Move over, Marie Kondo, there’s a new craze to hit the home and it involves a lot of candles.
“Hygge” is sweeping Europe and looks poised to take North America by storm. The home of hygge is Denmark, often called the happiest country on earth. Meik Wiking, author of The Little Book of Hygge, attributes the Danish satisfaction with life to their obsessive pursuit of hygge (which can be translated as coziness or homeyness). You can maximize your hygge through warm socks, delicious goodies, casual dinners with friends and family, and afternoons cozied up with steaming drinks and good books. The Little Book of Hygge is an illustrated guide that will help you turn your Japanese-tidied-up space into a comfy nest.
Here are some other thoroughly hygge books to keep you warm this February.
Every hygge gathering needs treats: For bakers wanting to add a bit of Scandinavia into their repertoires, Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break by Anna Brones will have you dreaming of delicate pastries, breads and Danishes. Fika is much more than just a twice-daily coffee break; it is a time to savour and share a moment with someone. This illustrated cookbook has 45 traditional recipes that will make your afternoon breaks much more hygge.
For inspiration closer to home, British Columbia from Scratch: Recipes for Every Season by Denise Marchessault and Caroline West is a great choice. This lavishly photographed cookbook is a celebration of all the bounty British Columbia has to offer. From the seafood of the Pacific to the berries of the Interior, every flip of the page reveals a mouth-watering creation. There are appetizers, main dishes, drinks and desserts for every season.
Tired of her madcap life in London, former Marie-Claire U.K. editor Helen Russell decided to investigate just why those Danes were so dang happy in The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country. Russell dives headfirst into the Danish way of life and carefully documents her journey in this funny and eye-opening expose.
Can one be hygge in space? Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a wonderfully warm science fiction story. Rosemary has a new job, a new purpose and a new name. After paying dearly for a new identity, she leaves Mars to join the ragtag crew of the Wayfarer and her motley crew. There, she meets giant lizard-like aliens with very few inhibitions and an AI in love.
A cozy mystery is a perfect match for a rainy day. A Gilded Grave by Shelley Freydont is a classic murder mystery set in America’s Gilded Age. It’s summer and all the rich New Yorkers have retreated to their extravagant “cottages” in Newport. Deanna Randolph, daughter of a sugar baron, is recovering from disastrous coming out and plans to forget her sorrows in the endless round of parties, picnics, tennis games and visits. But it all comes to a grisly end when a maid is found dead at a dinner party.
Find these and other cozy reads at your local library.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Corene Maret Brown works at Port Moody Public Library.
