Review: Hygge: The Danish Art Of Happiness by Marie Tourell Søderberg

Hygge: The Danish Art Of Happiness 
Marie Tourell Søderberg
Michael Joseph
2016, 224p
Read from my local library

Blurb {from the publisher/Goodreads.com}:

Others books will tell you how to be hygge. This is the only book that will show you.

Though we all know the feeling of hygge instinctively few of us ever manage to capture it for more than a moment.

Now Danish actress and hygge aficionado Marie Tourell Søderberg has travelled the length and breadth of her home country to create the perfect guide to cooking, decorating, entertaining and being inspired the hygge way.

Full of beautiful photographs and simple, practical steps and ideas to make your home and life both comfortable and cheering all year round, this book is the easy way to introduce hygge into your life.

I think a lot of people will be aware of the Danish philosophy of hygge – it’s become quite popular in a lot of places recently and I’ve seen it referenced more and more on instagram and YouTube and places like that. It’s basically a sort of mood where things that are cozy or make you feel content, bring about a simple happiness – ‘to give joy’. The Danish dedicate time to this practice or really, it’s more than that. It’s incorporated into a lot of aspects of their lives. The home is a large portion of the practice of hygge both because it’s where one should find haven and according to this book, because in Denmark, the climate is often miserable, so they spend quite a bit of time indoors.

I love the idea of making time for these things that give you simple joy. It’s not about the big moments, it’s about the small, little things you can experience to increase happiness and contentment. The author lists what hygge is to her so of course, I started to think about what hygge is to me.

• My morning cup of tea (in a pretty cup)
• A new book(s)
• Pedicures with my stepdaughter
• Listening to rain at night in bed
• Little penguins
• The smell of the ocean and walking along a beach
• Fresh linen on the bed
• Fluffy blankets
• Cosy sweaters and soft, warm winter pyjamas
• Fresh flowers and/or scented candles in my home
• Stationery (particularly colourful pens and unblemished notebooks)
• Being in the car
• Catch ups and long chats with friends

There are a lot of other things that I could also have included but these are the ones that speak to me the most. Other time with friends and family count as well but for me, that’s kind of a different type of enjoyment.

This is a really pretty book – like a little type of coffee table book. It has a lovely cover and it’s full of people’s personal experience with hygge. What it is to them and their family, how they connect with others because of it and that sort of thing. It was an interesting read and has made me a lot more interested in the concept and practice of hygge and making it a conscious part of my life. It’s less about the ‘how’ – it talks about the importance of the home and hygge and that’s something that interests me, that I want to know more about. As a more introverted person, I spend a lot of time at home and comfort is important to me. I love nice linen for my bed and comfortable throws and fleecy blankets in winter. Squishy couches and well-stocked bookshelves. This book is more about people’s thoughts on what it is to them, which was interesting to read but I don’t know who any of them are or why they were chosen to be included in the book.

I looked up hygge in my library’s online system and found a lot more books, so I’ve requested some more to read. I find it a really interesting concept and it’s also very soothing to read about! Is it possible that reading about hygge is actually hygge?

6/10 (A good starter but I’m looking for more)

Book #39 of 2021

 

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