This book contains sampling from various works by author C.S. Lewis. The thread purportedly tying them together is joy, but few feel like real happiness and some of them seem like more a stretch than others. It's mostly simple pleasures, but then also weirdly ends with a musing about Psyche's beauty because ... sure.

That being said, I am clearly not the target audience for this book. Even with its theme of joy, it is really more about the Christian religion than anything else. In fact, at one point, Lewis is quoted as saying, "It is hard on God really. To how few of us He dare send happiness because He knows we will forget Him if He gave us any sort of nice things for the moment." So, you know, joy.

If you were looking for a book about strong emotions and happiness in the world around you that you could gift to a friend or beloved family member, this is not that unless they are particularly religious.

The book does contain a very brief biography of C.S. Lewis and some family photographs. It also contains reproductions of many famous works arts, such as those done by Jan Brueghel and Gustave Dore. Indeed, the whole production of the book presents as a very beautiful work. The textual content just may not be for everyone. ( )

C. S. Lewis on Joy by C. S. Lewis. Epiphany library section 8 N: Life Skills, Love and Encouragement. This lovely short book is a collection of very short writings by the famed British professor and author of The Chronicles of Narnia. You may not know that besides writing the Chronicles he also was a midlife convert to Christianity, and became an eminent Christian writer whose books are for lay people like you and me.
In his larger book, Surprised by Joy, Lewis wrote about what joy means to him. This book has short sections of that book as well as several others including Mere Christianity.
Lewis caught himself sometimes having fleeting mental and spiritual glimpses of what I would call eternal bliss – a feeling that for him felt like something centuries old, which he called joy. Deeper than happiness or pleasure, it was a sudden, intense feeling of delight, sometimes felt during walks outdoors, upon hearing a particular piece of music, seeing a delightful little creation. He says once you experience that joy, that bliss, you will want it again. While we can conjure up happiness or pleasure, we cannot conjure joy or bliss, but can only keep a lookout for it.
This book is illustrated with delightful paintings that express the theme of joy or bliss, ranging in style from medieval revival to magic realism. Most I’d never seen before. Whoever selected the paintings did a lovely job. They are delightful, and printed on a small scale, they take on a miniature, jewel-like feeling. Very nice book that helps us relish those moments when we feel a deep, fleeting joy. ( )