Common sense and practical tips in a nicely designed package. This isn't going to set the world on fire but I don't think the principles of lagom would want that kind of action anyway. I'd give this to a young person on their own for the first time or a friend at New Year's Eve (with a nice bottle of wine). A recommend.

This is a charming little book that has many useful ideas on how to live a balanced life. When I was growing up, my family had no idea what lagom is, but nonetheless many of these "just the right amount" ideas remind me of what I heard growing up. This lovely book puts them all into one place and reminds us of the importance of balance!

Jackson & Larsen’s Little Book of Lagom is all about learning to live in simplicity. Lagom is a Swedish word that means 'just the right amount’. I loved the sidebar explanation for how it possibly came about, deriving from the phrase 'laget om’ or 'around the team’, used by Vikings. Lagom is a concept that can be incorporated into any and all aspects of your life, helping you to find enjoyment in simplicity.

There are four parts, a conclusion, and a resources chapter. Part One looks at incorporating Lagom into the home, with subsections dedicated to the kitchen and the garden. Part Two focuses on diet, Part Three on work/life , and the final part covers your needs versus the needs of the many, and how to balance them. This as a quick read, and a good introduction to this Swedish notion of 'just enough’.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

There are a lot more uses for Goldilocks now than there used to be, even astronomically speaking, and this could be one of them, as it is a philosophy of “not too much, not too little, just right.” Having visited Sweden often, I can attest that a lot of people really do think this way. . . which is one of the reasons I visit so often.
There’s tips to make your home more energy-efficient. There’s a crafts article on how to turn an old t-shirt into a tote bag, as well as other clothes that can be reincarnated as draft stoppers or rugs. The part about storing your clothes vertically in the drawers was a revelation, as was the advice to eat before shopping for groceries. On the other hand, the recipes meant nothing to me, as almost every one has ingredients I’m allergic to or can’t stand. Same with the garden.
Like many advice books, there’s a lot of what’s usually called common sense, even if it isn’t. . . common. It really doesn’t feel much different than other similar books, simply using the Swedish connection as a way to supposedly differentiate.

It's a new year, and that means it's time to look back over the last year and see what worked for us and what didn't. I know that something I struggled with last year was balance. My work/life balance was not at all, and I'm determined in 2018 to bring more life and less work to the balance. So while I'm still all over last year's obsession with Danish hygge (I love comfort!), this year I'm adding lagom. 

Lagom is the Swedish idea of trying to find balance in life. It's about living simply and with intention, while leaving behind overshopping, overspending, overcrowding, and over-everything else. And the best quick introduction to lagom I've found so far is The Little Book of Lagom by Jonny Jackson and Elias Larsen. It is small, like the title says, only about seven inches square (or whatever size your tablet is, if you're an ereader like me), and under 150 pages. And if that sounds like a lot of pages to you, realize that there are many pages with only photos or illustrations, so it's very fast to zip through and get introduced to the concept of lagom. 

Divided into four sections, The Little Book of Lagom give advice on creating a balanced home, a balanced sense of health, that work/life balance that eluded me last year, and balance in your legacy in the world. There are lots of quick tips, a few recipes, and numerous ideas for reducing stress, decluttering, eliminating waste, and living a life that makes you happy. None of the advice is overly deep or difficult; mostly, it's quick tips and ideas to help you get focused again and make smarter choices. It's not about fixing everything that's wrong in your life or living so piously that your friends no longer want to know you. It's about finding what's right for you, what works for you, what makes you happy and gets you closer to your goals. Lagom is that simple. And The Little Book of Lagom keeps things that simple. It makes a fantastic gift, for yourself or for anyone you know who is struggling to find balance in their life. 

And now that you know all that, you still have one questions. I know what it is. It's pronounced lah-gom. 

You're welcome. 



Galleys for The Little Book of Lagom were provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

This is a great book to learn more about the Swedish concept of Lagom. This book is filled with recipes, friendly tips to live a better balanced life and DIY projects. And the best thing is, it's done in a great manner. It's nicely written, and filled with beautiful imagery and drawings. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about Lagom.

This book was a short overview of the Swedish concept of "Lagom", or basically, living a balanced and sustainable life. The book read much like a magazine article or blog entry, with some basic ideas to balance your home, body, and work/life with crafty ideas, a few recipes,

Unfortunately the work doesn't provide enough in any one category; while it may be a helpful reminder for some well-living basics, it's not detailed enough to be a cookbook, a guide on health, a guide to success at balancing work/life, or a manual for mastery in the garden. Most tips are rather common sense. I don't read "leave the oven door shut when it's on" and suddenly realize that I should be doing that.

This book was a good introduction to Lagom. It has some useful tips in decluttering and making use of things you already have.

The Little Book of Lagom caught my eye, just as last year, The Little Book of Hygge, did. While Hygge is all about comfort, Lagom is all about balance, or just the right amount. This is definitely something I could benefit from because I tend to over-do in many aspects of my life, and balance is something I’m always striving to find.

There are several sections to this book. Some ideas included are saving energy around the home, re-purposing packing crates and pallets, homemade citrus cleaner, decluttering ideas, storage solutions, reducing food waste, how to extend the life of produce, what to do with leftovers, yummy recipes, and much more. The photographs and images included are visually appealing and would make this a great gift book. Overall, I enjoyed this and found many practical tips I could use to achieve better balance in my life and home.

Thank you to Jonny Jackson, Elias Larsen, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and Netgalley for the copy to read and review.

I could not download this book. Disappointing since I was quite interested in reading it. I wish it could have been available as a Kindle download. The rating reflects its unavailability.

This book is full of good ideas to create a 'not too much, just enough' home and life. I thought it was well written and enjoyable to read.

When I heard the title, I expected to be ushered into the world of philosophy and wellbeing. I visualized a book along similar lines of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, full of practical advice and wonderful anecdotes of life.
Instead, I got DIY ideas to reuse things around the house. The book includes recipes and room storage and even draft reducers!
This book was disappointing..

This is an odd little book. Piggybacking off last year's trend of Hygge books, this year has brought several about the Swedish concept of Lagom, meaning balance. This book goes puddle deep into a forest of ideas. Therefore, nothing is particularly well developed and all of the ideas are VERY specific (how to instructions on how to turn an old t-shirt into a tote bag, for example). Much shabby chic, trash-to-treasure ideas, but none particularly insightful or clever. I mean, do we really need instructions on how to make a staircase slide by opening up a refrigerator box? Pinterest seems a good resource for those interested in these ideas.

Lagom is a Swedish term for "just the right amount". Apparently, an entire lifestyle has been built around it - living and enjoying a simpler life so that you can focus on what's really important. It endorses a more minimalistic lifestyle, including less things (declutter, repurpose, reuse) and maintaining a smaller ecological footprint.

The book is divided into four parts: Home; Balanced Diet & Good Health; Healthy Work/Life Balance and Balance Your Needs with the Wider World. It contains home projects, craft projects, recipes, exercises etc., etc., etc.

I understand this theory is meant to encompass your entire life, but it's little more than common sense. It seems to be trying to be too much of everything to be really good at anything. I found it trite and boring. I, unfortunately, cannot recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to review an e-ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are strictly my own.

The Swedish lifestyle is all the rage at the moment; firstly we had 'hygge', and now we have 'lagom'. I'm a great fan of both concepts, as both are about living life more comfortably and pleasingly - savouring the little moments and making the most of what you've got. Both are terms which mean, by and large 'just the right amount', and this book will give you plenty of tips to do just that.

There is great photography throughout this book, balanced with clear and easy-to-read text. The book in itself is a masterpiece of beauty, but the content is where it really comes into its own. There are so many useful tips (some more just common sense) across many different parts. You'll find chapters about the home, such as decluttering and saving energy, a chapter about work and home and balancing the demands, and about eating a healthy diet.

I can't complain about this book - it is a lovely read and so packed full of great advice.

This book is about living sustainably with what you have, using your resources wisely instead of wasting them, living healthy, and balancing work and private life. I like that the authors touch many aspects of living with their tips. It is cold outside where I live right now and I will go ahead put some of the energy saving ideas in this book into practice. I also would like to grow some herbs indoors and make a bug hotel for my garden. Although I also knew many of the practical tips in this book, I am glad to find them summarized here. After all, from time to time we all need to be reminded of following through will all our good intentions. And that is what reading this book does for me. There are only two things I would like to mention: Making furniture from wooden shipping pallets is only safe if you know that the wood has not been treated with chemicals. I also would not use the vinegar cleaner undiluted on all kinds of surfaces, especially not on my wood floors because it may dull the finish.

Hot on the heels of hygge comes lagom, a Swedish way of living that promotes balance, restraint and frugality. All in all it sounds as much fun as visiting the dentist, but have no fear! Jackson presents ideas to live in the moment, while saving money and being judicious about how you live. While maybe not as indulgent as hygge, Jackson makes lagom sound like fun and within the reach of even the most slovenly and lazy amongst us.