Njuta: Enjoy, Delight In: The Swedish Art of Savoring the Moment

In the amiable follow-up to Lagom, My Scandinavian Home blogger Brantmark aims to help readers njuta, or “savor a suspended moment in time without pressure or demand.” According to the author, one can njuta while exercising, eating, working, being in nature, or sitting in “companionable silence” with a friend. Interspersed throughout are recipes and descriptions of Swedish holidays, from Midsommar to St. Lucia’s Day, a winter festival in honor of a Sicilian saint that can be celebrated from afar by baking “lightly sweet saffron buns.” While some of the author’s suggestions may be less-than-feasible for those who lack snowy forests through which to cross-country ski, natural bodies of water in which to bathe, and the “up to forty-one paid days off annually” that Swedes get to “do what they like,” Brantmark provides manageable alternatives, including taking daily 15-minute walks or tending to houseplants. Her reminder to “focus on what you have rather than what you don’t have” resonates, even if readers may be hard-pressed to do so while pining after the good life in Sweden. This is ideal for stressed-out readers seeking new ways to slow down. (Dec.)