The Cozy Life: Rediscover the Joy of the Simple Things Through the Danish Concept of Hygge

I found this book while searching for Hygge after an interview on NPR with Meik Wiking. He recently released The Little Book of Hygge. After reading the reviews for that book, I chose this one instead. I'm glad I did! The Cozy Life is a joy to read. Edberg shares her understanding of hygge through autobiographical storytelling, philosophical tidbits and action steps. Hygge is a lifestyle of coziness and a comforting state of mind. This Danish concept is found in many mindful living messages. This Cozy Life will help you to find the simple joys in life. The greatest gift this book provides any reader: sure fire methods for alleviating cell phone separation anxiety. Any of us with a smart phone have likely encountered the moment of feeling anxious without our beloved mobile device. Through our desired connection to people via mobile internet, we tend to disconnect from ourselves. Without moments of silence and peace that we only find when we are disconnected from our screen, we lose the connection to the soul and self. Edberg invites you to put down the phone and pick up a mixing bowl, a paint brush, or project. Immerse yourself in the present and invite more "face time" in face to face encounters. Hygge is more than coziness, it's warmth and connection. "Allow your soul to catch up with your body, and don't feel the need to distract yourself" This book could have easily been titled "The Soul Life." I think the American concept of Soul has parallels to Hygge. It's about feeling true and happy with one's self, being open and sharing in one's community. A Hygge life is authentic. If you are searching for purpose or meaning, all you have to do is a little hygge. The Cozy Life can point you in the right direction :)

The Cosy Life: Rediscover the Joy of the Simple things through the Danish concept of Hygge by Pia Edberg is somewhat Hygge itself. The book explains the different meanings of hygge and how to implement the concept into your lifestyle, work and wellbeing. Tradition, hominess, cosy, and simplicity are all words to describe the feeling of hygge and the writer displays these in her writing style. There are no sharp edges, no must-do things to follow just a warm, encouraging book on how to incorporate hygge for a slower, simpler more authentic life. I enjoyed reading the book and loved recalling some of my own hygge family traditions in both my childhood and adult life. The problem I have is that being a Danish concept, the practical suggestions focus on a northern hemisphere lifestyle, all snuggly warm, mulled wine and fire light. I will have to be creative to incorporate hygge into my tropical Queensland (Aust) lifestyle! Seriously, the focus is on slowing down, rediscovering our childhood memories, having a simpler, less busy, less materialistic lifestyle and creating new hygge traditions and memories for our families to carry forward. And that can be achieved anywhere.

This is a short, self-published book, written in an engaging style. There's really nothing here you can't find on the internet by doing a search on the word "hygge," but if you want it all in one place, this book collects it in a coherent fashion. It's an extremely fast, very light read.

This was a really sweet book. I am glad I ignored the less that good reviews and read it anyway. This book is listed as the first of its kind written on the topic of Hygge! It felt like the author was giving you a warm hug. She shared fond memories and thoughts from not only her own upbringing / experiences with Hygge but also her parents gave accounts as well. She doesn’t sound too young or inexperienced at all. She’s a child of the 80’s for Heavens sake, not some kid in her teens! Her memories drew you in and she gave practical advice and thoughts along with sharing some really cool Danish recipes. She opens up to you about her life and how Hygge helped bring her back to find herself. As we age and go through less than pleasant experiences in life we can sometimes loose sight of these things. I love that she was able to learn and grow and find herself once more with Hygge. Thank you for writing this and sharing your experiences with us. Sending the author a warm hug back. ❤️☃️❄️🔥🫖☕️🥧🕯

The Danish concept of hygge raises self-care to an artform and makes it seem like a cultural norm, something that happens as naturally as breathing. Pia Edberg offers practical tips and advice we can all use to organize our live, our homes, and ourselves in a way that puts comfort first so we can express our care for ourselves and for each other in an easy-going way. I had never heard of hygge before, but love the idea! The ideas in the book were explained clearly which will make them easy to implement in whole or in part. I especially love the inclusion of recipes and craft projects at the end to make it that much more convenient to to try some of the ideas right away. That was a very hygge thing to do! I can't help but try to imagine a world where everyone incorporates a little hygge into their own lives. It would be a wonderful, comfortable, considerate place for sure!

Este livro me lembrou do qt fazer pausas, desacelarar e sentir são importantes p honrarmos a vida. Ao lê-lo senti-me impelida a aproveitar mais o simples... de certo modo, contribuiu p q me conscientizasse a não reagir c tanto nervosismo ("me estressar menos"). Recomendo.

Es un libro o ensayo corto de una prosa muy básica... aunque sí lleno de algunos consejos a tener en cuenta en estos tiempos de prisas y "falta de tiempo"

I found this book informative and accessible, and read it one sitting. I would have loved it to be longer as I enjoyed it so much. It was very worthwhile and great value, with much good food for thought about how the purely economic focus of my own country now has sidelined many beautiful activities that once enriched people's lives far more than today's rampant materialism.

The subtitle for The Cosy Life by Pia Edberg is “Rediscover the Joy of the Simple Things Through the Danish Concept of Hygge”. Pia was born in Denmark to a Danish father and a Phillippino mother, and spent her first 5 years there before moving to British Columbia in Canada. She’s an author and artist, and illustrated the Cosy Life herself. I bought my copy of The Cosy Life in May 2016. I’d read Helen Russell’s The Year of Living Danishly and was searching for more information on the concept of hygge. As a first introduction to the idea, The Cosy Life was a good one to choose. There’s a stressing throughout of the act of hygge as self care, a way to comfort and create well-being. The first quote of the book is a definition that describes Hygge as:- “The art of creating warmth, comfort, and well-being through connection, treasuring the moment, and surrounding yourself with things you love” The book is split into four parts; What is Hygge?, Hygge Foundations, The Hygge Lifestyle and Hygge and Well-being. The book is short, but not empty. Rather Pia has summed up what she wants to say without needing the extra padding of recipes, too many photographs or vast empty pages with rivulets of text meandering across. It’s a practical read. And practical advice is important in the book. In the chapter on Hygge Foundations, Pia asks us to look at our lives, to think through what hygge is to us. The Hygge Lifestyle takes us through the house and our whole lifestyle to see how we can add a hygge burst to every aspect. In the section on work, Pia says, “A hyggeligt company values friendliness, trust and teamwork,” and gives advice on how to make the physical office more hyggeligt as well. Pia says at the start that part of her hygge house rests on a minimalist lifestyle, and Pia shows ways to achieve that, and why it’s such a good idea mentally and physically, in the final section on Hygge and Well-Being. Life isn’t a competition and the one with the most toys at the end doesn’t win. Instead Pia emphasises the joy in small things. “The joy in the simple things, such as making a home-cooked meal, cleaning the house, planting our own herbs, or inviting someone over for tea has been removed because we perceive them as difficult and time-consuming. We need to pause once in a while, embrace the calm, and find joy in the small details, even in the tasks that seem so mundane.” The joy in the small details is part of hygge to me; being happy with my family enjoying an ice cream on the seafront at Criccieth, or sharing sweets as we wait in line make my heart glow. They are moments that cost nothing, and yet give so much pleasure. And (it pains me to admit it) there is much pleasure in housework if done as a gift to yourself and not an obligation. I have no problem in recommending The Cosy Life as a good hygge read. There is just enough theory here combined with a hefty dose of practical. I especially love the Endless Hygge Possibilities List, with choices large and small that bring hygge into your life. Pia emphasises,”Hyggeligt activities are simple, old-fashioned, and about bringing joy to everyday routines. If we manage to enjoy all the little things, we will be able to look back and realise that they were also the big things.” And as if that wasn’t enough, Pia includes a 30 days of hygge challenge; it includes a small hygge activity to do every day such as ‘take a hot bath’, ‘watch the sunrise’ and ‘do something you loved as a child’. I made a calendar of these and followed them one cold January... a daily dose of hygge!

Very useful for the society! I too would like to appeal to readers to read the book 'Pandharpur Wari - A Walking Pilgrimage to Pandharpur', which has been written with the intention that it will be helpful Pandharpur Wari - A Walking Pilgrimage to Pandharpur: Experience, Tips and Guidance from an IIT Engineer towards bringing peace!