The Year of Living Danishly
Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.18
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Lucy Price-Lewis
-
By:
-
Helen Russell
About this listen
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
Helen decides there is only one way to find out: she will give herself a year, trying to uncover the formula for Danish happiness. From child care, education, food and interior design to SAD, taxes, sexism and an unfortunate predilection for burning witches, The Year of Living Danishly is a funny, poignant record of a journey that shows us where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves.
Helen Russell is a journalist and former editor of MarieClaire.co.uk. She now lives in rural Jutland and works as a Scandinavia correspondent for the Guardian as well as writing a column on Denmark for the Telegraph.
©2015 Helen Russell (P)2015 Audible, LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
Leap Year
- How to Make Big Decisions, Be More Resilient and Change Your Life for Good
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having spent the last few years in Denmark uncovering the secrets of the happiest country in the world, Helen Russell knows it's time to move back to the UK. She thinks. Maybe. Or maybe that's a terrible idea. Like many of us, she suffers from chronic indecision and a fear of change. So she decides to give herself a year for an experiment: to overhaul every area of her life, learn how to embrace change and become a lean, mean decision-making machine.
-
-
My Kind of Person - No Truck with Trump
- By PhryneC on 02-12-17
By: Helen Russell
-
The Atlas of Happiness
- The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This charming and entertaining guide offers listeners the chance to learn and be inspired by the "untranslatable" beliefs and unique perspectives on how to live a happier life from countries around the world.
-
-
Good, but not quiet Danishly
- By G. Baker on 04-03-20
By: Helen Russell
-
The Nordic Theory of Everything
- In Search of a Better Life
- By: Anu Partanen
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life - from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare - was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension.
-
-
A non-radical perspective on two societies
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 06-20-17
By: Anu Partanen
-
The Little Book of Hygge
- Danish Secrets to Happy Living
- By: Meik Wiking
- Narrated by: Meik Wiking
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why are Danes the happiest people in the world? The answer, says Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, is hygge. Loosely translated, hygge - pronounced hoo-ga - is a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. "Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience," Wiking explains. "It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe."
-
-
BUY THE REAL BOOK
- By Desiree on 06-19-17
By: Meik Wiking
-
The Finnish Way
- Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu
- By: Katja Pantzar
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget hygge - it's time to blow out the candles and get out into the world! Journalist Katja Pantzar did just that, taking the huge leap to move to the remote Nordic country of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body, mind, and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows listeners how to embrace the "keep it simple and sensible" daily practices that make Finns one of the happiest populations in the world, year after year. The Finns have a word for that, and this empowering book shows us how to achieve it.
-
-
Meh
- By Suzette on 12-08-18
By: Katja Pantzar
-
The Almost Nearly Perfect People
- Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
- By: Michael Booth
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than 10 years, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely audiobook, he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another.
-
-
Obsessed with bad politics
- By Erik on 09-07-20
By: Michael Booth
-
Leap Year
- How to Make Big Decisions, Be More Resilient and Change Your Life for Good
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having spent the last few years in Denmark uncovering the secrets of the happiest country in the world, Helen Russell knows it's time to move back to the UK. She thinks. Maybe. Or maybe that's a terrible idea. Like many of us, she suffers from chronic indecision and a fear of change. So she decides to give herself a year for an experiment: to overhaul every area of her life, learn how to embrace change and become a lean, mean decision-making machine.
-
-
My Kind of Person - No Truck with Trump
- By PhryneC on 02-12-17
By: Helen Russell
-
The Atlas of Happiness
- The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This charming and entertaining guide offers listeners the chance to learn and be inspired by the "untranslatable" beliefs and unique perspectives on how to live a happier life from countries around the world.
-
-
Good, but not quiet Danishly
- By G. Baker on 04-03-20
By: Helen Russell
-
The Nordic Theory of Everything
- In Search of a Better Life
- By: Anu Partanen
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life - from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare - was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension.
-
-
A non-radical perspective on two societies
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 06-20-17
By: Anu Partanen
-
The Little Book of Hygge
- Danish Secrets to Happy Living
- By: Meik Wiking
- Narrated by: Meik Wiking
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why are Danes the happiest people in the world? The answer, says Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, is hygge. Loosely translated, hygge - pronounced hoo-ga - is a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. "Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience," Wiking explains. "It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe."
-
-
BUY THE REAL BOOK
- By Desiree on 06-19-17
By: Meik Wiking
-
The Finnish Way
- Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu
- By: Katja Pantzar
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget hygge - it's time to blow out the candles and get out into the world! Journalist Katja Pantzar did just that, taking the huge leap to move to the remote Nordic country of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body, mind, and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows listeners how to embrace the "keep it simple and sensible" daily practices that make Finns one of the happiest populations in the world, year after year. The Finns have a word for that, and this empowering book shows us how to achieve it.
-
-
Meh
- By Suzette on 12-08-18
By: Katja Pantzar
-
The Almost Nearly Perfect People
- Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
- By: Michael Booth
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than 10 years, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely audiobook, he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another.
-
-
Obsessed with bad politics
- By Erik on 09-07-20
By: Michael Booth
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
How to Be Sad
- Everything I’ve Learned About Getting Happier by Being Sad
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Russell has researched sadness from the inside out for her entire life. Her earliest memory is of the day her sister died. Her parents divorced soon after, and her mother didn’t receive the help she needed to grieve. Coping with her own emotional turmoil — including struggles with body image and infertility — she’s endured professional and personal setbacks as well as relationships that have imploded in truly spectacular ways. Even the things that brought her the greatest joy — like eventually becoming a parent — are fraught with challenges.
-
-
More an self biography
- By Jaime Murillo on 04-27-24
By: Helen Russell
-
Taste
- My Life Through Food
- By: Stanley Tucci
- Narrated by: Stanley Tucci
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stanley Tucci grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the kitchen table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the savory recipes and into the compelling stories behind them. Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about his growing up in Westchester, New York.
-
-
Should include a pdf of recipes
- By Jen Griffin on 10-23-21
By: Stanley Tucci
-
There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather
- A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids (from Friluftsliv to Hygge)
- By: Linda Åkeson McGurk
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing Up Bébé meets Last Child in the Woods in this lively, insightful memoir about a mother who sets out to discover if the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her American children.
-
-
Great concept, interesting writing.
- By Kate on 11-03-17
-
Bill Bryson Collector's Edition
- Notes from a Small Island, Neither Here Nor There, and I'm a Stranger Here Myself
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the first of three essays included in this audiobook, Bill Bryson decides to move his wife and kids back to his homeland, the United States, after nearly two decades in Britain. But not before taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. The result is a hilarious social commentary.
-
-
Bryson's best with Google
- By Shawn on 03-31-08
By: Bill Bryson
-
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Jim Dale
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!
-
-
A great reading of the wrong book
- By P on 11-24-15
By: J.K. Rowling
-
Gone Viking
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Juliette Burton
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frazzled mum Alice Ray likes to think she’s on top everything - she has four bags-for-life in the boot of her car for heaven's sake. But after spectacularly embarrassing herself at work, she finally gives in to her sister’s pleas to take a much-needed break. But this is not the luxury spa holiday Alice hoped for - instead, she finds herself in Denmark, in the middle of nowhere, on a ‘How to be a Viking’ getaway. Can the two sisters finally learn to get along, or will learning to embrace their inner warriors just make them better at fighting?
-
-
Good Fun!
- By George on 07-08-20
By: Helen Russell
-
Funny in Farsi
- A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
- By: Firoozeh Dumas
- Narrated by: Firoozeh Dumas
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country beyond her father's glowing memories of his graduate school years here.
-
-
The melting pot, next generation
- By Jerry on 02-15-08
By: Firoozeh Dumas
-
Learn French for Vacations
- 400+ phrases and vocabulary you will actually use while learning the language for travel, in your sleep or car. Ideal for beginners, travellers and dummies!
- By: P.D. Kendall
- Narrated by: Raphael Tavares
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In large parts of France where they don't speak English, the reception you get in the restaurant if you say "Bonsoir, avez vous une table pour quatre s'il vous plait?" instead of mumbling in English, is night and day.
-
-
Perfect
- By Nir on 06-23-23
By: P.D. Kendall
-
The Geography of Bliss
- One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the listener from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness". This uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is.
-
-
Brew your coffee, get some cookies
- By Ben on 08-30-08
By: Eric Weiner
-
The Silmarillion
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
- Narrated by: Andy Serkis
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included on the recording are several shorter works. The Ainulindalë is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age.
-
-
TIPS when reading this book:
- By Anonymous User on 06-29-23
By: J. R. R. Tolkien, and others
-
The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
-
-
Another great Bryson
- By Dirk P. on 05-08-23
By: Bill Bryson
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
A Very British Christmas
- Twelve Days of Discomfort and Joy
- By: Rhodri Marsden
- Narrated by: Rhodri Marsden, Helen Keeley, Paul Tyreman
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have Yourself a Very British Christmas is a 12-stage sleigh ride through the best, worst, strangest and funniest aspects of the Christmas holiday, with cultural icons saluted, national habits dissected and personal reminiscences from those who've eaten all the mince pies and lived to tell the tale. The essential Christmas stocking filler for every Brit who's ever found themselves on a deflating airbed wedged up against the washing machine in their parents' spare room come Christmas Eve.
-
-
Great Christmas Fun
- By Robin L Childs on 11-13-20
By: Rhodri Marsden
-
Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
-
-
A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
-
Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
-
-
Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
-
Stella's Story
- Thrown Away Children, Book 1
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better.
-
-
Heartbreaking but so wonderful to see a happy ending
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-24
By: Louise Allen
-
Surviving Ireland
- By: Colm Tobin
- Narrated by: Colm Tobin
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's exhausting being Irish. The constant self-flagellation is enough to put anybody off their breakfast. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Is it the postcolonial overhang following centuries of oppression at the hands of a litany of foreign invaders? Or is it collective guilt for sending Westlife out into the wider world? In Surviving Ireland, acclaimed comedy writer Colm Tobin takes the listener by the hand for a satirical romp through modern Irish life.
-
-
very fun
- By Rick on 06-12-19
By: Colm Tobin
-
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile....
-
-
An Anglican giant among pygmies
- By John on 06-20-12
By: Alan Partridge
-
A Very British Christmas
- Twelve Days of Discomfort and Joy
- By: Rhodri Marsden
- Narrated by: Rhodri Marsden, Helen Keeley, Paul Tyreman
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have Yourself a Very British Christmas is a 12-stage sleigh ride through the best, worst, strangest and funniest aspects of the Christmas holiday, with cultural icons saluted, national habits dissected and personal reminiscences from those who've eaten all the mince pies and lived to tell the tale. The essential Christmas stocking filler for every Brit who's ever found themselves on a deflating airbed wedged up against the washing machine in their parents' spare room come Christmas Eve.
-
-
Great Christmas Fun
- By Robin L Childs on 11-13-20
By: Rhodri Marsden
-
Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
-
-
A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
-
Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
-
-
Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
-
Stella's Story
- Thrown Away Children, Book 1
- By: Louise Allen
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes and no warmth. She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better.
-
-
Heartbreaking but so wonderful to see a happy ending
- By Amazon Customer on 11-14-24
By: Louise Allen
-
Surviving Ireland
- By: Colm Tobin
- Narrated by: Colm Tobin
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's exhausting being Irish. The constant self-flagellation is enough to put anybody off their breakfast. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Is it the postcolonial overhang following centuries of oppression at the hands of a litany of foreign invaders? Or is it collective guilt for sending Westlife out into the wider world? In Surviving Ireland, acclaimed comedy writer Colm Tobin takes the listener by the hand for a satirical romp through modern Irish life.
-
-
very fun
- By Rick on 06-12-19
By: Colm Tobin
-
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile....
-
-
An Anglican giant among pygmies
- By John on 06-20-12
By: Alan Partridge
-
The Unspeakable
- And Other Subjects of Discussion
- By: Meghan Daum
- Narrated by: Meghan Daum
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a report tempered by hard times. In "Matricide", Daum unflinchingly describes a parent's death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in "Diary of a Coma" she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital.
-
-
Complaining about her dead mom.
- By Erik Hermansen on 11-23-14
By: Meghan Daum
-
I Regret Nothing
- A Memoir
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Jen Lancaster has lived a life based on re-invention and self-improvement. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, she’s managed to document her (and her generation’s) attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it all - sometimes with disastrous results...Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another. After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is - yikes! - middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day.
-
-
The Smug Is Strong With This One
- By T. Filowitz on 05-24-15
By: Jen Lancaster
-
Paris to the Moon
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-lined boulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking façades around every corner: in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured the American imagination for as long as there have been Americans.
-
-
Wish this wasn't abridged!!
- By Sarah D. on 03-25-17
By: Adam Gopnik
-
Stories I'd Tell in Bars
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster, John Fletcher
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Older, but not wiser, Lancaster goes back to basics in this hilarious essay collection about everything from taking community policing classes to accidentally getting high with her waiter after a fancy dinner. These are the tales she'd tell if she met you in a bar... if she weren't too lazy to put on pants and go to a bar. Offering advice ranging from how to remain happily married to a man who refuses to blow his damn nose already to not creating An Incident at the cheese counter during an attempt at Whole30, she's you, only louder.
-
-
self absorbed
- By D D H on 06-15-19
By: Jen Lancaster
-
How Did All This Happen?
- By: John Bishop
- Narrated by: John Bishop
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you're a man of a certain age you'll know there comes a point in life when getting a sports car and over-analysing your contribution to society sounds like a really good idea. With a good job in sales and marketing and a nice house in Manchester that he shared with his wife and kids, John Bishop was no different when he turned the dreaded 4-0. But instead of spanking a load of cash on a car that would have made him look like a senior stylist at Vidal Sassoon, he stumbled onto a pathway that ultimately lead him to become one of the nation's best loved comedians.
-
-
Heartwarming and Funny
- By Nancy Burnett on 12-01-22
By: John Bishop
-
The Dark Flood Rises
- A Novel
- By: Dame Margaret Drabble
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Francesca Stubbs has a very full life. A highly regarded expert on housing for the elderly who is herself getting on in age, she drives restlessly round England. Amid the professional conferences she attends, she fits in visits to old friends, brings home-cooked dinners to her ex-husband, texts her son, who is grieving over the sudden death of his girlfriend, and drops in on her daughter, a quirky young woman who lives in a floodplain in the West Country.
-
-
Life Observed By An Exceptional Writer
- By Sara on 03-22-17
-
Almost French
- By: Sarah Turnbull
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After backpacking her way around Europe journalist Sarah Turnbull is ready to embark on one last adventure before heading home to Sydney. A chance meeting with a charming Frenchman in Bucharest changes her travel plans forever. Acting on impulse, she agrees to visit Fredric in Paris for a week. Put a very French Frenchman together with a strong-willed Australian girl and the result is some spectacular - and often hilarious - cultural clashes.
-
-
Almost Terrific
- By Elizabeth on 02-05-13
By: Sarah Turnbull
-
How It All Began
- By: Penelope Lively
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true.
-
-
Wonderful and beautifully written
- By Molly-o on 02-15-12
By: Penelope Lively
-
My Real Children
- By: Jo Walton
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. "Confused today," read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know - what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don't seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead.
-
-
A strange take on an otherwise simple story.
- By Lauren on 01-08-15
By: Jo Walton
-
Under Red Skies
- Three Generations of Life, Loss, and Hope in China
- By: Karoline Kan
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A deeply personal and shocking look at how China is coming to terms with its conflicted past as it emerges into a modern, cutting-edge superpower.
-
-
An intimate view of real life in China
- By Lonnie G. Hardy, Jr. on 08-15-19
By: Karoline Kan
-
The Longest Date
- Life as a Wife
- By: Cindy Chupack
- Narrated by: Cindy Chupack, Ian Wallach
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After having endured enough emotional wreckage in her search for true love to fill a book ( The New York Times bestseller The Between Boyfriends Book), two magazine columns, and five seasons of scripts for Sex and the City, Cindy Chupack finally, mercifully, at the age of thirty-nine, met the Perfect Man. The perfect companion for anyone navigating a marriage (or even just contemplating one), The Longest Date marks the welcome return of one of our most gifted and captivating comic writers.
-
-
Meh...
- By Jessica K. on 11-07-18
By: Cindy Chupack
-
David Mitchell: Back Story
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Mitchell, who you may know for his inappropriate anger on every TV panel show except Never Mind the Buzzcocks, his look of permanent discomfort on C4 sex comedy Peep Show, his online commenter-baiting in The Observer or just for wearing a stick-on moustache in That Mitchell and Webb Look, has written a book about his life.
-
-
One of the Funniest, Clever Brits around
- By Delia on 08-30-13
By: David Mitchell
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Danish Secret to Happy Kids
- How the Viking Way of Raising Children Makes Them Happier, Healthier, and More Independent
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a lot... After a decade of living in Denmark and raising a family there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic children are different. They eat differently. They learn differently. They run, jump and climb out in nature for hours a day, even though the weather is terrible and it's dark October to March.
By: Helen Russell
-
The Little Book of Hygge
- Danish Secrets to Happy Living
- By: Meik Wiking
- Narrated by: Meik Wiking
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why are Danes the happiest people in the world? The answer, says Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, is hygge. Loosely translated, hygge - pronounced hoo-ga - is a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. "Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience," Wiking explains. "It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe."
-
-
BUY THE REAL BOOK
- By Desiree on 06-19-17
By: Meik Wiking
-
The Nordic Theory of Everything
- In Search of a Better Life
- By: Anu Partanen
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life - from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare - was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension.
-
-
A non-radical perspective on two societies
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 06-20-17
By: Anu Partanen
-
The Atlas of Happiness
- The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This charming and entertaining guide offers listeners the chance to learn and be inspired by the "untranslatable" beliefs and unique perspectives on how to live a happier life from countries around the world.
-
-
Good, but not quiet Danishly
- By G. Baker on 04-03-20
By: Helen Russell
-
Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much
- The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life
- By: Niki Brantmark
- Narrated by: Ana Clements
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an interconnected world filled with goal-oriented perfectionists, Lagom reminds us to slow down, to decompress and destress, to be mindful of sustainability yet not deny ourselves pleasure. But lagom is not a rigid set of rules - sometimes you need more, sometimes you need less, and that's fine, too! With this idea-filled guide, you can learn to find greater balance, well-being, and harmony - and, most importantly, make time for the things that matter most in life.
-
-
More of a Buzzfeed list than a real book
- By deipnosophist on 06-19-18
By: Niki Brantmark
-
The Finnish Way
- Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu
- By: Katja Pantzar
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget hygge - it's time to blow out the candles and get out into the world! Journalist Katja Pantzar did just that, taking the huge leap to move to the remote Nordic country of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body, mind, and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows listeners how to embrace the "keep it simple and sensible" daily practices that make Finns one of the happiest populations in the world, year after year. The Finns have a word for that, and this empowering book shows us how to achieve it.
-
-
Meh
- By Suzette on 12-08-18
By: Katja Pantzar
-
The Danish Secret to Happy Kids
- How the Viking Way of Raising Children Makes Them Happier, Healthier, and More Independent
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do Vikings know about raising children? Turns out, quite a lot... After a decade of living in Denmark and raising a family there, Helen Russell noticed that Nordic children are different. They eat differently. They learn differently. They run, jump and climb out in nature for hours a day, even though the weather is terrible and it's dark October to March.
By: Helen Russell
-
The Little Book of Hygge
- Danish Secrets to Happy Living
- By: Meik Wiking
- Narrated by: Meik Wiking
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why are Danes the happiest people in the world? The answer, says Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, is hygge. Loosely translated, hygge - pronounced hoo-ga - is a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. "Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience," Wiking explains. "It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe."
-
-
BUY THE REAL BOOK
- By Desiree on 06-19-17
By: Meik Wiking
-
The Nordic Theory of Everything
- In Search of a Better Life
- By: Anu Partanen
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moving to America in 2008, Finnish journalist Anu Partanen quickly went from confident, successful professional to wary, self-doubting mess. She found that navigating the basics of everyday life - from buying a cell phone and filing taxes to education and childcare - was much more complicated and stressful than anything she encountered in her homeland. At first she attributed her crippling anxiety to the difficulty of adapting to a freewheeling new culture. But as she got to know Americans better, she discovered they shared her deep apprehension.
-
-
A non-radical perspective on two societies
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 06-20-17
By: Anu Partanen
-
The Atlas of Happiness
- The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This charming and entertaining guide offers listeners the chance to learn and be inspired by the "untranslatable" beliefs and unique perspectives on how to live a happier life from countries around the world.
-
-
Good, but not quiet Danishly
- By G. Baker on 04-03-20
By: Helen Russell
-
Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much
- The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life
- By: Niki Brantmark
- Narrated by: Ana Clements
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an interconnected world filled with goal-oriented perfectionists, Lagom reminds us to slow down, to decompress and destress, to be mindful of sustainability yet not deny ourselves pleasure. But lagom is not a rigid set of rules - sometimes you need more, sometimes you need less, and that's fine, too! With this idea-filled guide, you can learn to find greater balance, well-being, and harmony - and, most importantly, make time for the things that matter most in life.
-
-
More of a Buzzfeed list than a real book
- By deipnosophist on 06-19-18
By: Niki Brantmark
-
The Finnish Way
- Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu
- By: Katja Pantzar
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forget hygge - it's time to blow out the candles and get out into the world! Journalist Katja Pantzar did just that, taking the huge leap to move to the remote Nordic country of Finland. What she discovered there transformed her body, mind, and spirit. In this engaging and practical guide, she shows listeners how to embrace the "keep it simple and sensible" daily practices that make Finns one of the happiest populations in the world, year after year. The Finns have a word for that, and this empowering book shows us how to achieve it.
-
-
Meh
- By Suzette on 12-08-18
By: Katja Pantzar
-
Nordic Lifestyle
- Embrace Slow Living, Cultivate Happiness, and Know When to Take Off Your Shoes
- By: Susanna Heiskanen
- Narrated by: Susanna Heiskanen
- Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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 busyness. Understand how the Nordics have managed to keep it all together, even through hardship and freezing temperatures.
-
-
The nature on the the cover
- By Amazon Customer on 08-21-24
-
How to Be Sad
- Everything I’ve Learned About Getting Happier by Being Sad
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Helen Russell
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Russell has researched sadness from the inside out for her entire life. Her earliest memory is of the day her sister died. Her parents divorced soon after, and her mother didn’t receive the help she needed to grieve. Coping with her own emotional turmoil — including struggles with body image and infertility — she’s endured professional and personal setbacks as well as relationships that have imploded in truly spectacular ways. Even the things that brought her the greatest joy — like eventually becoming a parent — are fraught with challenges.
-
-
More an self biography
- By Jaime Murillo on 04-27-24
By: Helen Russell
-
The Almost Nearly Perfect People
- Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
- By: Michael Booth
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than 10 years, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely audiobook, he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another.
-
-
Obsessed with bad politics
- By Erik on 09-07-20
By: Michael Booth
-
Leap Year
- How to Make Big Decisions, Be More Resilient and Change Your Life for Good
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having spent the last few years in Denmark uncovering the secrets of the happiest country in the world, Helen Russell knows it's time to move back to the UK. She thinks. Maybe. Or maybe that's a terrible idea. Like many of us, she suffers from chronic indecision and a fear of change. So she decides to give herself a year for an experiment: to overhaul every area of her life, learn how to embrace change and become a lean, mean decision-making machine.
-
-
My Kind of Person - No Truck with Trump
- By PhryneC on 02-12-17
By: Helen Russell
-
The Little Book of Lykke
- Secrets of the World’s Happiest People
- By: Meik Wiking
- Narrated by: Meik Wiking
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Lost in Translation
- By ili pika on 08-06-18
By: Meik Wiking
-
Gone Viking
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Juliette Burton
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frazzled mum Alice Ray likes to think she’s on top everything - she has four bags-for-life in the boot of her car for heaven's sake. But after spectacularly embarrassing herself at work, she finally gives in to her sister’s pleas to take a much-needed break. But this is not the luxury spa holiday Alice hoped for - instead, she finds herself in Denmark, in the middle of nowhere, on a ‘How to be a Viking’ getaway. Can the two sisters finally learn to get along, or will learning to embrace their inner warriors just make them better at fighting?
-
-
Good Fun!
- By George on 07-08-20
By: Helen Russell
-
Love with a Chance of Drowning
- A Memoir
- By: Torre DeRoche
- Narrated by: Candice Moll
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
City girl Torre DeRoche isn’t looking for love, but a chance encounter in a San Francisco bar sparks an instant connection with a soulful Argentinean man who unexpectedly sweeps her off her feet. The problem? He’s just about to cast the dock lines and voyage around the world on his small sailboat, and Torre is terrified of deep water. However, lovesick Torre determines that to keep the man of her dreams, she must embark on the voyage of her nightmares, so she waves good-bye to dry land and braces for a life-changing journey that’s as exhilarating as it is terrifying.
-
-
True Adventure and Romance--I Loved It!!
- By Kathy in CA on 09-08-15
By: Torre DeRoche
-
A Very British Christmas
- Twelve Days of Discomfort and Joy
- By: Rhodri Marsden
- Narrated by: Rhodri Marsden, Helen Keeley, Paul Tyreman
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Have Yourself a Very British Christmas is a 12-stage sleigh ride through the best, worst, strangest and funniest aspects of the Christmas holiday, with cultural icons saluted, national habits dissected and personal reminiscences from those who've eaten all the mince pies and lived to tell the tale. The essential Christmas stocking filler for every Brit who's ever found themselves on a deflating airbed wedged up against the washing machine in their parents' spare room come Christmas Eve.
-
-
Great Christmas Fun
- By Robin L Childs on 11-13-20
By: Rhodri Marsden
-
The Italian Girls
- By: Debbie Rix
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Each morning Livia Moretti makes her way from an apartment overlooking Florence’s famous Duomo to a nearby café, where she drinks espresso and reads the newspaper. To the crowds of tourists who pass by, nothing about Livia will be memorable. She is simply an old lady. They walk on without knowing the part she played in ensuring the future of this beautiful city. And to Livia now, those dark days feel very far away. But today, when she opens the paper, she sees a name she has not heard for a long time. A name that will bring memories flooding back.
-
-
Absorbing. Katie Villa as narrator was superb.
- By pt on 07-10-21
By: Debbie Rix
-
The Enchanted Hour
- The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction
- By: Meghan Cox Gurdon
- Narrated by: Meghan Cox Gurdon
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Wall Street Journal writer’s conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful, and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction.
-
-
advice to take to heart
- By Brian on 04-30-20
-
Better Luck Next Time
- A Novel
- By: Julia Claiborne Johnson
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1938 and women seeking a quick, no-questions split from their husbands head to the "divorce capital of the world," Reno, Nevada. There's one catch: they have to wait six weeks to become "residents." Many of these wealthy, soon-to-be divorcees flock to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch that caters to their every need. Ward spent one year at Yale before his family lost everything; now he's earning an honest living as a ranch hand. Admired for his good looks, Ward thinks he's got the Flying Leap's clients all figured out. But two guests are about to upend everything he thinks he knows.
-
-
The Author and Narrator Nailed it!
- By Naunie on 02-17-22
-
The Art of Travel
- By: Alain de Botton
- Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aside from love, few actvities seem to promise us as much happiness as going traveling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs, and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel, few people seem to talk about why we should go and how we can become more fulfilled by doing so.
-
-
Dull, suggestions for better alternatives
- By J. Natael on 08-07-13
By: Alain de Botton
What listeners say about The Year of Living Danishly
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer Soudagar
- 11-13-15
Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
Where does The Year of Living Danishly rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This book ranks right in the middle. Time well spent and very interesting, but not touching or miraculous or life changing.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I do wish that the author had read this book herself for the audiobook as there was a lot of subtle humor and personal musings that were totally lost in Lucy Price-Lewis's delivery. There were quite a few very funny moments - big and small - that managed to fall noticeably short. Knowing nothing about her beyond reading this book, I imagine that the author is very sharp-witted, fun and bold. This was a story about her personal life and it was unfortunate that it somehow felt flat and impersonal.
What three words best describe Lucy Price-Lewis’s performance?
Not well matched, too proper, lacking a flair for subtle humor.
Any additional comments?
I truly enjoyed taking a step into Danish culture and felt like the author hit every mark - from pastries to neighbors to politics to parenting. Her professional writing experience offered an unexpected quality of perspective and observation. I came to appreciate that her story wasn't just a meandering "year in the life", but followed a rather diligent and purposeful (but still lighthearted) path.
The concept of "hygge" (even if it was pronounced incorrectly) is a major theme that stands out as one of the only things I have any hope of embracing or emulating in my own life. I hope to do so though as it seems to be a wonderful thing! Unfortunately, most of the social norms and programs described could never exist outside of such a small and unique country. There is just no comparing Denmark to my fast-paced country suburb of New York City and I tried hard not to let the stark differences in maternity leave, work days, education and bakery offerings depress me.
A worthwhile read nonetheless!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
136 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angela Dieckman
- 05-03-18
Interesting listen
I was gung-ho to learn how I could learn from the Danes and apply it to my life in the U.S. I appreciated the humor too. I did wonder if the view point of the book was affected by the fact that the author and her husband are obviously wealthier than the average person. A lot of what Danish happiness is built upon is a strong socialist system, which obviously is not present in the U.S. Still, there were practical approaches to life that I did learn from and hope to apply. I also learned there are a lot of Danish practices and views I am not in favor of which was sort of reassuring that there's some perfect system out there that I'm just missing out on.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer Michelle
- 06-12-17
Love Helen Russell and Lucy Price - Lewis!
Ms. Russell's story is entertaining and smart. She is hilarious, likable, and real. It is so much fun to view Denmark through her perspective. Ms. Price - Lewis is a joy to listen to. I laughed out loud and often.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BookClub Chica
- 12-13-20
2nd Time Listener
I liked this book so much, I decided to listen to it a 2nd time. I figured being at home during a pandemic was similar to being at home during a Danish winter, and I could apply some hygge tips. I liked the author's style, her nicknames for everyone (Lego Man,) her humor, and I enjoyed listening to the narrator's British accent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- See Reverse
- 10-14-17
In the Tradition of Peter Mayle
Absolutely loved this book! An updated take on Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence", only in Denmark.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dwight D.
- 07-27-17
Favorite book from Audible yet!
I really can't describe how much I loved this book and how sad I was it was over and then how happy I was to find there was another book (Leap Year) to follow it. I just found this subject matter so fascinating and the narration was outstanding. I learned a lot and will confess I did google "moving to Denmark" half way through the book. It's a great listen and I am so glad I selected it. It really makes my whole subscription to Audible worth it. Now I'm off to listen to Leap Year!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 04-22-17
Enjoyable Look into the Danish Culture
I enjoyed learning more about the Danish culture especially from an outsiders point of view. I was losing a little interest by the middle of the book and a little disillusioned by the lifestyle of the Danes. I really wanted to find out if the couple decided to live a second year Danishly so I stuck it out to the end. I love the style the book was written in. I was laughing out loud at times. And the narrator was fantastic. I enjoyed The Year of Living Danishly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cat L.
- 02-02-16
Narrator was amazing!
What did you love best about The Year of Living Danishly?
The narrator!
What did you like best about this story?
Filled with a lot of interesting info about Denmark
Which character – as performed by Lucy Price-Lewis – was your favorite?
n/a
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
n/a
Any additional comments?
A narrator can make or break an audio book and this narrator, Lucy Price-Lewis, was superb! Although I loved the book overall, it could have been a bit dry in the sections with statistics. But the narrator really kept the pace moving and has such an expressive voice. As soon as I finished this book, I went looking for more books read by her.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chelsea Burroughs
- 12-13-19
Fabulous
What a fun romp. A terrific conversation about living in the truly happiest place on earth. I truly enjoyed every minute of listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James
- 10-25-17
I’m a fan!
Beautiful truth... it is my goal to be so much more danish in the future. Hygee is my new mantra!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!