The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well
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Reading this book was very hygge. Hygge is a Danish concept of a feeling of coziness, safety, and, above all, happiness. This book tries to delve into a concept not easily translatable and also assess the impact it has on happiness. Yes, it is quite hipster at times and yes, I felt like more than one or two of the suggestions were very white people, but overall I quite enjoyed this book.
The majority of the book is an analysis of what "hygge" is and how to create it. For example, soft lighting is a must. It makes everything so much cozier! How to get soft lighting? Candles! Apparently the Danes buy more candles than literally anybody else. But they're also the happiest country, typically, so make of that what you will. And really, hygge things was just a delightful litany of things I already enjoy: spending quality time with family and friends, eating cake, taking a hike, and snuggling up under a warm blanket. Let's be real, I work real hard at create hygge in my everyday life.
But what really hit home for me with this book is how my life wasn't always this way. Reading this book now, at the incredibly mature and responsible age of 27 (hahahahaha), I can see how I do so many of these things already. I know how to cook a hearty beef stew (with wine or beer) over the course of many hours so the smell permeates my home. I intrinsically understand that a fire in the fireplace on a cold winter's day is the height of hygge (so snuggly!) and that it's fun to watch a movie with loved ones that you've watched a billion times, just because the fact that everyone loves it makes for good bonding. But I didn't always get this stuff, especially from the perspective of me, personally. I've always known that I enjoy spending time with my family and my friends, but I have had to spend a lot of time in my life understanding what makes me happy.
A few years ago, I was pretty miserable. And while a large part of that was the fact that I was on a medication that wrecked havoc with my emotions didn't help, there were also many other factors that contributed to my miserableness. First off, my husband and I were newlyweds and barely spending any time together. He would work really late or I would. I was a workaholic because I was in a new and hugely demanding job that I was concerned I wouldn't be able to keep if I didn't put 120% of myself into it. I got a hobby I didn't enjoy that I was stuck with for several months (ahh, the joys of local theater). I was eating crappy food quickly and in too large quantities. I was bringing my work home every day. In the winter, I got to work when the sun hadn't risen and left when it had already set. I gained 15 pounds. And I really didn't have that many friends.
It took me a really long time to sort out how to make myself happy. I had to get to a place in my job where I felt like I could be less of a workaholic. The second year I taught, I brought very little work home, and this is a tenet to which I still try to hold firm. I work hard at work and avoid (practically at all costs) bringing any home. I don't check my email over the weekend or at night (I used to do that and an upsetting Saturday morning email would ruin the whole weekend). I made friends and try to work at those friendships by doing things like hiking, crafting, playing board games, and watching TV (Game of Thrones, what what!). My husband has a different job now that makes him a lot happier and allows him to work a regular workday. What a joy it is to have him home in the evenings and on weekends! What a joy it is to have him feel like he has upward mobility and a purpose. I taught myself to bake and cook (more). I spent a whole year baking my freakin' heart out. I spent the next year teaching myself to quilt, embroider, and crochet. I found a hobby I love and now do it as a second job (Zumba!). I've learned how to nap again. I've learned how to read for pleasure again.
And all of these things I mentioned are hygge things that are mentioned in this book. This book teaches you how to leave your work at home, gives you tips on how to make friendly get-togethers more meaningful, and reminds you to savor. Eating cake by itself is not hygge. What is hygge is eating a really awesome piece of cake and really enjoying it. I hate eating cake just because it's there. I love eating cake because I baked it and it's beautiful and it's flavors I love. Hygge is savoring and creating your own happiness.
Recently, I read a really great quote: "Bloom where you're planted". I think this book teaches you how to bloom, and how to transform your soil into something nourishing. I think that in and of itself is worthwhile. Plus, reading this book is so hygge and it hardly takes any time. You might as well! Maybe you'll learn something about how to cozy up your home on a winter's day.
The majority of the book is an analysis of what "hygge" is and how to create it. For example, soft lighting is a must. It makes everything so much cozier! How to get soft lighting? Candles! Apparently the Danes buy more candles than literally anybody else. But they're also the happiest country, typically, so make of that what you will. And really, hygge things was just a delightful litany of things I already enjoy: spending quality time with family and friends, eating cake, taking a hike, and snuggling up under a warm blanket. Let's be real, I work real hard at create hygge in my everyday life.
But what really hit home for me with this book is how my life wasn't always this way. Reading this book now, at the incredibly mature and responsible age of 27 (hahahahaha), I can see how I do so many of these things already. I know how to cook a hearty beef stew (with wine or beer) over the course of many hours so the smell permeates my home. I intrinsically understand that a fire in the fireplace on a cold winter's day is the height of hygge (so snuggly!) and that it's fun to watch a movie with loved ones that you've watched a billion times, just because the fact that everyone loves it makes for good bonding. But I didn't always get this stuff, especially from the perspective of me, personally. I've always known that I enjoy spending time with my family and my friends, but I have had to spend a lot of time in my life understanding what makes me happy.
A few years ago, I was pretty miserable. And while a large part of that was the fact that I was on a medication that wrecked havoc with my emotions didn't help, there were also many other factors that contributed to my miserableness. First off, my husband and I were newlyweds and barely spending any time together. He would work really late or I would. I was a workaholic because I was in a new and hugely demanding job that I was concerned I wouldn't be able to keep if I didn't put 120% of myself into it. I got a hobby I didn't enjoy that I was stuck with for several months (ahh, the joys of local theater). I was eating crappy food quickly and in too large quantities. I was bringing my work home every day. In the winter, I got to work when the sun hadn't risen and left when it had already set. I gained 15 pounds. And I really didn't have that many friends.
It took me a really long time to sort out how to make myself happy. I had to get to a place in my job where I felt like I could be less of a workaholic. The second year I taught, I brought very little work home, and this is a tenet to which I still try to hold firm. I work hard at work and avoid (practically at all costs) bringing any home. I don't check my email over the weekend or at night (I used to do that and an upsetting Saturday morning email would ruin the whole weekend). I made friends and try to work at those friendships by doing things like hiking, crafting, playing board games, and watching TV (Game of Thrones, what what!). My husband has a different job now that makes him a lot happier and allows him to work a regular workday. What a joy it is to have him home in the evenings and on weekends! What a joy it is to have him feel like he has upward mobility and a purpose. I taught myself to bake and cook (more). I spent a whole year baking my freakin' heart out. I spent the next year teaching myself to quilt, embroider, and crochet. I found a hobby I love and now do it as a second job (Zumba!). I've learned how to nap again. I've learned how to read for pleasure again.
And all of these things I mentioned are hygge things that are mentioned in this book. This book teaches you how to leave your work at home, gives you tips on how to make friendly get-togethers more meaningful, and reminds you to savor. Eating cake by itself is not hygge. What is hygge is eating a really awesome piece of cake and really enjoying it. I hate eating cake just because it's there. I love eating cake because I baked it and it's beautiful and it's flavors I love. Hygge is savoring and creating your own happiness.
Recently, I read a really great quote: "Bloom where you're planted". I think this book teaches you how to bloom, and how to transform your soil into something nourishing. I think that in and of itself is worthwhile. Plus, reading this book is so hygge and it hardly takes any time. You might as well! Maybe you'll learn something about how to cozy up your home on a winter's day.
When I was in college, I remember a visiting professor who came by to teach a class. He started the class by asking whether, if Marx were alive today, and he visited Continental Europe, he might find that they had pretty much achieved what he was trying to describe.
At the time, I remember thinking the professor had no idea what he was talking about. Of course, I'd never been to Europe, I'd read only a few books by Marx, and I had only a cursory understanding of economics. On the contrary, the professor had spent quite a bit of time in Europe, had read a lot of Marx, and knew quite a bit about economics.
At the time, I sorta thought 'well look the workers don't control the means of production and there's a bunch of capitalists running around' so open and shut case, right? But 16 years later, you sorta say 'hey, well if you remove the problem of scarcity for the working class, if everyone has healthcare and decent social services, if a whole country full of people can spend a decent amount of time doing this Hygge stuff... well maybe Karl actually would have reacted by saying "we did it guys! Call off the revolution." '
Anyhow, this isn't about Marx, it's about Denmark and in particular its culture of enjoying simplicity, self-care, and small social activities - or Hygge. The author refuses to ever define the term and spends the book using it repeatedly and then describing it in various ways, as if his audience is color blind and he really wants us to be able to understand what red is. Perhaps we are!
Anyhow, the Danes integrate these mindsets into their working lives, their city spaces, and most of all their home lives and leisure activities. It's fascinating to hear how pervasive and personal these mindsets are, particularly as an American who would sooner resell a box of candles on eBay than decorate my apartment with them.
What did I learn from the book? In a world where our homes have become our offices, it's a nice reminder that we could be cultivating our homes as safe, calm, comforting environments for self-care. It's also a reminder that when you have a language to talk about something, a word to refer to something, even if the something isn't quite clear, well that actually helps you bring about the thing. Americans do not have a word that even approximates Hygge and that makes a lot of sense.
So how do you do this, anyway? Get the lighting right, involve an activity (e.g., baking, playing a board game) or don't (e.g., watching the rain, readying a book), pack candles and a warm beverage, enjoy something tasty, find or create a cozy spot, be present, be simple, avoid pretension and anything fancy, and you're well on your way.
Is that a recipe for happiness? Maybe not, but doesn't seem like it would hurt.
Look, I wouldn't imagine you'd gain much from reading two books on this subject, but if it's your first this seems like a good one! The author wanders and veers from recipes to biographical anecdotes to armchair social theorizing. In an ordinary book, I'd count that against him, but in this one it feels like an old friend is calmly explaining something he cares about. You can almost hear the fire roaring in the background!
Four stars.
At the time, I remember thinking the professor had no idea what he was talking about. Of course, I'd never been to Europe, I'd read only a few books by Marx, and I had only a cursory understanding of economics. On the contrary, the professor had spent quite a bit of time in Europe, had read a lot of Marx, and knew quite a bit about economics.
At the time, I sorta thought 'well look the workers don't control the means of production and there's a bunch of capitalists running around' so open and shut case, right? But 16 years later, you sorta say 'hey, well if you remove the problem of scarcity for the working class, if everyone has healthcare and decent social services, if a whole country full of people can spend a decent amount of time doing this Hygge stuff... well maybe Karl actually would have reacted by saying "we did it guys! Call off the revolution." '
Anyhow, this isn't about Marx, it's about Denmark and in particular its culture of enjoying simplicity, self-care, and small social activities - or Hygge. The author refuses to ever define the term and spends the book using it repeatedly and then describing it in various ways, as if his audience is color blind and he really wants us to be able to understand what red is. Perhaps we are!
Anyhow, the Danes integrate these mindsets into their working lives, their city spaces, and most of all their home lives and leisure activities. It's fascinating to hear how pervasive and personal these mindsets are, particularly as an American who would sooner resell a box of candles on eBay than decorate my apartment with them.
What did I learn from the book? In a world where our homes have become our offices, it's a nice reminder that we could be cultivating our homes as safe, calm, comforting environments for self-care. It's also a reminder that when you have a language to talk about something, a word to refer to something, even if the something isn't quite clear, well that actually helps you bring about the thing. Americans do not have a word that even approximates Hygge and that makes a lot of sense.
So how do you do this, anyway? Get the lighting right, involve an activity (e.g., baking, playing a board game) or don't (e.g., watching the rain, readying a book), pack candles and a warm beverage, enjoy something tasty, find or create a cozy spot, be present, be simple, avoid pretension and anything fancy, and you're well on your way.
Is that a recipe for happiness? Maybe not, but doesn't seem like it would hurt.
Look, I wouldn't imagine you'd gain much from reading two books on this subject, but if it's your first this seems like a good one! The author wanders and veers from recipes to biographical anecdotes to armchair social theorizing. In an ordinary book, I'd count that against him, but in this one it feels like an old friend is calmly explaining something he cares about. You can almost hear the fire roaring in the background!
Four stars.
I think hygge is what we’ve been trying to do for many years. And this book does a nice job of defining and describing it, illustrated and occasionally quite tongue in cheek. Charming.
Listened to this audiobook. I felt it was average, nothing earth shattering. Basically surround yourself with comfort and comfortable things and you'll be overall more happy with your life. It was a short audiobook, but I doubt I would have finished the book.
This book is itself hygge. It was fun and relaxing to read, with cute little illustrations throughout, and I finished it in about the time I would spend with friends in an evening. I also wore comfy pants while reading it.
The author is a happiness researcher so everything he writes accords with things I've read about the happiness studies, but there's a different angle he explores here, and lots of things very particular to the Danish people. Worth the short read for sure.
The author is a happiness researcher so everything he writes accords with things I've read about the happiness studies, but there's a different angle he explores here, and lots of things very particular to the Danish people. Worth the short read for sure.
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