper-class family while also providing funny footnotes and asides about varying elements of Asian culture. While ultimately a rom-com, Kevin Kwan has stated that his greater intention with the novel was to “introduce a contemporary Asia to a North American audience.”
While what makes someone smile is entirely subjective, I hope that the books above can at least provide some levity for those that may need a good laugh. What is a book that makes you smile? Let us know in the comments below.
By: Chris Moffitt
Chris is a Managing Editor at Technica Editorial
