Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life

De: Niki Brantmark

Narrado por: Ana Clements

Uncover the secrets of the Swedish philosophy of life called Lagom - meaning 'just enough'. At its core is the idea that we can strike a healthy balance with the world around us without having to make extreme changes and without denying ourselves anything.

This delightful audiobook, written by Niki Brantmark, founder and curator of the award-winning interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, gives a taste of the philosophy behind Lagom and shows how to include some of the principles in our daily lives. Includes inspirational and fun ideas to help you achieve balance, well-being and a more sustainable existence.

The audiobook is divided into three sections. Introducing Lagom to your personal life includes ideas for decluttering your home, conscious buying and embracing 'slow design'. At work, take time to balance your day with a proper lunch break and a gadget-free Sabbath, while outdoor staycations in remote settings can offer relaxation you never knew possible!

Lagom at home and with our families explains the art of simple pleasures - bring a dish entertaining at home, of shared craft activities with our children and less-stressed homework time! And finally there's Lagom in the wider world and the principles of living sustainably - as IKEA have pledged in their Live Lagom campaign. Make some small changes, like using LED lightbulbs, taking shorter showers and upcycling, and you are living a Lagom life, a rewarding but responsible life, not denying yourself or sacrificing what you love while not taking from the planet more than you need. It's just the right amount!

©2017 Niki Brantmark (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Monotone Imperative Expressions

Essentially, this is a "book" of WikiHow stapled together. Everything is stated as, you should do this, you should do that, here is a list of things you haven't done but should. When she realizes she's being too imperative, her last resort is, "Why not do" this and that. Seriously no other sentence structure. I listened to the first 30 minutes and am sick and tired of this. What kind of a book is this?

Second, she seems to view the Swedes as gods and attribute all things nice to the Swedes (not bad if you're a Swede but the kind of blind endorsement is tiring). The other half of the book can be summarized as, "Swedes do this, why don't you copy them?" "Swedes of course do this." "This is of course the Swedish way."

In some cases, she makes it sound as if you have nothing to do all day but to sit around thinking about home decor.

The book is simply dry, like reading a manual of how to copy the greatest Swede gods of the earth. I'm looking more of a book with stories to enlighten this way of life, as opposed to an collection of Instructables.

I'm going to search for a different Lagom book, there are dozens out there.

Magazine Article stretched to almost book length

If you're interested in energy saving tips (LED lights vs. incandescent - wow who knew?), tips to buying at flea market (bring cash!) or other equally obvious suggestions, give it a listen. There is actually very little about how the concept of Lagom informs Swedish life both positively and negatively. About a magazine article's worth. The rest of the book is filled with the author's tedious lists of suggestions, most of which you are probably already aware of unless perhaps you've been living in a cave for the past 10 years.
The narrator's voice is easy to listen to and is very clear. The problem is that in a book with only the slightest bits of humor, her very straightforward delivery only emphasizes the book's unrelenting sense of being lectured to by a self satisfied bore. To be fair, it was hard to judge how much she could do to overcome the book's own failings.
I had to stop listening after long minutes of water saving tips. Enough!
I assume this was published because of the success of a book like The Little Book of Hygge, a book filled with interesting perspectives and a wonderful sense of humor. Too bad the publishers of Lagom didn't try and find something with equally real content.