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Book Freak #17

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Danish Secrets to Happy Living

Book Freak is one of four newsletters from Cool Tools Lab (our other three are the Cool Tools Newsletter, Recomendo, and What’s in my bag?).

Did you know Demark is one of the happiest countries? One reason is that Danes embrace Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga), a word that means comfort, togetherness, and well-being. In this issue of Book Freak we present Danish secrets to happy living, from The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking, and collected by my friend and colleague Claudia Dawson.

Creating hygge at home
“You can hygge by yourself. Snuggling up under a blanket with your favorite TV show on a rainy Sunday afternoon is hyggeligt; having a glass of red wine watching a thunderstorm is hyggeligt too, or simply just sitting by the window watching the world go by.”

Prioritize casualness and comfort when socializing
“Most hyggelige moments seem to be built on a foundation of casualness. In order for you and your guests to be able to hygge, you need to feel relaxed. There is no need to make things formal. Come as you are and be as you are.”

Link purchases with good experiences
“Link purchases with good experiences. I had saved money for a new favorite chair but waited until I had published my first book to get it. That way, the chair reminds me of something that was an important accomplishment for me. We can apply the same thing to that special sweater or that pair of nice woolen socks. Save for them—but wait until you have that really hyggelig experience: you want to be reminded of it when you pull them on.”

07/29/19

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