The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World's Happiest People

by Meik Wiking

Overview

Join the happiness revolution! The author of the New York Times bestseller The Little Book of Hygge offers more inspiration and suggestions for achieving greater happiness, by practicing Lykke (LOO-ka)—pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world around us every day.

While the Danes are the happiest people on the planet, happiness isn’t exclusively Danish; cultures around the world have their own unique approaches to leading a contented, fulfilled life. For his work at the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, Meik Wiking travels the globe from Dubai to Finland, Rio de Janeiro to Bhutan, South Korea to the United States, to discover the secrets of the very happiest people.

In The Little Book of Lykke, Meik identifies the six factors that explain the majority of differences in happiness across the world—togetherness, money, health, freedom, trust, and kindness—and explores what actions we can take to become happier. As he reveals, we can deepen our blissfulness and contentment with little adjustments in our behavior, whether it’s eating like the French (sitting around a table and savoring our time) or dancing the tango like Argentinians in Buenos Aires.

With his trademark warmth and wit, Meik explores the happiness gap for parents, how much money you really need to buy happiness, how we can be healthier without having to go to the gym, how we can learn to build trust and collaboration, how we can help ourselves by helping others, and why our expectations often outweigh our reality. Weaving together original research and personal anecdotes, The Little Book of Lykke is a global roadmap for joy that offers a new approach to achieving everyday happiness that not only improve our own lives, but help us build better communities and a better world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062820334
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	12/26/2017
Series:	Happiness Institute Series
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	185,276
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Meik Wiking is CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, research associate for Denmark at the World Database of Happiness, and founding member of the Latin American Network for Wellbeing and Quality of Life Policies. He and his research have been featured in more than five hundred media outlets, including The Washington Post, BBC, Huffington Post, the Times (London), The Guardian, CBS, Monocle, the Atlantic, and PBS News Hour. He has spoken at TEDx, and his books have been translated into more than fifteen languages. He lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Editorial Reviews

11/20/2017
Wiking (The Little Book of Hygge), Danish research associate for the World Database of Happiness, brings a fresh policy angle to the well-worn happiness (in Danish, lykke) theme in this mélange of anecdote, self-help suggestions, research studies, and political argument. He helpfully distinguishes between happiness’s affective, or momentary, dimension and its cognitive, or long-term, one, emphasizing the latter. The author identifies the fundamentals of cognitive happiness as togetherness, money, freedom, health, trust, and kindness. In the section on money, for example, he cites studies as showing that the wealthiest nations are not necessarily the happiest, because societies have to know how to “turn wealth into well-being.” High inequality of income, even in a wealthy country such as the U.S., makes people unhappy. Nordic countries like his own are happier, he writes, because “wide public support for a high level of taxation means a good return on quality of life.” His conclusions in other sections are fuzzier and less actionable, such as “eat like the French” in “Togetherness” or “be more Amelie” in “Kindness.” Readers who strongly support government’s role in enhancing the health of citizens, rather than general self-help readers, will most enjoy this book. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

[Praise for the UK edition]: “Move over Hygge – there’s a new Scandi buzzword about to take the world by storm.” — Mail on Sunday

“[Meik Wiking] is our charming tour guide for this “treasure hunt” in which happiness is the much sought-after prize. Travelling around the world, he learns what works best where and distills these lessons into a lovely life plan that celebrates community spirit.” — S Magazine  

“Wiking has another Danish word for us: Lykke. And this time the scope is global. Lykke is the Danish word for happiness and Wiking’s new book takes the focus away from Scandinavia to explore how other countries are leading the way in cultivating happiness.” — Telegraph (UK)

“When it comes to living our best lives, there is much to learn from different cultures… The Happiness Research Institute explores global trends of life satisfaction. It’s headed by Meik Wiking, who has collected his findings in The Little Book of Lykke.” — Good Housekeeping, UK

From the Publisher

[Praise for the UK edition]: “Move over Hygge – there’s a new Scandi buzzword about to take the world by storm.

Mail on Sunday

When it comes to living our best lives, there is much to learn from different cultures… The Happiness Research Institute explores global trends of life satisfaction. It’s headed by Meik Wiking, who has collected his findings in The Little Book of Lykke.

Good Housekeeping

Wiking has another Danish word for us: Lykke. And this time the scope is global. Lykke is the Danish word for happiness and Wiking’s new book takes the focus away from Scandinavia to explore how other countries are leading the way in cultivating happiness.

Telegraph (UK)

[Meik Wiking] is our charming tour guide for this “treasure hunt” in which happiness is the much sought-after prize. Travelling around the world, he learns what works best where and distills these lessons into a lovely life plan that celebrates community spirit.

S Magazine  

[Meik Wiking] is our charming tour guide for this “treasure hunt” in which happiness is the much sought-after prize. Travelling around the world, he learns what works best where and distills these lessons into a lovely life plan that celebrates community spirit.

S Magazine--

11/15/2017
When Wiking's The Little Book of Hygge took off last spring, there was no doubt that sequels would be forthcoming. Now the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute explores the Danish concept of lykke (LOO-ka)—pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world every day. Here, Wiking investigates the cognitive dimensions of happiness and compares the life satisfaction scores of the Danes with those of other nations, concluding that helping others, working together, and lowering one's expectations can lead to more contentment.Similarly, former newspaper columnist Dunne proposes that lagom (lah-gom), the Swedish concept of "not too little, not too much, just right" can help people improve their work-life balance and savor both relationships and delicious food. Dunne's guidebook is full of tips, color photographs, and recipes that demonstrate how readers can simplify their wants and enjoy what they already have. She covers everything from eating and styling lagom to feeling and socializing lagom in a clear upbeat tone, which encourages readers to participate. VERDICT While both books are delightful and would be popular in public libraries or for personal purchase, Lagom is more aesthetically appealing.

Library Journal