Quick Look Books: Hygge Books (January 2019)

Well, the holidays are over. Enter the looooooong winter months of January, February, and March, when it’s freakishly cold outside and successive snowstorms foil your plans way too often.

I used to dread this time of year. Once Christmas was over, my seasonal depression would kick in big time, and I would spend these next few, miserable months counting the days until the robins returned and brought springtime with them.

Yeah, notice that I’m using the past tense here. Would. Used to. This whole “I hate winter” thing evaporated like a snowball in a sauna once I discovered … *wait for it* … HYGGE.

I’ve mentioned this Danish concept of embracing coziness in previous posts, but even if you’re new to the blog, you’ve probably come across hygge before because it’s having quite the moment in the U.S. There’s even a SimpliSafe commercial  about it! If you still don’t know what hygge is, though, this link should quickly bring you up to speed.

Behold, the wonders of hygge: that seasonal depression I mentioned? Which plagued me every winter since I was about ten years old? GONE. For the past three years, it has not reared its ugly head. Thanks to hygge, I not only appreciate this time of year, but I actually look forward to these winter months filled with dark nights, lots of candles, fluffy blankets, and steaming hot mugs of cocoa and tea.

And, let’s not forget one of the reasons we’re all reading this blog: books. Living a hygge life, among other things, means making time to enjoy simple pleasures. Unsurprisingly, one of my favorite things to do in winter is cuddle up on my couch with a good book, especially if it happens to be snowing outside.

While any book is welcome for a cozy night in, I prefer ones that really bring the hygge factor so I can double down on the ultra cozy mood. Which brings me to my top five recommendations for hygge books — or, books that will make you feel completely cozy:

1. The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking. Of course, I have to mention this one. For those of you who want to explore hygge in greater depth, read The Little Book of Hygge. This book is written by the CEO of Happiness (I kid you not), who explains the culture and thought process behind this Danish concept, as well as gives scientific examples of why hygge is beneficial to one’s health and happiness (for all you fact-based types). You’re given advice on how to make your life, your home, and your office more hyggeligt. While some of the ideas and explanations in the book are pretty obvious (which the author readily acknowledges — Hey! Spending time with friends makes you happy?! Thanks, Captain Obvious), the book is great for hygge newbies. Read it while curled up in your favorite chair during a rainstorm with a few flickering candles nearby, in your favorite ugly-comfy pants and socks, while drinking your favorite hot beverage. #AllTheHygge

2. The Vanishing by Wendy Webb. You all know my love for Wendy Webb and her perfectly cozy albeit creepy novels. I never thought a Gothic horror story could embrace hygge, but that’s exactly what makes The Vanishing so enchanting. Webb gives you an extremely haunted house and some serious psychological thriller elements, then balances them with tons of comforting elements — roaring fires, home-cooked meals, great big beds piled high with luxurious linens, etc. So many aspects of this story are satisfying on a distinctly sensory level, which is an interesting contrast to the unnerving ghostly events that are taking place. I couldn’t wait to lose myself in The Vanishing whenever I had a spare moment. Plus, Webb’s writing is just so damn good, you won’t want to put this book down. Unless it’s to pull your cozy blanket a little more tightly around you while you check over your shoulder for a ghost or two…

3. Beneath the Shadows by Sara Foster. This is another “cozy Gothic” type of novel, but I would place it more firmly in the thriller genre. The main character has suddenly inherited a cottage in a quiet English village. Of course, the cottage is a fixer-upper, but it still manages to radiate warmth and a certain cozy factor, despite the fact that its new inhabitant is combing it for clues about her husband’s disappearance. However, there’s also a murder mystery, slightly offputting townsfolk who seem to be keeping secrets, and there may be some kind of intruder, possibly supernatural. Since the novel is set on the wild Yorkshire moors, anything is possible. The story gets a little emotionally intense at times, but many of the creepy and/or sad portions are well counteracted by how abundantly cozy life in the cottage seems to be. If you’re looking for a mild thriller with lots of hygge, this is the book to hunker down with during a snowstorm.

4. An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. If this author’s name sounds familiar, that’s because one of his titles was featured in my last Quick Look Books post. This time, I’m bringing you the first book in Taylor’s Irish Country Doctor series. There is no place cozier than No. 1 Main Street, Ballybucklebo. The doctors there are constantly venturing out in chilly, rainy Irish wearther to tend to their patients, but there’s always a “wee cuppa tea for their hand” when they return back to No. 1 Main, as well as hearty Irish country meals and sweet desserts, all cooked up by the doctor’s housekeeper, Mrs. Kinky Kincaid. She rules her kitchen with an iron first and a full heart, making sure her doctors are well taken care of. All of the hygge housekeeping, coupled with the fact that the rural countryside of Ballybucklebo seems breathtakingly gorgeous, is enough to make you want to highjack a time traveling machine and move to 1960s Ireland. But, only if Kinky will be there to keep you cozy and well-fed.

5. The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan. Another repeat offender author; you’ll remember Colgan from my November 2018 Quick Look Books post. The Cafe by the Sea is a delight from start to end. It’s steeped in the Northern Scottish coastal culture, as well as Scottish and Norse mythology, all of which I adored. This book brings you some serious summer hygge — a sun that barely sets over the glittering ocean; a seemingly endless beach that stretches the length of the wild, untamed island; lots of cooking and baking in a cozy farmhouse kitchen; and a town-wide summer festival full of dancing, bonfires, and feasting. Even though hygge is primarily associated with the wintertime, The Cafe by the Sea proves that you don’t need cold weather to feel cozy.

What are you favorite books that put you in a cozy mood? I hope you’ll share below!