I just started playing my ‘never-ending personal/professional board game’, and I have ‘read’ down twenty-six times between the two boards–the reason, I have almost (or probably more than) 300 non-fiction books to read (and that isn’t counting any that I may buy as I continue with the game).

I randomized the book list after copying it down once, that way ‘older’ bought books were mixed in with ‘newer’ books. The roll of hte dice would decide which book (or books) I’d be reading.

The first book chosen was ‘The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living’ by Meik Wiking. I think I picked up the book after reading an article on how the Nordic countries were topping the list of ‘happiest countries’ (and I wanted to know why), or I was just browsing through e-books and I came across it and the title caught my attention. I’ve had this book on the digital to-be-read pile for quite awhile, it was one of the many books I bought back towards the end of 2017. That was when I decided I was going to develop a large ‘personal/professional development’ reading list. Needless to say, that list has ballooned from approximately forty to fifty books in 2018 to almost (if not slightly over) 300 books today (approximately 3 1/2 years later).

The little book of hygge basically talks of how to make the most of each day–looking for the little things that create happiness. I liked how the author (and country) goes for the more rustic, handmade, mellow, less is more over the glitz, glamor and more that seems to take over here in the US.

The author takes you through the different components of the ‘Hygge Manifesto’ which includes the atmosphere, being present, pleasure, equality, gratitude, harmony, comfort, truce, togetherness, and tribe. All are things that as a global society we should be striving for. I liked how the ‘truce’ example was that one wouldn’t be talking about politics, and I feel like there are actually two sides to that coin–the ‘political’ side (how to balance budgets, raise taxes, and so forth), and the ‘human-rights’ (women’s rights, minorities, and so forth) that somehow gets ‘colored’ political–but that could be a topic for another post. I agree that one can disagree on basic politics, but when it comes to human rights–not so much.

One main central focus of ‘hygge’ is lighting. The Danish seem to be big on candles and diffused lighting and that is something that I can get behind. The only time(s) I may turn on my large overhead light is to workout, clean, or if it’s really dark and freary outside and I need the ‘extra’ light; otherwise I keep my room lit with only a lamp (the shade diffuses the fluorescence enough that the room isn’t overly bright).

Looking at the ‘manifesto’, I realized that the one element that I need to ‘work’ on improving is actually getting together with people. I’m a ‘pro’ at hygging by myself or with family. But at the same time–we’re in a pandemic (so not really the best time to be trying to host a party), plus I’m still living at home.

Going forward I’m going to try to aim for a mixture of hygge and minimalism in decor and ambiance. I’m also going to try to turn the ‘hygge manifesto’ into a cross-stitch pattern/project as well.

For anyone who needs a little help in the ‘hygge’ department–I highly recommend this book. I give it five out of five start rating.

*Note: This is the first book review of many to come as I continue to play the ‘personal/professional board game’, and is also the first of many blog posts related to the board game as well. I’m hoping that I can possibly get a book review (or two) up every couple of weeks (depending on the book), in addition to other posts, articles, and/or pages associated with various topics.

What’s your favorite way to bring hygge into the house?