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A review by sauvageloup
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
2.0
Probably being a bit harsh with the star rating but, whilst the book has useful bits I didn't think it deserved a 3.
Pros:
- Interesting concepts about community, cosiness, happiness and hygge, which has elements of all of those. Talks about the importance of food, lighting, company, safety, quiet, the weather and preparation for events, and about taking time to enjoy the small things, and to set up opportunities for that enjoyment.
- was a light read, very comprehensible, not much text compared to pictures and diagrams. Personal anecdotes and lighthearted asides included, and stats were always presented well.
Cons:
- highly repetitive and became boring. Got very sick of the word 'hygge' and all the cringey adjacent words just by how much the writer needlessly uses them. A lot of the concepts were repeated in different sections, or very similar ideas presented.
- could have been much better structured. Felt to me like a half-baked essay, with little chunks of ideas dotted around and little flow or coherency. It was all pretty basic, too, with not much in the way of application to the broader context. I would loved more about controversies of hygge, history of it, how it might differ between genders or generations, etc. It was very very briefly touched on that Denmark is not welcome to foreigners and it takes work to get into tight friend groups, but this was only a couple of sentences. I understand that the author probably didn't want to make the book too heavy or make the reading of it 'uncosy' by bringing in topics like xenophobia, but it would have made it far more interesting, and less patronising and basic.
- whilst being so easy to read, i did get bored enough that I nearly DNF for a good few weeks, even though the end only took me a few hours to read.
Overall, a fun book but could've been half the side with some editing to reduce repetition and improve the flow. Nicely presented but not very rigorous or entertaining for long periods.
Pros:
- Interesting concepts about community, cosiness, happiness and hygge, which has elements of all of those. Talks about the importance of food, lighting, company, safety, quiet, the weather and preparation for events, and about taking time to enjoy the small things, and to set up opportunities for that enjoyment.
- was a light read, very comprehensible, not much text compared to pictures and diagrams. Personal anecdotes and lighthearted asides included, and stats were always presented well.
Cons:
- highly repetitive and became boring. Got very sick of the word 'hygge' and all the cringey adjacent words just by how much the writer needlessly uses them. A lot of the concepts were repeated in different sections, or very similar ideas presented.
- could have been much better structured. Felt to me like a half-baked essay, with little chunks of ideas dotted around and little flow or coherency. It was all pretty basic, too, with not much in the way of application to the broader context. I would loved more about controversies of hygge, history of it, how it might differ between genders or generations, etc. It was very very briefly touched on that Denmark is not welcome to foreigners and it takes work to get into tight friend groups, but this was only a couple of sentences. I understand that the author probably didn't want to make the book too heavy or make the reading of it 'uncosy' by bringing in topics like xenophobia, but it would have made it far more interesting, and less patronising and basic.
- whilst being so easy to read, i did get bored enough that I nearly DNF for a good few weeks, even though the end only took me a few hours to read.
Overall, a fun book but could've been half the side with some editing to reduce repetition and improve the flow. Nicely presented but not very rigorous or entertaining for long periods.