Torbjørn Ekelund

An ode to paths and the journeys we take through nature, as told by a gifted writer who stopped driving and rediscovered the joys of traveling by foot. Torbjørn Ekelund started to walk—everywhere—after an epilepsy diagnosis affected his ability to drive. The more he ventured out, the more he came to love the act of walking, and an interest in paths emerged. In this poignant, meandering book, Ekelund interweaves the literature and history of paths with his own stories from the trail. As he walks with shoes on and barefoot, through forest creeks and across urban streets, he contemplates the early tracks made by ancient snails and traces the wanderings of Romantic poets, amongst other musings. If we still “understand ourselves in relation to the landscape,” Ekelund asks, then what do we lose in an era of car travel and navigation apps? And what will we gain from taking to paths once again?

Walking through Time and Nature

In Praise of Paths

From the acclaimed author of In Praise of Paths comes a humorous and modest Walden for modern times. As nature becomes ever more precious, we all want to spend more time appreciating it. But time is often hard to come by. And how do we appreciate nature without disruption? In this sensitively-written book, Torbjørn Ekelund, an acclaimed Norwegian nature writer, shares a creative and non-intrusive method for immersing oneself in nature. And the result is nothing short of transformative. Evoking Henry David Thoreau and the four-season structure of Walden, Ekelundwrites about communing with nature by repeating a small, simple ritual and engaging in quiet reflection. At the start of the book, he hatches a plan: to leave the city after work one day per month, camp near the same tiny pond in the forest, and return to work the next day. He keeps this up for a year. His ritual is far from rigorous and it is never perfect. One evening, he grows so cold in his tent that he hikes out before daybreak. But as Ekelund inevitably greets the same trees and boulders each month, he appreciates the banality of their sameness alongside their quiet beauty. He wonders how long they have stood silently in this place—and reflects on his own short existence among them. A Year in the Woods asks us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world. Are we anxious wanderers or mindful observers? Do we honor the seasons or let them pass us by? At once beautifully written, accessible, and engaging, A Year in the Woods is the perfect book for anyone who longs for a deeper connection with their environment, but is realistic about time and ambition.

Twelve Small Journeys into Nature

A Year in the Woods

Kleine Fluchten für das ganze Jahr

Im Wald

Gutten og fjellet

Aksel Lund Svindal

Større enn meg tar leseren med på innsiden av etekstraordinært liv, hvor det umulige er mulig, hverhundredel teller og selv det minste feilskjær kankoste dyrt. Aksel Lund Svindal er kåret til Norges mest populæreidrettsutøver, og har gjennom en eventyrlig alpinkarrierevunnet 36 verdenscupseire, fem VM- ogto OL-gull. Det unike med Svindal er likevel ikke hvahan har oppnådd, men hvordan. For dette er også enhistorie om katastrofale fall og skader som har truetkarrieren. I Større enn meg åpner Svindal opp omprinsippene han alltid har jobbet etter og som harhjulpet ham tilbake til topps gang på gang.

Torbjørn Ekelund

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