(HARDCOVER) THE LITTLE BOOK OF HYGGE-THE DANISH WAY TO LIVE WELL

Hi! I think I probably have the best job in the world - CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen.

I have been described as "the world's happiest man" and "the Indiana Jones of Smiles" (and much in between), and I am committed to finding out what makes people happy.

I wrote The Little Book of Hygge to understand better why Denmark consistently comes first in global happiness rankings. Following lots of research and insight, I came to the conclusion that hygge is the magic ingredient.

Hooga? Hhyooguh? Heurgh? It is not really important how you choose to pronounce or even spell ‘hygge’. To paraphrase one of the greatest philosophers of our time – Winnie-the-Pooh – when asked how to spell a certain emotion, ‘You don’t spell it, you feel it.’

Hygge has been called everything from "the art of creating intimacy", "cosines of the soul", "the absence of annoyance" to "taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things”, "cosy togetherness" but I think my personal favourite is "the pursuit of everyday pleasures".

Hygge originated in Denmark and has been firmly embedded in their culture since the 18th century. We Danes talk about hygge all the time – it’s a key performance indicator of any Danish social gathering – we talk about hygge things coming up that we're looking forward to; we point out when something hygge is happening right now and we talk about what a great ”hyggelit” time they’ve had afterwards. As you can tell, we take hygge very seriously.

Aside from studying political science and writing several books and reports on happiness, wellbeing and quality of life, I enjoy photography and playing tennis (quite badly) with a friend