Book Nook: '14,000 Things to Be Happy About'

14,000 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT: The Happy Book, by Barbara Ann Kipfer, Workman Publishing, 611 pp., $9.95.

Many people dread losing Daylight Saving Time this coming weekend, knowing it leads to dark mornings and darker afternoons.

But this joyous, fat little book by Barbara Ann Kipfer — in its 25th anniversary edition, with much added — could be a little beam of light piercing the darkness. Dip in and read lists she's made over 50 years of closely observing the world. You're bound to find yourself smiling at random images: "school mascots," "flaming-bright maple trees," "being gung ho," "cows with bells," "babushkas," "a good loser."

Or, perhaps, sighing as a memory or unfulfilled wish resonates: "barefoot beachcombing," "a four-season porch," "September in the country," "ancient stone circles."

THE SCOOP Kipfer, with enough advanced degrees to be overqualified for practically everything, started compiling lists of happy things as a child — long before positive psychology became a recognized and respected field.

THE BOTTOM LINE She may inspire you to jot down your own little moments in your own little notebook. How about "getting a close parking spot on a rainy day"?