SunShines: The Astrology of Being Happy [Paperback]

Michael Lutin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2006

Aquarius

You're a deviant, but not a pervert. So how can you make your special contribution?

Virgo

You're here to roll up your sleeves and pitch in, and when you find your true calling, it won't be work. If you think the world owes you a living, get help.

Gemini

You're a human fiber optics cable. Staying connected to everyone, but not scattered and skitzed out -- that's the trick.

Vanity Fair's hip and wickedly funny columnist knows your naughtiest, darkest obsessions. He also knows where you can find the road to lasting joy.

SunShines is an astrology book like no other. Eerily accurate and deliciously witty, it takes you deeper into your sign than you've ever been before, identifies the patterns you get hooked on, and then shows you how to find the happiness everyone deserves to have. That's a promise.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to long-practicing astrologist and author Lutin (Made in Heaven, Childhood Rising), happiness comes from knowing "who you really are and what in the name of tarnation you are doing here on Earth." In this sprawling guide to "how our Sun Sign (and other major forces) can overcome almost anything," Lutin attempts to impart that knowledge in the irreverent, inimical manner his fans have come to expect. The format of the book is straightforward enough: in part one, entertaining entries for each birth sign and birth year provide the standard breakdown of strengths, weaknesses and advice. Part two, "Going Deeper," is more esoteric; covering "the desires that undo us all," Lutin shows how ideas like "Independence," "Communication" and "Love" can become misery-sustaining obsessions. While it's refreshing to read horoscopes with a little pizzazz, Lutin's fondness for made-up examples ("We all have issues, even the nice little old grandma who puts only eight thousand miles on her Pontiac in fourteen years") serve only to lengthen his already overlong explanations-not once does Lutin write in one paragraph what he can drag out page after page. For fans of his past books or his column in Vanity Fair, this title will probably gratify; for everyone else, it could prove counter-productive.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Michael Lutin is the Mick Jagger of astrology." -- Nancy Imperiale, The Orlando Sentinel

"I never read a Michael Lutin horoscope that I don't laugh and slap my knee, and say, 'By golly, that sounds exactly like what's happening to old Aquarius!'Mr. Lutin may be starstruck, but he can write and has a wicked intuition and a wicked wit. He almost makes me a believer!" -- Liz Smith, syndicated columnist

"Intriguing, lively, and deliciously original, everyone knows Michael Lutin is the astrologer of his generation. Now he's almost made me happy to be a Capricorn." -- Anita Gates, theater critic

"Just as you're laughing merrily along, zing! A revelation hits you from out of nowhere. This book is full of surprises. Not only are sun signs elucidated in Lutin's inimitable style, but . . . obsessions can be healed and destinies fulfilled." -- Glenn Perry, Ph.D., director, Academy of Astro Psychology

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (December 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743277260
• ISBN-13: 978-0743277266
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astonishing, ground-breaking astrology book, December 2, 2006

By 

Aisling D'Art "artist and author" (Portsmouth, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SunShines: The Astrology of Being Happy (Paperback)

Michael Lutin's new book, SunShines, is utterly amazing. If you're a fan of astrology, you will love this book.

He talks about identifying your "true North" and what drags you into "going South" with your life... the hidden things that you think that nobody knows about, and nobody--including you, usually--really understands.

Michael talks about cognitive changes that can turn your life around. He explains how to head back towards what you're supposed to be doing with your life: How to find your real path... the one that'll bring you deep-seated happiness.

He also describes what sucks you into trouble, nine times out of ten because you seem to be so attracted to it (or perhaps it to you, if it's an irritation more than a siren song).

Michael courageously goes out on a limb more than other astrologers, often with astonishing accuracy. I've seen that, even in his monthly column in Vanity Fair magazine.

I bought SunShines as soon as I could, and started reading it immediately. I literally laughed out loud when Michael described my kind of Virgo as a "phobic slob." Anyone who gets past the idea that all Virgos are perfectly organized and tidy... well, that put Michael on my list of favorites.

You'll enjoy reading about friends & family in this book. If you know their birth dates, including the year, you can look them up in this book, too.

SunShines is a great present for others, but it's an even better present for yourself. Few astrology books are this important; SunShines covers fresh ground and you'll refer to it often. Your darkest secrets are in this book, as well as what you can do to deal with them and radically improve your life.

I highly recommend this book!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I could give it SIX stars, I would., January 17, 2007

By 

Erica K (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SunShines: The Astrology of Being Happy (Paperback)

This man is a genius. The only horoscope I read is Michael Lutin in Vanity Fair. Every single month, without fail, it makes my jaw drop. Truly scary. I have read his other books, all great but this one is the best. I just happened to read about it in Vanity Fair the day before I was going on vacation and I had to one-day ship! So wonderfully insightful but funny, funny, funny at the same time. It was better than any novel I've read in a long time.

I actually had a personal reading with Michael in New York two years ago and I still regularly think about things he said to me. I wish I could see him for fifty minutes every week instead of my shrink.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness is..., December 10, 2006

By 

Paula R. Gassmann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SunShines: The Astrology of Being Happy (Paperback)

Sun Shines: The Astrology of Being Happy
By Michael Lutin
© 2007 NY: Simon & Schuster, A Fireside Book
480 pages

In this book, Michael Lutin poses the question: What is happiness?
In answering, helooks at the Sun signs of the zodiac. He focuses on the power of the Sun, the star that is the center of our planetary system. He looks at where true happiness lies for a person born under each Sun sign, what throws him/her off, and what gets him/her back on track. While initially appearing like a number of other books on astrology, with a cookbook format through the zodiac, its deeper focus promises more: to bring each reader to a greater ability to fulfill destiny, thus to be happy at last.

There are some basic assumptions in this theory, specifically that the most of us are not happy, not living our destiny, not living to our fullest potential. If you know Michael Lutin's work at all, you know he is completely irreverent, challenging all basic assumptions from a depth that gets at the soul. He even promises that when you're done with his book, you'll be freer than when you began. But fear not! He includes instructions on how to read the book. After describing details on your Sun sign, he directs you to another section, one of 12 subdivisions of that Sun sign. He explains that this subdivision is based on where the South Node is located in the solar chart, during the year of birth. Here, he provides key words that describe two areas of concern that can become basic obsessions.

Obsessions suggest a darker side, a deeper level of operating. They are related to the Lunar Node axis, where the paths of both the Sun and Moon's intersect. Lutin describes coping strategies for the obsessive desires that tend to serve as undoing. If lasting happiness is the ability to make the most of gifts, reduce negative traits, and increase positive ones, the Sun, as the heart and soul of everything, serves to center the psyche. As such, it is the container for the energy stimulated by the interrelationship with the Moon. The two become a dancing pair. At the deeper level, the Sun radiates the nodal authenticity, creating inner peace.

Lutin guides the reader to face the self honestly, then he offers a way to deepen understanding and find "true north". He structures this section according to what gives great pleasure; what one might tell oneself; where one goes south; what major relationship struggle needs resolution, as well as other struggles that need attention, and he offers a possible past life scenario. He suggests ways to find true north and how to restore power. He offers some suggested paths to healing, as well as a final word of sage advice.

Through his humor, Lutin reassures us that we're all struggling as humans together, but clearly, the process Lutin suggests is one of personal growth. It requires a letting go, a detachment, and movement towards things, relationships, ideas, and beliefs that bring lasting satisfaction. This is the work of astrology, applied positively.