Nordic Lifestyle: Embrace Slow Living, Cultivate Happiness and Know When to Take Off Your Shoes

by Susanna Heiskanen

Ever wondered why people in the Nordic countries are said to be the happiest in the world? Nordic Lifestyle has been praised as the antidote to modern day busy-ness.
Understand how the Nordics have managed to keep it all together even through hardship and freezing temperatures.
Inside Nordic Lifestyle , you will If you liked the Little Book of Hygge, you will love Nordic Embrace slow living, cultivate happiness and know when to take off your shoes. Discover how you can have Nordicness in your life and embrace the slower life you crave.
Cosy up with a candle, warm cup of something and this book. And dream about moving North...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susanna Heiskanen is a passionate writer and podcaster on all things Nordic Lifestyle. Through her blog and podcast The Nordic Mum, she offers her advice on how to live slow and enjoy life like the Nordics.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

178 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2022

Reviews

[Penny Watson]

This was not what I was expecting. I enjoy the author's blog a lot, but this book was not really focused on slow living until the end. If you're interested in learning about the different Nordic countries, their history, politics, famous people, etc, then you will enjoy this little book.

[HannaLee Kingstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I assumed this book would include more about the actual life style of the Nordic people. It was mostly a history lesson. I did enjoy hearing about the mythology!

[Mary Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts about Nordics but short on lifestyle tips- nothing I didn’t already know. If you are interested in learning about cultural aspects it’s a fun read. I did enjoy it, but expected more

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this entire book in a sitting. Had a cat on my lap, wine in a glass, and a candle lit on the table next to me. Such hygge.

[Katie Tong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been looking forward to this being released as I love the author's blog and social media but I was a little disappointed. This was a lovely introduction to life in the Nordics, it was an easy read and would make a great starting point but, for me, it lacked the depth and detail I would have liked.

[Félicette · Rating 3 out of 5]

August 9, 2023 10:30 PM

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5)

I read this book hoping to get centered to the NORDIC life but it all gave me book of history. I get that to know how people are living then we must know their history. But it’am more than half of the book talking about their history which I don’t give a shit. I wanted to know how to live as a Nordic. Thank God that in the end, she talked about how living less and living more is the way of Nordic life.

If I were to summarise the best way to have a little bit of slow Nordicness in your life, I would say:  
• Have a fika, a cup of coffee and bun with a friend. • Get cosy and have a hygge moment listening to music and reading this book. • When life gets hard, pull out your sisu inner strength to get through. • Sprinkle happiness around you, show gratitude towards people and help someone out. • Take a walk in nature to feel refreshed and rejuvenated. • Put some plastic in the recycling and make sustainable living part of your life.

“People in Finland don’t tend to seek anything, especially happiness.” Daiki Yoshikawa

“Buy quality, buying little, with each object having a practical place in everyday life.” Susanna Heiskanen, The Nordic Mum

Well, at least in the end she talked about the WAY of life or what we call LIFESTYLE. That’s what I’m waiting for. So here’s my 3.5 stars ✨

[roxi reads ִ ࣪ ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝟑,𝟒/𝟓 ✰

‘Listen to nature, crisp snow under your shoe, pine needles falling, birds landing on a tree. When you really listen you hear life.’

‘Have a Fika, a cup of coffee and and bun with your friend • get cozy and have a Hygge moment listening to music and reading this book • when life gets hard, pull out your Sisu inner strength to get through’

Een interessant boek over de Scandinavische levensstijl, iets waar ik al jaren in geïnteresseerd ben. Geeft een hoop verdieping en leuke feitjes over de noordelijke landen!

[Kaitlynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like a year 6 project on the Nordic countries. I understand the author was trying to educate you about the countries in order to be able to live authentically Nordic. However, it just felt like a copy and paste from Google for most of it and then at the very end of the book it talks about how to actually live their lifestyle. I'm not sure how much of it to take for face value also because the way in which she has described Australia is not accurate either.

[Vyedka · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I love the subtitle… Embrace slow living, cultivate happiness and know when to take off your shoes … YES to all of this!!
She took me on a journey and now I know the difference between a Nordic countries and Scandinavian countries. I loved learning about the cultures and the Nordic lifestyle and how I can implement them in my own life being an American.

[Vik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure about this book. I went from enjoying it to becoming impatient with it and everything in between.

I am reading the book that follows on from this one but again, not sure how I feel.

Perhaps it is the style of writing and grammatical errors???

[Kim Bell Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agreed with the reviews; not what I expected from the title.

[S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook version for me, I enjoyed it.

[Zeng Daria · Rating 2 out of 5]

First disappointing read of the year. Thought it was more lifestyle, but it was really mostly history.

[Sam]

Not rating this one, because I'd put a 2/5 solely based on the fact that I wasn't expecting this.
It's more about the culture than the day-to-day habits and actual lifestyle.

[MayLax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joy rating: 8/10

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nordic Lifestyle by Susanna Heiskanen is written by a Finnish author who emigrated to Australia. In the book Susanna explains what it is to be Nordic, how to embrace the Nordic way of life and cuisines.

The book is very different to Meik’s Wiking’s or other authors who have written about Fika, Lagom, Hygge etc. Susanna’s book does not require you to buy anything new - perhaps a little decluttering would be best.

Whilst I did enjoy the book, reading it there were a few sentences that didn’t flow easily and I think a proof reader should have corrected this. I know in the back of the book Susanna thanks her Beta readers for reading it prior to publication - maybe they could have written to let Susanna know of these errors.

These errors don’t detract from the book. It’s an enjoyable read.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short, quick book. I wish it were longer! Anyway, I’ve been following the author who dubs herself as The Nordic Mum on Twitter and listened to her podcasts. I’m not a podcast person, but I got great Nordic books and shows recommendations from her! So when she wrote a book, I was like, oh yeah, I need to read it!

What I like about this book that’s different from other Nordic books I’ve read is that it looks at the lifestyle of Nordic living instead of approaching it from a specific point. For example, a whole book on Hygge or Kalsarikännit (Pants Drunk). I’ve read these books and honestly, they could have just been a paragraph. Susanna goes through all the Nordic trends and holidays in just a paragraph! And in true Finnish style, she presents Nordic living in plainspoken styles as opposed to cozy romanticism with pictures of blond children running in a field of other silly Nordic books. Lots of what she talked about in her podcasts made its way into this book.

I would have wanted more on the author’s personal life growing up in Finland and making her way to England and Australia. Maybe for her second book!

I downloaded this book to Kindle as soon as it was released. It’s edited for a British audience, so I wondered if gherkins the author talked about were really small pickles or cucumbers that Finns love to eat. I was also concerned for a while that I was missing out on Icelandic cliff jumping, only to realize she was talking about sweaters aka jumpers.