Non-fiction

A Whole Person in Half a Body

Anne Grethe Solberg

Anne Grethe Solberg was shot by her ex-husband eight years ago. One shoulder and arm had to be amputated, and her hip was shot to pieces. It was uncertain whether she would survive, and whether she would be able to walk. She was certainly not expected to be able to run a marathon. In this book she tells the dramatic story of the shooting episode. She relates how she saved her life by playing dead. Not least, she describes what happened after the shooting; how she escaped from the scene of the shooting and how she was saved. She has a strong survival instinct. She wants to look after her children, work and pay the bills herself. She develops strategies for self-mastery, and as she herself is a coach, she coaches herself in the recovery period after the shooting. After an impressive amount of practice, Anne Grethe teaches herself to walk. However, it becomes apparent that it is easier to run. She decides to run a marathon and she writes grippingly about her progress to the New York Marathon. Finally, she shares her ten strategies for self-mastery which we can all make use of. A story of self-mastery, strong will, hard work and a strong wish to survive in order to be able to make a difference.

Europeans

Simen Ekern

The struggle for the future of Europe is intense, alarming and dramatic. In this book we meet the main actors.When Simen Ekern went to live in Brussels as an exchange student in the late 1990’s, the mood was optimistic. The ‘Erasmus Generation’ would nurture a new Europe, where national differences were less important than the idea of future harmony. When he returned to the EU capital as a journalist ten years later, people were talking instead about a ‘Lost Generation.’Europeans is about the crisis which has hit Europe. The difficult economic situation has presented opportunities for political entrepreneurs with widely different ideological projects. Ekern introduces the reader to Italian populists, Scottish separatists and Hungarian extremists. He talks with Brussels bureaucrats, French patriots and a Greek crime-writer who has his own distinctive views about who are the villains in the story. ‘... great insight and even more knowledge combined with observational skills and an eye for detail.’NRK‘Journalistically prepared, linguistically confident, technically solid. ... Ekern’s book is divided into ten chapters. Most of them are based on interviews that either facilitate access to topics such as the German austerity policy or are used as a basis for portraits of selected problem countries such as Greece, Italy and Hungary. …But the strength of the book is equally in how Ekern interweaves these interviews with history lessons, anecdotes, well-placed quoted, short travelogues and a suitable dose of first-person journalism. A lot of hard work goes into a tapestry like this.’AFTENPOSTEN ‘In this book he applies his great knowledge of the topic, combined with his astute observational skills, to portray the lives of ordinary people and relate them to the major themes in contemporary Europe.’FÆDRELANDSVENNEN ‘An insightful and well-informed description of Europe. … Ekern’s account of the struggle for the future of Europe is both intense and alarming.’TRØNDERAVISA ‘Very relevant to a deeper understanding of the current political fluctuations in Europe. … This book combines accounts of meeting important and less important people, with wholly personal experiences and discussion of the major trends.’FINANSAVISEN ‘In Europeans, Simen Ekern has written a sound and very topical book about the EU and the challenges facing Europe.’HAMAR ARBEIDERBLAD ‘Simen Ekern’s new book shows us the enormous gulfs which have grown up between the nationalists who want the whole EU to go to Hell and the pro-Europeans who see an even greater diminution of the sovereignty of the nation states as the solution. … an up-to-date discussion of hot topics.’UNIVERSITAS

The Eastern Front Sisters

Vegard Sæther

In 2015 the President of the Norwegian Red Cross, Sven Mollekleiv, protested about the treatment of about 450 “Eastern Front Sisters” who had been sentenced as traitors after the Second World War. These were trained nurses and volunteers who worked with the German Red Cross on the Eastern Front. Nobody should be punished for giving medical help on either side of the front line in time of war. To the injured soldiers needing care in various field hospitals, the Eastern Front Sisters seemed like angels. However, because the Norwegian legal system regarded their service as assisting the enemy in time of war, they were tried and sentenced. They were deprived of their civil rights for ten years and had to pay back what they had earned in the service. In addition to this, they suffered lifelong scorn. In this book, Vegard Sæther tries to cast light on the Sisters of the Eastern Front – where they came from, how old they were when they signed up for this service, what motivated them to serve as nurses at the front, where and how did they serve, and what awaited them when the war was over? This is an unusual story about the role of women in the Second World war. By drawing attention to the consequences of the war-time stories, and especially relating what was taboo, it can stimulate debate about a theme with which many people can identify.

Mrs. Timian’s Best Dinners for Family and Friends

Marit Røttingsnes Westlie

In this book, Marit Røttingsnes Westlie offers her very best dinner recipes, dishes eminently suitable for traditional Sunday dinner or for gatherings with friends. Delicious food cooked from the raw ingredients. There are both easily prepared, elegant dinners and mighty feasts which need more time for their good flavour to develop. For example, try grilled halibut, slow-roasted rolled rib with peas, or stuffed chicken breast. There are also desserts and cakes to take with coffee when we invite friends or for a Sunday family gathering. Four of the recipes have QR codes which can be scanned so that you can download filmed instructions.

Mrs. Timian’s Summer Favourites

Marit Røttingsnes Westlie

Get into a good mood and enjoy sweet dreams with this book full of popular blogger Fru Timian's best summer food! The book contains 75 colourful and easily prepared dishes for lazy days, filled with the tastes and scents of summer. You can enjoy delicious breakfasts, delicate salads, delicious grills, handy picnics and lovely, quick dinners. None of them takes more than 30 minutes to prepare! There is a whole chapter devoted to the summer party, with masses of delicious party food for both young and old. Most of these dishes can be prepared before the actual day. So all the recipes in this chapter indicate what preparation can be done beforehand. Try the fantastic summer cakes and desserts, such as walnut and raspberry cake, fruit tart or yoghurt with blueberries. There is sunshine in every picture, radiant with colours like a flower meadow, and marvellous pictures of food from the garden terrace.

THE JOY OF BIRDS

Anne Havåg Holter-Hovind

How to get your gardens and balconies twittering This book teaches you everything you need to know to ensure a happy life for the birds in your garden or on your balcony. You’ll get tips about the right plants, the best bird boxes and much more besides. The book is illustrated throughout with masses of beautiful photographs of birds in Norwegian settings. Anne’s garden is teeming with songbirds that eat, drink, play, bathe, flirt and sleep. Her twittering garden guests are a source of great life and joy, and complete the garden with their colours, movements, sounds and personalities. They also combat pests and contribute to biological diversity. Anne Havåg Holter-Hovind isn’t just a gardening enthusiast and bird lover. She is also an architect and the brains behind Norway’s biggest garden blog, Moseplassen. In this richly illustrated brook, she takes you right up close to the different birds and their idiosyncrasies, telling you in an inspiring way about the best ways to create a bird-friendly outdoor space. Her charming, instructive and beautiful book is this year’s perfect gift for bird lovers.

The Run-up to Christmas

Miriam N. Morken / Tone M. Stenkløv

December is a month full of expectation. From the very first day of the month, there is a special atmosphere in the house. Advent calendars are ready, and families gather round the table for fun activities and to relax after an otherwise busy day. Here come a new book from the same authors who brought you Julegleder in 2008, a lavish Christmas book that has sold well in several print runs and editions. This is a similar type of Christmas book with all sorts of projects, liberally supplemented with numerous atmospheric photos from Oppdal, where there is snow and Christmas spirit from early autumn to late spring. There is a large variety of materials and techniques: knitting, crochet, felting, sewing, papercrafting, simple woodwork and much more. The authors are generous in their sharing of ideas and patterns for Christmas tree decorations, wreaths, table decorations, blankets and cushions, bags, gingerbread houses, gifts for her and small projects ideal for Christmas activity sessions with friends and family. Delicious Christmas baking and hot drinks are also part and parcel of this festive season. In brief, this book contains everything great about advent and Christmas!

Harvest Outdoor Handbook

This book is about enjoying the outdoors with children and all the enjoyable, exciting and educational activities you can find there. It comes to us from the editors who publish the magazine Harvest on the internet: Torbjørn Ekelund, Simen Tveitereid, Kjetil Østli and Anders Aakre. Like many others, they have learned by experience that it is often better to be outdoors than in. All age-groups find that crossing the threshold is the longest mile, but once the bags are packed and the troops assembled and the whole family is trotting into the woods, along the shore or up into the mountains, a type of calm settles. Everybody suddenly feels content to be there, and it seems that the children have long forgotten that just a short time ago they were insisting on staying indoors. The aim of this book is to inspire families with small children to go out more – or at least give it a try.

Hooked on Cables

Denise Samson

Now anybody can learn cable-knitting. It really is easier than you think! This book is in two parts: The first part introduces 50 elegant cable-knitting design, all accompanied by big, detailed photographs, self-explanatory diagrams and a text describing the pattern, stitch by stitch and pin by pin. If you are still unsure how to start, you can scan the QR code included in the book and watch a video of the author demonstrating cable-stitch technique. The second part has 23 patterns for garments and accessories and some knitted interior furnishings. The different cable patterns are used for all or part of each garment, alone or in combinations with different cables or other techniques. This is the complete book of cable-knitting, with a wealth of patterns for headbands, caps, scarves, socks, jerseys, jackets, table-mats, cushions, rugs and much more.

Help

Øyvind Kvalnes

Helping others is one of the best things we can do on this Earth. That's when we are at our very best as human beings. It's also good for the heart, and reduces stress and depression. More help is needed, both locally and globally. How can we help in the best way possible? A tiny extra input can be all that is needed to transform a situation for somebody else. Help can be anything from feeding the cat for friends while they are on holiday, to running into a burning house to rescue somebody. It can be taking a neighbour's washing in from the clothes-line when rain approaches. It can also be going into war zones to provide medical and humanitarian help at the risk of one's own life. Tweeter and philosopher Øyvind Kvalnes is engaged with aid not only professionally but also more personally as a father, grandfather and local citizen. Helpfulness is one of the most important things we can teach our children, provided we find the golden middle way and don't push them too hard. In this book he takes examples from his own life, from philosophy and from psychology.

Home-sewn

Trine Bakke

Do you have a sewing machine standing idle? Get to know it, and do easy sewing with beautiful fabrics! All the ideas in Trine Bakke's new book have step-by-step illustrations. You can begin with the easy things and progress gradually. Teach yourself to sew cushions, netting, wine-carton coolers, Christmas stockings, patchwork quilts, iPad covers, spectacle cases, key rings and much more besides. There are four parts to the book, following a natural progression: For those who want to play with fabric; For those who want to sew something easy and neat; For those who want to learn to sew patches; For those who already do quilting. Hjemmesydd has a playful and informal approach to the subject. You will find cheerful fabrics, simple designs and, hopefully, few careless stitches. The patchwork sewing is mostly based on squares. This is easy sewing made exciting by the choices of fabric and colour.