It’s mid to late August. Every year I sign up to Goodreads Book Challenge and every year at this time it always looks like I’m not going to make it. The sunny days are too bright to read, the lure of the garden or the general life of summer pulls me away.
That applies whether I’ve signed up to read 30 books or 52. Even setting a lower target it seems I slow my reading to suit.
This year, though, I’m on a winner. Turns out, the answer to hitting your target with ease is to sign up for Reader/LLM Training. Oh, boy, do we get through some books! Possibly not in my favoured, ruler-in-hand, underline the best passages and copy out good quotes way I’d prefer, but you do learn to skim read. I’m five books ahead of schedule for a 34 book challenge.
I still prefer to slow down for the few books for pleasure I get to enjoy now. Pot of tea, largest mug, perhaps a biscuit or small packet of Magic Stars. All the trappings of hygge. I took a day off last Saturday (I have an essay due on 2nd September and I am buried under notes and links and books) and read the latest Alison Sherlock, Starry Nights Over Dragonfly Lake. It was beautifully lovely and soft and hygge. Just what I needed. Of course, it was helped by the fortuitous synchronicity of the Eclipse having just happened as well, so star gazing and sky watching was very much in my mind. Alison’s books are always a joy: I love the fact that she has sets of 3 or 4 and moves very gradually a few miles down the road to set her next batch, from the Hall to the village to the railway to Dragonfly Lake. She’s an easy pre-order.
But yes, I can hear you asking: what else have I been reading this year? Well, in no particular order, here they are:
- Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake by Alison Sherlock
- A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- The Great Divorce by C S Lewis
- A British Childhood: How Our Children Live Now by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
- The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
- A Perfect Devon Farmhouse by Debbie Morrison
- The Untold Story of the New Testament Church by Frank Viola
- Paul: A Very Short Introduction by E P Sanders
- The Cosy Croissant Cafe by Jane Linfoot
- Daydreaming at the Boathouse Cafe by Alison Sherlock
- Celtic Daily Prayer by the Northumbria Community
- Faith and Creeds by Alistair McGrath
- The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
- The Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite
- Exploring the New Testament by David Wenham
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- Rocket to the Past by S A Carmody
- Taliesin by Stephen R Lawhead
- The Liturgical Home: Lent by Ashley Tumlin Wallace
- Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth
- Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
- Glimmers: Tiny Moments to Transform Your Life by Nadia Narain
- Every Home a Foundation by Phylicia D Masonheimer
- The Landscape of Faith by Alistair McGrath
- The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister
- Habits for a Sacred Home by Jennifer Pepito
- Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life or Peace and Purpose by Rebekah Lyons
- The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher.
- The Christian Hope by Brian Hebblethwaite
- Being With God by A J Sherrill
- The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan
Eclectic, but fun. I still have a couple of unfinished books I started earlier in the year and need to get on with, but I can’t add them. Yet. I haven’t linked to every book, but I have enjoyed all of them but felt possibly the market for eschatological textbooks is a bit niche. I do get a couple of pennies for each book bought via the links on this page, which gets ploughed back into…. you guessed it… more books.
And I hope that September will give me a few wet Saturday afternoons to spend between the pages of a romance or a fantasy, a decent historical fiction or (what seems to be my current favourite style) book set in a library or bookshop and ergo talking about books itself. There are few pleasure to compare to curling up on the couch and watching the raindrops fall. Time out of a busy life, either as a pause in the middle of the worklist or a reward at the end. I know myself too well not to let it be the first act of the day. That way, nothing would ever get done!
How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.
I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but my non-Christmas books are:
Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.
Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.
I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of Winter 2026.
If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.
The photo between post and promotions is of the Rosary Quay in Bruges. We went there in July and I think it was the last peaceful moment I remember having this year. We came back to family issues, medical appointments, work upgrades and more. Slowing down, slowing down. I need to slow down.
