Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living by Linnea Dunne

Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living Reviews

• 
  Claudia

  If you think that Sweden is the best thing ever made by humankind since the invention of bread, this book will confirm all your bias. If you don't, you will just get a mediocrely written, extremely pretentious book about how *everything* is lagom in Sweden, even the
• 
  Fiona Ramsay

  The principle theory behind this book is fine moderation in all things. My dad used to say it and who could argue with it? Unfortunately the book itself comes over like smug propaganda from the Swedish Tourist Board. The writer seems to pity the rest of the world who aren't privileged enough to be Swedish, and the 'help' she offers is very minimal. If you can't spend four consecutive weeks on a summer holiday when you can roam freely through a largely uninhabited wilderness with your caravan, swimming in lakes and playing the guitar round a camp fire, then why not take a walk at lunch times? Hardly in the same league. There is also very little to actually read. Lots of pretty pictures, and text divided up into cute little paragraphs, but the whole thing took me about an hour to read. Not great value for money.
• 
  Alex

  So, what is lagom and how different is it to hygge? The phrase ‘not too little, not too much, but just enough’ seems the best to describe this Swedish word. Here the emphasis lies on ‘just enough’ and ‘moderation’ and this appears to be the main Swedish tweak on the otherwise similar concept of hygge.In 'Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living', Linnea Dunne, a Swedish writer now living in Dublin, Ireland, writes about work life balance and environmentally conscious living, both aspects of a lagom lifestyle. She shares tips on how to achieve it, as well as a few recipes ideal for the famous fika (coffee break the Swedish way).
• 
  Andrew T. Dollery

  Not exactly what I thought it would be. More of a pro mo book for Sweden and Swedish business. Does not offer anything of any real depth and talks of Sweden as some sort of eutopia whilst ignoring real and severe social and cultural issues that Sweden is facing. Sweden is certainly not the socialist paradise this book would like you to believe and the Lagom philosophy as discussed here is shallow.
• 
  Emma Ross

  I borrowed this book from the library and found it very good. I wanted to order a copy for myself and a friend. In keeping with the book I decided to buy 2nd hand and chose this one as condition was described to be very good. The cover is very gruby and there is an oil like stain on the back. I wouldn't have minded if it wasn't described to be in very good condition. The other copy from a different seller was in much better condition. The book is great. Worth a read.
• 
  NoodleK

  Beautiful book with some good points Written from a female prospective.The book itself is beautiful with great illustrations and quick read sections that you can dip in and out of.Obviously it’s focus is on the Swedish concept Lagom as it’s a Swedish word but some of the sections would need magor shifts in society or government changes to be relevant in the uk such as the working hours and child care support.There are some food points in here and thought provoking ideas that are a good starting point to then look into things in detail.Would make a lovely gift as it is so well presented but if your looking for a step by step book to really get you moving this might not be the one for you.