The Simplicity of Cozy: Hygge, Lagom & the Energy of Everyday Pleasures

by Melissa Alvarez

Connect with the Spiritual Energy of Coziness for More Joy, Contentment, and Satisfaction Make cozy your way of life with this inspiring guide on connecting to the positive energy of simple, everyday moments. Known around the world as hygge (hoo-ga), lagom (lay-go-m), and other similar terms, cozy and balanced living helps you improve your health, happiness, and spirituality by understanding and feeling the frequency of people, animals, places, and situations. The Simplicity of Cozy is a beginner's guide to self-care that presents a variety of topics relating to and supporting cozy living, including mindfulness, simple ritual, home environment, relationship connections, and being in nature. Easy exercises and practical techniques are featured throughout, helping you make more soulful connections and find appreciation in all you are and all you experience.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Self Help

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2018

About the author

Melissa Alvarez is a bestselling, award-winning author who has written twenty plus books and nearly five hundred articles on self-help, spirituality, wellness and other nonfiction topics. As a professional intuitive coach, energy worker, spiritual advisor, medium, and animal communicator with over thirty years of experience, Melissa has helped thousands of people bring clarity, joy, and balance into their lives. Melissa teaches others how to connect with their own intuitive nature and how to work with frequency for spiritual growth. She has appeared on numerous radio shows as both a guest and host. Melissa is published by Llewellyn Worldwide, who is "is the country's oldest and largest independent publisher of books on the New Age, Mind Body Spirit, alternative spirituality, esoteric literature, and the paranormal, celebrating more than a century of publishing books and related products." Melissa's Llewellyn books are 365 Ways to Raise Your Frequency, Your Psychic Self,  Believe and Receive, Animal Frequency,  Llewellyn’s Little Book of Spirit Animals, The Simplicity of Cozy, and Earth Frequency. Melissa’s books have been translated into Romanian, Russian, Chinese, French, Czech and Spanish. She is also published through her company, Adrema Press. She lives in South Florida with her family, dogs, and horses. Visit her online at www.MelissaA.com for a complete list of her books. Her latest release is Raise Your Frequency Through Number Messages. 

Reviews

[Randal White · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
Rarely have I found a book that I cannot find something good to say about. But, this is one. Talking in circles, never actually making a point, trying instead to mystify the reader with buzzwords and mumbo-jumbo.
For example, "now that doesn't mean you'll never experiences (!) difficulties - you will because some lessons chosen prior to birth are hard....". (Sorry, I'm not aware of lessons that I chose PRIOR to my being born!)
Another example, "as you sit there, purposefully imagine the positivity of white light moving though your frequency, your own personal vibration, the energy of all that you are". Yeah, okay. Maybe too much coffee?
I honestly could not finish this book. Maybe somewhere after the first quarter of claptrap the author settles down and makes some sense? Perhaps, but I know I won't be finding out.
Skip it!

[Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free e-book copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Simplicity of Cozy promises to teach its reader how to improve her life by focusing on and tending to coziness and the magic of simple, everyday moments. So far, so good. Unfortunately, after reading carefully the first few chapters and skimming the rest, it seems to me that "coziness" and "hygge" are just concepts the author has added to the book to make it more marketable, along with "minimalism". Otherwise, the book concerns itself mainly with various ways of achieving a more spiritual and more mindful lifestyle, while making infrequent references to the concept of coziness. This would be fine if you are interested in this kind of thing, and I respect the author's approach, but it is just not quite what I wanted to find in this book. (Hint - it was focus on coziness.)

[Elliot A · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

ElliotScribbles

[Merry Love · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Elaine - Small Farm Big Life · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, I'm afraid. After about 30%, I decided there was nothing new here for me. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an arc for my honest opinion.

[Kathy Peterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books I've read about the spirituality of simplicity. Melissa is a great author who walks us through words and states in various cultures such as hygge, lagom and many more to help us find our own unique ways to add coziness to our lives. Coziness is a way of life for many people around the world. It is a frequency connection at a very personal level that can bring about miraculous transformations at your core spiritual essence. It's about making internal and external soulful connections. I actually had great fun reading this book slowly and taking it to coffee shops or meals as my own way of savoring the cozy moments.

Creating a cozy sanctuary in your home. Taking time in nature. Using coziness to expand your consciousness. Creating meaningful moments. Embracing silence. Listening within. Each of these are topics explored!

[Dianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually try to focus on the positive in my reviews, but I couldn't find much to like in this book. It's a mishmash of hygge and energy healing, with practices from other countries around the world tossed in with no seeming rhyme or reason. It seems to me that the author is mainly interested in energy healing and was trying to use the trend of hygge to sell it.

Skip this one unless you're into energy healing—and maybe even if you are; this book's a bit of a mess!

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cozy is one of my favorite words and feelings. I love the global focus of this book in exploring the emphasis and understanding of cozy around the world. It's very focused on your soul being attuned to the world around you, and a bit new age in that regard. Overall it feels like the author found what's trendy and used a bunch of buzzwords and common concepts to try and create a book about spirituality, but it feels disjointed and flat. The book started strong, but fell apart very quickly in my opinion.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

[SJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because someone close to me once pointed out that I say the word cozy quite a bit, and I figured hey a book about living a cozier lifestyle sounds perfect for me! I appreciated the concepts this book explained, though a lot of it was things I have heard before. I am not sure i really gained anything from reading this, but overall I would say that this was worth the read.

[Jess Macallan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This is a nice little book on how you can incorporate a variety of practices to bring coziness into your life. If you read self-help books, you likely won't learn many new ideas, but you will appreciate how the author focuses on common practices with coziness in mind. I enjoyed learning how different cultures and countries embrace coziness (or similar concepts). Common themes include decluttering, mindfulness, nature, simplicity, connection, and spiritual practices. The chapter on coziness from an emotional perspective offers a fresh take on dealing with emotions and will encourage readers to be more mindful of how they engage with others. I was inspired to do a little decluttering and rearranging in my home and schedule to make my days cozier. It wasn't earth-shattering, but it did offer some much-needed energetic and physical breathing space.

I received an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Isa (Pages Full of Stars) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially picked up this book from my library, because I adore the idea of hygge and anything that can help make my life cozy is always appreciated. Contrary to most ratings here, I didn't think it was bad. I finished reading it, I liked the general idea that the author wanted to present and highlighted a lot of passages.

However, what suprised me and is the reason for it being 3 stars is how heavy on spiritual and metaphysical matters this book was. I'm glad that apart from cozy setting, the author talked about chaning your overall attitude to life, but I just wasn't really interested in the spiritual parts. Moreover, I thought that there was a lot of repetitions, which left me a tad confused, as if I was reading the same thing over and over.

Do I recommend it? I'm not sure. If you're interested in hygge or living cozy, this book may be for you, but keep in mind that a huge part of it talks about spirituality.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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..

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It starts out by listing all of the various words with a meaning similar to the word 'cozy', originating from predominantly Nordic European countries. It then wanders off a little bit to talk about things such as the importance of living in an organized environment, how to connect with your higher self (side note: this book was way mire spiritual than you would guess by the title or cover), mindfulness and other things. I think it is a good book if you go into it knowing what it is about (ie. Not thinking it is another book about Hygge or Lagom etc.).

*Thank you, Netgalley, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review*

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminds me of a super long wishy-washy lifestyle magazine article. I can't quite put my finger on why it never gelled together but between having a unique take on the definition of cozy, using the cozy catch all less and less and then almost as a afterthought in much of the book, and never really completing a thought initiative, it just didn't work out. It feels like it might lean too much on the author's other works. It also went a bit too far in the "woo woo" direction for me.

[Corinnagoodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lets be clear, this is not a picture book. this is a sit down with a cup of tea and blanket book. if you are looking for a book that has all the Instagram glossy photos look elsewhere; there are many of them on the market. However, this book is wonderful, in that it helps explain why slowing down and enjoying the little things in a simple way is so important to do, how it helps us and how we can do it.

[Edward Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to make if the book initially. I’ve been hearing all about “Hygge” for last year, and how it’s so incredibly life changing from some and total hogwash for others. I decided I would give this book a chance as it explored more than one version of “cozy”.

The book started off a bit slow, and to be honest a bit too “hippie and love” for me. I gave it a chance and continued reading, and I fell in love with it. I’ve been following so many of these practices in my own life over the past few years, slowly integrating the ideas, the book just reinforced what I've already believed. This book has so many great ideas and concepts, for someone looking to really just slow down and accept the “cozy” into their own life.

It’s not just about decorations, candles, a warm blanket, or the environment. It really digs down into all areas of your life, which gives you a sense of how to fix those areas and truly incorporate the “cozy” energy into your life completely.

I already know that I’ll be buying myself a copy, and one for my mother in-law for Mother’s Day this year. It’s an exceptional book with a very laid back energy too it. Reading it under a warm blanket in bed, with my dogs next to me, a hot cup of tea, the room lit with a scented candle and string lights over head only added to the cozy vibe.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got to read an early e book edition from NetGalley. The version of the book I saw has no pictures. There is a lot of information about Hygge and other similar concepts in this book but I always appreciate some colorful pictures in a book like this.

This book focuses a lot on a New Age side to Hygge and Hygge-like concepts. It’s a lot about focusing inward rather than on environment.
That’s a neutral comment not a negative one. What you like in a book of this style could be different than what I like.
There is surely plenty of information. It’s just not in a format that I love.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is NOT another book on how to Hygge. Rather, it is an exploration of the energetics of the lifestyle you create when you want to live more "cozy" in the most expansive definition of the word. There are many suggestions you will find in the coffee-table style books, but these are simply used as examples of how to tune into and raise your energetic frequency.
It's a unique take on the concept that I enjoyed exploring.
There is a lot of information in this book that readers new to this concept can use as a jumping-off point to further their exploration on creating a sense of cozy.

[JLS10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn’t anything really new that I hadn’t read before, but I’m still glad I read it for the reminder of things that tend to get pushed aside during our busy lives. I have enjoyed learning more about hygge this past year and this book seems it wanted to capitalize on that trend in hygge interest while adding more of a spiritual component than other books on the topic.

[Jean Brazil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tries to cover every type of calmness strategy from mindfulness to yoga to dance. What it ends up doing is just having a few paragraphs on each topic with no real depth to any of it. Kind of a dispappointment.

[Laurie Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you thought you were getting a book just about Hygge this ain't it.
But it was very spiritual which I don't mind, in fact I even like. Nothing really new for me, as I do a lot of my own reading and work on this subject but some nice reminders.

[Jennifer Rolfe · Rating 1 out of 5]

No substance.

[Cherie Bush · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected.

[Janelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It feels like a rehash of most spirituality / self love blogs but in a book format. :(

[Chanel Chapters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read. Touched on a few different topics but occasionally felt repetitive and preachy

[Ikka · Rating 1 out of 5]

(DNF)

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

*Advanced reading copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
2.5 stars
Melissa Alvarez is a professional intuitive coach, energy worker, spiritual advisor, medium. 'The simplicity of the cozy' is a beginner's guide to self-care, an inspiring guide, in helping us to be happy for every little moment we live. All of our life should movingaround the concpt of 'cozy', that means find appreciation in every little moments, in every experience.
I like the first part, in which the author gives us an overview of the various cultural terms, most of them northern european, that moving around the 'cozy' concept.
I expected more than this. For me, the book may well be an articles on self-help on any magazine. But I won't give up and, soon, I'll try che Coziness Transformational Challenge at the end of the book. If you're curious, read all 'The Simplicity of Cozy', 'cause live in love, joy, and happiness, it's not easy, but Melissa Alvarez can help yuo!