The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 06, 2017 Terri rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel-global, memoir-general, humorous-writings, nordic-culture, family-trips-wish-list

The enjoyable and funny tale of a British author's (Helen Russell) move to Denmark with her husband. I discovered there was a lot I did not understand about the Danish culture and she cleared it up for me. Her description of her husband's job at the LEGO head office was hilarious. I now have a grasp of Denmark's economy and just what their high taxes gives back to the Danish people. Danish mothers have 18 weeks of guaranteed maternity at 100 per cent of their salary. College students go to Unive ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2016 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it

Shelves: happiness, inspiration

The Year of Living Danishly is a memoir of Helen Russell's move to Denmark for a year. Russell used the year to take a close look at why Danish people report themselves to be the happiest people in the world. I am happy to have learned more about happiness from this book. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 04, 2022 Kemlo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, biography-and-memoir, politics-and-social-activism

Informative, entertaining and well-written, this memoir tells the story of how a British couple accustomed to a stressful, London-based lifestyle decided to pull up stakes and experience a full year of living, working and (at the very end of their 12 months) giving birth in rural Denmark. It’s a fun summer read. I felt as though I was there with the couple in Jutland, struggling with the language and logistics while also enjoying the pastries and unfamiliar customs. As someone who is genetically ...more

Like · see review