This was a nice and fun book about Denmark. I am writing the review for it rather late as I spent about 9 days after it studying for and passing a work examination. I never studied for something so hard in my life.

In any case, the weekend before, I read this little gem about Denmark. I really enjoyed the author’s humor and candidness. It is indeed laid out as a year with each month having a theme about life in Denmark.

As with many Europhiles people and especially one who reads books on happiness, I was interested in Denmark. I have not been and would like to go. It sounds idyllic in many ways; it’s progressive, the capital has a world-renowned food scene, and it scores well on many tests on human happiness. I also find myself really into a lot of Danish life described in the book. I can understand what “hygge” means. I love cycling, baking, and knitting too.

Of course, Denmark is not heaven on Earth, and I don’t even mean the taxes. I did find it interesting to know how violent it was and how the people did like to test the system of their health. I am fascinated by aspects of the culture and country. I don’t think all countries or most can achieve what they have, but there are definitely lessons one can take on the communal or municipal levels. It’s clear supporting the arts, encouraging clubs and physical activity, and community events make people happier.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading the author and her family’s first year in Denmark. In fact, I’d read another book about it.

Read July 22-23, 2016

This is a tale of a couple who circumnavigate the globe without flying in a plane. I picked up this book because I I really liked Stevenson’s prose. He appears more than once in the Best American Travel Writing series. His sense of humour seems closely aligned to mine. It’s sometimes dry, often observant and understated

The way he describes horrible travel conditions is hilarious, even when it shouldn’t be. I love travel as much as Stevenson does, but is is quite awful yet wonderful all at once. At the same time, the book offers some intelligent observations about cultures and above all else, transportation and means of travel.

While this book was written about seven years ago, the discussion about the airline industry and flying is still relevant. Flying sucks, and like Stevenson, I much prefer trains or even boats. He also has criticism against cruises in general. All of this inspires me that if I had the means, I would do a similar travel voyage around the world with as few flights as possible.

Read January 5, 2014.