The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking

 

"Hygge is humble and slow. It is choosing rustic over new, simple over posh and ambience over excitement."

Denmark has been voted one of the happiest nations in the world, and that's largely attributed to their concept of Hygge. Hygge is all about creating a quiet and warm atmosphere and taking time to enjoy the simple things in life.

I feel like the book spoke to me on a personal level, as the secret to Denmark's happiness includes a lot of things I already enjoy doing. I'm no stranger to curling up with a hot cocoa and a good book or a night out by a campfire. It's always been important to me to make time to connect with nature, and it seems strange to me that others refuse to leave their houses... Now I find there's an entire country who believes this is the correct way to live. It seems Denmark took, what I always considered to be the introvert's way, and made it into a social event. In this I missed the mark, as I struggle to find connections in our increasingly tech driven world.

My one criticism: I didn't really stay engaged with the writing style from beginning to end. One chapter just appeared to be danish recipes, which would not be hygge for an American reader because neither myself nor anyone I know would have eaten or cooked those unless they were Danish immigrants. Places where the book got a little too Danish, is where I lost connection. It would perhaps be more hyggelig for me to reference Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, whatever recipe Grandma made best when you were a kid, Mom's fresh baked cookies, the smell of burgers and dogs hitting the grill on the 4th of July...

It's an interesting read nonetheless.

Originally posted on GoodReads December 26, 2021

3 Stars

On August 1, I'll be posting my review for Devolution by Max Brooks

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