Well.... this book was not at all what I thought it was going to be from the description. Mindfulness? I love books about that. Being comfortable in smaller spaces? I love that too. This book, not so much.

This book was so frou frou. about "getting in touch with your spiritual self" and finding that bliss of being. The concept isn't awful, but the way it's presented sure was. Her "tips" for achieving this more often are blatantly obvious things like "schedule some me time", "wrap up in a blanket", or "light some candles".

I can't even imagine who on earth would find any value in this book. It was bad. Really bad. Granted, this could be because I'm the wrong audience for it, but I think many will be. I can't recommend this book.

Hygge has been around for a little while on lifestyle blogs, but Melissa Alvarez is full of additional insight into the background of Hygge and how to practically incorporate it into your daily life and home. Some higgle guides can be superficial, this is one of the most practical I've come across. Simple ways to embrace to the cozy and practice gratitude. Would also make a terrific gift.

I wanted to like this one, if that counts for everything. The authors voice was warm and easy to read, but the book didn't come across as anything like I expected. I like the general concept of relating coziness to your spiritual practice...but this just went overboard and had to many scattered ideas leading the charge.

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review.
The biggest difficulty I had with this book was the formatting of the file I was given; the entire text was just one big blob of words, starting with the publisher’s information. I kept flipping back and forth, trying to find the start of the actual book part. It was very confusing.
The book itself begins with a description of the various ideas of “cozy” in different cultures, then it switches abruptly to an exercise for the reader to complete…on being cozy? I had no idea what was going on.
Overall, this wasn’t really what I had expected from the description of the book. I must admit that most of my frustration stemmed from the formatting and sheer confusion it produced by not knowing what was going on and where I was with respect to the location in the book. What I did gather from the idea of being “cozy” is the fact that one simplifies certain aspects, as in organizes things in order to reduce clutter (mentally or physically) to achieve a state of comfort, which I did not get from this book. I cannot recommend it.

I felt that I'd read other books that were similar to this and therefore didn't persist in reading to the end. Maybe because it was in kindle format, it didn't appeal to me as much. If I'd had a hard copy of it to browse as more of a 'cofee table' book perhaps I would have got on better with it.

Not sure whether it was just the format on the Kindle or what, but I didn't connect to this book in the way I did with other books on the subject. I felt very rushed while reading and didn't feel inspired to make any life changes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It discusses in some detail how we need to slow down and appreciate the small moments in life. I found her suggestions practical and do-able. Stress is such a problem in our lives and I think that we need to address the issue in practical terms. The author also provided interesting cultural information. Well-written. Recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

When experiencing stress, we often overlook life's simplest pleasures, forgetting to pause, and simply, breathe. In Melissa Alvarez's The Simplicity of Cozy: Hygge, Lagom, and the Energy of Everyday Pleasures, the author demonstrates how shifting our energies to life's simplest pleasures and embracing coziness can result in a transformative spiritual growth. In describing this transformation, Alvarez takes us on a global history of understanding what hygge looks like in Denmark and different countries providing us with "try it now" exercises to showcase the joy in enriching our lives with "the simplicity of cozy." Alvarez defines hygge as "a Danish custom of finding pleasure in the simple things, of making the ordinary extraordinary, of adding more meaningfulness to every aspect of your day, and to make each moment special by actually being present in that moment." After implementing her "try it now" tips, I have to say, I feel more relaxed, happier, and I notice a different in how I feel in both my work and home spaces. I would encourage everyone to take give the cozy life a try. If you're already into hygge, there may not be as much useful information, but for a total beginner, it's a fun read.

You may have heard of hygge, but this book includes many more special cozy words from around the world. A discussion of each is included, along with easy, practical suggestions for incorporating these concepts into your life.
You probably already know that time outdoors is refreshing, but thinking about the Finnish concept of friluftsliv makes the idea stand out more.
The fact is, our brains have trouble paying attention to ideas that we recognize as familiar. We tend to think, "Yeah, I know that" and move on. It's hard to dismiss lagom and wabi-sabit that easily. The new words and context make the ideas seem fresh, and "try it now exercises" make you take action.
Or at least help you take action. You may find new ideas in this book or you may not, but it will certainly help you look at cross cultural coziness in a new, and possible more active, way.

Having a warm and cozy house shouldn't be a big deal but due to all the busyness and stressors of our lives, it becomes a problem. This book is about finding ways to have a cozy life. Hygge is one of the ways that was explored in this book. . A quote from the book explains this concept " You can also think of it as an emotion, mood, or state of mind. When you’re experiencing hygge you feel safe, warm, and cozy.." This book was an inspiration for me. Slowing down, reorganizing my life helped. The author leads you thru a guided meditation for wellness.as well as other ways to help with stress. This book was great and I recommend it to anyone needing some help with making their life cozy. I received this book from Net Galley for a honest review..

While I love the idea of this book, it is in essence just a compilation of titles our library already owns. This would be good if you are looking for a brief guide to "cozy" across the multicultural spectrum. Alvarez does add in some personal touches and ideas on how to introduce and appreciate the cozy in our own life.

I really enjoyed this book, relatively short read with good exercises. It will make a cute gift.

The Simplicity of Cozy just didn't hit the mark for me. I was expecting a self-help book on how to make more room for hygge in my life and how to live a more relaxed Norwegian type lifestyle. I felt like The Simplicity of Cozy wasn't different than the whole host of books on this topic that have popped up. I didn't need the author to tell me that on stressful days I should pick up take out and not cook dinner. I've got that down. I wanted to know how to not let my life get to that point where I'm stressed and need to pick up that take out food because I have no energy left to cook.

Loved, loved, loved this! Made me feel warm just by reading it! I enjoyed all of the techniques and ideas that I have found through this and have already put to use. Great book.

This book resonates with similar books including Alexandra Stoddard’s Living a BeautifulLife: 500 Ways to add elegance, order, beauty, and joy to every day of your life; and Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. I very much enjoyed the first section about the experience of hagge in various cultures; however, the tone almost felt indifferent and impersonal. I did not feel much connection to the author as I have in the before mentioned texts. I also enjoyed the *Try It Now Exercises* and saved a few to follow in more depth. What felt a little disjointed was the use of “cozy.” While the author explained that many of these terms go beyond our traditional English definition, it gave a feeling of a cold winter day. It’s trying to become spring and I would have liked a more in-depth description of how to apply the “cozy” concept to hot, Southern summers. I can intuit this but that’s not really the point.

Disclosure -- I got this from NetGalley for review purposes.

Here's what I liked about this book:
The author clearly did her research on the concept of relaxation in cultures other than just one, like many of the hygge books that are flooding the market right now. She goes wide, plugging in everything from worklife to homelife to social life, and tying all of that into a spiritual kind of hygge that is sometimes missing from other books on the topic. She does write in an accessible, conversational, friendly style, and I do like that each concept has an action item associated with it, so you can put conceptual information into actual practice, if you so choose.

That said, most of this felt kind of rehashed and flat to me. It was hard for me to get through, since much of it is repetitive, and felt disjointed, like a series of blog posts collected into a binder. Some of it also felt a little culturally blind and shallow, which felt diametrically opposed to the core concept of depth and coziness.

All things considered, I still think it's one of the better books on the topic out there right now, and if you're only going to read one book on hygge, this would be a good choice.

I liked it. It wasn't my favorite but it was enjoyable.

With the popularity of Hygge and other Scandinavian ideals, it feels like there is a new book every day. I didn't think that this one adds much to the group.

I enjoyed this book. I am always trying to insert more cozy into my stressful, busy existence. In fact, part of selling my house last year was about downsizing and simplifying in the pursuit of cozy..

I really enjoyed the first section about global concepts related to cozy, and Alvarez shares meditations and exercises throughout the book you can use to find more cozy in your life. I particularly benefited from the parts about being cozy at work. I have had a tough time at work lately, and it's hard to get a minute to myself, much less feel comfortable in my work space. In line with that, cozy in times of crazy was a big help. I feel like the last two years have been pretty harried, and finding the cozy inside of myself and being able to carry that with me has been a great help. The "try it now" sections were super cool, because they give you a tangible step you can take to work toward the goal of cozy, and they're typically pretty easy to do as well as adapt to your situation.

It is getting warm way too early here in the Southeast, and this book definitely made me want Winter to stick around a little longer, and even though this book comes out just in time for the hot days of summer, you can use it to make your life cozy no matter the weather. Check it out!

Im not really surw what this book was aiming for. I wanted to like it, because who doesnt want to be cozy?? But it morphs into energy healing and spirituality and I just wanted to know how to make my house and life more toasty.