March started so full of hope … for Spring, for a European family vacation, for all the simple things of life. COVID-19 has robbed of us any security and certainty we might have felt a month ago. I only read one book for the month as my work from home life was consumed by all COVID-19 all the time on conference calls and video meetings, so the last thing I wanted to do was listen to anyone squawk at me. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell is full of hilarious cultural bumbles resulting from a couple's move from London to Denmark. The move is a result of the author's husband taking a job at the headquarters for Lego (he is referred to as "Legoman" throughout). They decide to give it a go for at least a year. As a freelance writer, the author gives herself the assignment of uncovering why Danes rank so high on the world happiness scale. In addition to entertaining personal experience, she collects data and interviews subject matter experts regarding every aspect of "living Danishly" so there's a fair amount of statistics. She adds her own research by asking every Dane she encounters how happy they are on a scale of 1-10. Each month has it's own chapter which ends with "things I learned this month". My favorite anecdote was learning that her washing machine flashing "slut" was not personal shaming, but rather letting her know that the wash had finished.
Queued up next:
- The Gown by Jennifer Robson
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
- The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
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