Njuta

September 25, 2023
In the amiable follow-up to Lagom, My Scandinavian Home blogger Brantmark aims to help readers njuta, or “savor a suspended moment in time without pressure or demand.” According to the author, one can njuta while exercising, eating, working, being in nature, or sitting in “companionable silence” with a friend. Interspersed throughout are recipes and descriptions of Swedish holidays, from Midsommar to St. Lucia’s Day, a winter festival in honor of a Sicilian saint that can be celebrated from afar by baking “lightly sweet saffron buns.” While some of the author’s suggestions may be less-than-feasible for those who lack snowy forests through which to cross-country ski, natural bodies of water in which to bathe, and the “up to forty-one paid days off annually” that Swedes get to “do what they like,” Brantmark provides manageable alternatives, including taking daily 15-minute walks or tending to houseplants. Her reminder to “focus on what you have rather than what you don’t have” resonates, even if readers may be hard-pressed to do so while pining after the good life in Sweden. This is ideal for stressed-out readers seeking new ways to slow down.

January 1, 2024

Writer and stylist Brantmark (Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life) revisits familiar ground in her latest exploration of Swedish culture. Njuta, explains the British-born author, is "to savor a suspended moment in time without pressure or demand." Simple, straightforward tips and advice lead readers to cultivate more moments of njuta in many facets of their lives, including food, exercise, hobbies, home life, work, and friendships. Not much of the advice is unique; readers of Brantmark's previous work and of titles about lagom and hygge will recognize much of the information given here. Yet the presentation is enjoyable, and facts about Swedish culture, recipes, and how-to's interspersed throughout keep the reading experience light and easy. Librarians should note that a handful of pages are left blank, to be filled in with self-reflections. VERDICT Readers interested in Swedish culture and in Scandinavian contentment and mindfulness concepts will find this appealing.--Anitra Gates

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