The feel-good stories in this compilation from the social media community Upworthy turned out to be quite addictive. Just like eating potato chips, I couldn't stop reading after one or two or three stories. How refreshing to read the true-life experiences of those who received much-needed help or encouragement from other people who were often total strangers. Thanks to NetGalley and National Geographic for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Upworthy Good People completely hit the feel-good-uplifting-book category out of the park! The book is a collection of stories that were submitted to the website “Upworthy”. Upworthy is a website committed to collecting inspirational and positive stories from people all over the world.

I stumbled upon Good People on NetGalley and figured “why not” as I’d been having a crummy week, and feeling like I needed some positivity in my life. I also felt immediately hooked by the synopsis that stated it was a book for anyone that needed proof that the world is full of good people. Lately (by lately I mean the last several years), I’ve needed that proof. I plan to buy this as a “coffee book” table once it publishes because the stories are sweet, short, and uplifting, and I think both the world and my own life can always use a little bit more kindness and positive reminders. ☺️

The book is divided into six sections that are themed around and my favourite was the kindness of strangers section. There’s something about a stranger doing something kind for another stranger with no expectations of anything that tugs on my heart strings and I cried / teared up a few times. I also loved all the favourite / impactful teacher kindness stories and the heartwarming stories of children, their innocence and humour and kind hearts. 💕

Thank you so much to National Geographic, NetGalley, Gabriel Reilich and Lucia Knell for the arc copy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it!

This one wasn’t quite what I expected. I think the concept is admirable but I didn’t enjoy reading this title as much as I’d hoped to. It’s hard to articulate precisely why—it just felt like reading a magazine rather than a book.

In a world where all we hear is doom and gloom, this book is like a lighthouse beacon showing us something hidden from the world - the goodness of our fellow humans.

I like many of you have probably seen the posts from Upworthy on social media. I follow them on Instagram. The good news, feel-good posts leave me smiling and with hope that the world really does have good people left in it.

In GOOD PEOPLE: Stories From the Best of Humanity, these are the more in-depth stories that we read on social media. There are six chapters that collect common topics for the reader to pour over. For example, in Chapter 1, we learn about the kindness of strangers. These are stories of those drive-by humans who impact our lives when we feel like the world is crumbling around us. There are stories about children in the chapter called The Kids are Alright. I love they way kids can make you see your life in a completely different light. Such is the way a 3-year-old tells a woman that the woman isn't too big to fit in her playhouse but that the playhouse is too small for the woman. Precious!

GOOD PEOPLE: Stories From the Best of Humanity is one of those books that you'll be pulling out when you need a quick pick-me-up or you need something to make you smile. You'll be able to pick it us while waiting for an appointment or while you're eating lunch and it won't leave you hanging because the stories are detailed enough to have you emotionally involved but short enough that you can finish one in no time. Needless to say, I really love this book and highly recommend it.

101 feel-good stories. This book is a wonderful, change of pace read that helps remind us that there truly are good people in the world. It’s similar to the other series of books that has ‘soup’ in the title. Reading a couple at a time or several in one go is a nice way to recharge. The stories made me smile.
Thank You to NetGalley, National Geographic and Gabriel Reilich; Lucia Knell for the opportunity to read, smile and thoroughly enjoy this ARC.

Does anyone tire of hearing stories of good in the world?! Not me! I absolutely love following Upworthy on Instagram and I was thrilled to see a book filled with the amazing generous spirit of humans.

I wanted to savor every story and I know I will find myself revisiting it again.

Bravo to a gorgeous book.

I think everyone needs a little light in their life after the last few years. The world used to care about one another and now things have changed. Reading this book about experiences people have with perfect strangers being kind is something that is bound to bring joy on a dark day. The stories here bring tears to your eyes as you hear the hardship and then read the connections that were shared. I wish even more people in the world did things like this. Thank you to upworthy for capturing all these stories and for compiling them into this beautiful book.

A wonderful collection of short tales of kindness. There are six chapters: The Kindest of Strangers, Learn by Heart (about teachers/education), It's the Little Things, The Kids Are All Right, When I Needed It Most, and Away From Home. In between the stories are shorter quotes as well.
I loved that the stories throughout the book were from all around the world. The book can be read all the way through, or one story at a time, or put on a shelf and brought out when you need a bit of reassurance. Highly recommend this. Would make a great gift as well.

I enjoy reading Upworthy online, and this book is a nice compilation of positive stories and good people.
An enjoyable read, and will be a good book to go back to when one needs to hear about the good in the world, in lieu of all of the negatives our media tends to focus on.
Thank you #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouse for providing this ARC. Well done, publishing some good news!

This book is so refreshing! A collection of short (from a paragraph or two to a few pages in length) uplifting, true encounters with good people who reach out to help or reward strangers, expecting nothing in return.

We've become used to being bombarded with bad news every day. This serves as a welcome and much needed reminder that there are good people and good things happening all around us!

Thanks to the authors and National Geographic for putting this book out there and for allowing me to access a DRC via NetGalley. Publication is 9/3/24. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Thank you NetGalley and National Geographic for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. I really truly did. I love following Upworthy on social media and I firmly believe we all need more hope and joy and evidence of the kindness of humans in our lives. However, this format just didn’t work as a book for me. You can’t just sit and binge read and get the same amount of feel-good bright moments as you would reading these as the Upworthy social media originally is able to. It almost weakens the strength of the stories by allowing you to consume too many at once. As for the writing, I got a bit tired of the trite and sometimes cheesy wordplay that made up the final sentence of every single story. Cute once or twice but tiring 101 times.

I love the concept, I love the collection, but I’m just not sure a compiled book has the same effect as wandering across a single story while doom-scrolling.

The premise was that Upworthy posted questions online, and its fans answered. Some of the respondents were contacted to flesh out their stories more, for use in a compilation book. They ended up with 101 stories broken down into six chapters, with titles like: The Kindest of Strangers, Learn by Heart, It’s the Little Things, The Kids are All Right, When I Needed It Most, and Away From Home.

Some of the stories are a few pages long, and others are just a sentence or two. There are simple but colorful cartoon drawings within most of the longer ones, which makes these lovely stories even lighter and cuter.

There is a whole section dedicated to teachers who made an impact. Obviously, one chapter is about kids, with all their optimism and goofy turns of phrases. One is just about travel. But all are stories about things other people did or said that gave the authors reason to hope.

And I must single out that there is one story in here about Dolly Parton. It takes place in Nashville, so I can’t resist.

The uplifting nature of the stories makes this a fun and easy read, whether you read it in larger chunks or tiny bites. It might just be a good one to keep by your bedside to end the day with, or maybe to give to a friend who needs a pick-me-up.

Confession: I have subscribed to the Upworthy newsletter for many years and consider myself a fangirl. So, it is no surprise that I am giving two enthusiastic thumbs up for this book; “Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity,” which is a collection of personal anecdotes, assorted sizes, of people and moments that made a difference to someone’s life. They are loosely grouped around six themes, ranging from the unexpected kindness of others to moments of crisis and vulnerability of travelers far from home. The cumulative impact of these stories, which are near impossible to stop compulsively reading, will send you on your own wash of memory from the very special teacher who understood your own brand of difficulty to finding the meaning of compassion in the seemingly smallest gesture of a stranger that helped you out. In this polarized age, it often seems insurmountable to find a place of mutual communication and connection. Upworthy provides the passageway. Recommended

Such a breath of fresh air and medicine to the soul. Truly was sad to finish this as I just kept wanting to read more about the good in the world. Not only that, but I was deeply inspired. Inspired to see how I can positively impact the world. Small gestures may seem pointless, but this book proves time and time again how meaningful small actions can have on a person.

I love that Upworthy made a book. I really enjoy reading their posts on Instagram. What I find remarkable about this book is that although not every story resonated with me, there is a story for everyone who picks up this book. As a new mother, I found some of the stories of parents with kids to bring me to tears because I’ve learned that it really does take a village to raise a child. This book has inspired me to be more aware of those around me that may need a helping hand. It is also refreshing to read a book full of stories that having happy outcomes, especially among all the hardships that bombard us on a daily basis. Life isn’t easy but reading these stories gives me hope in humanity. ☀️

Thanks to Netgalley and National Geographic for the ARC in exchange for my review :).

I love reading stories that somehow gives us hope despite of all the mess and evil going on in the world right now.
It is like therapeutic, and even healing to see that there are still people out there with good hearts and trying to inspire others.
A very inspiring and interesting book. All these stories and worth the time and attention.

Thank you National Geographic and Netgalley for the free ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Following Upworthy on social media, I was excited to dive into the book and it did not disappoint! Reading this confirmed that there still is a humanity of caring and kind people.. such a heartwarming book! Appreciate the opportunity to read such great stories!!

This book contains the living stories that inject dopamine and joy to the brain. Some mere sentences and others a handful of paragraphs, these are the stories of real people who seemingly randomly happened to help someone else, except I firmly believe they had trained their entire lives to do just that. Likely over and over again.

Better than the many meditations books out there to improve ourselves. This book attempts to improve humanity.

I have always enjoyed when I was surfing the internet and came across an uplifting Upworthy human interest story, so I was delighted to see someone compiled them into a book! This is like a modern Chicken Soup for the Soul book, a feel good uplifting book you can pick up when you are feeling down. When the world is a scary crazy place, it is so nice to have something to grab to remind you how kind and beautiful people can be, and how one person really can make a difference. And as a teacher, I loved how many stories featured teachers who made a difference. A gem of a book that I will keep around for those bad days. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

What a wonderful book!! In today’s world of constant negativity it’s hard to remember that good people far outnumber the bad! This book is like a giant hug reminding you to always look for the positive. And the chapter by kids is absolutely hilarious! I can’t recommend this book enough! In fact, instead of watching the news read this. It’s what’s really going on in the world!