What do you do in winter? That’s a question we are often asked. The answer: We prepare for next season. All winter, we receive and sort books, plan events, hire staff for summer and bring books to and from our deep-frozen bookshops. And how do we get to and from work? By our favourite means of winter transportation, of course: The kicksled. When the roads are icy and preferably not sanded, there is simply no better way of propelling yourself forward: The wind in your [...]
Sometimes when on vacation, and perhaps especially when in Norway, the weather decides what you can or can’t do. Fjærland has lots to offer for rainy days, eg. the glacier centre, but we have another idea: We nod suggestingly in the general direction of our book shelves. Why, that’s rather a splendid idea, you might react – and indeed, it is. Spending hours or days surrounded by piles of books on all topics is the perfect peaceful activity for rainy days. And normally, the sun [...]
There are many reasons to spend time in Fjærland. The Booktown, naturally, is one. The prospect of day-long book browsing is enticing, indeed. Also, the glaciers and the Glacier Centre is a very compelling reason to come to Fjærland. The glaciers are, after all, the reason why tourists came from Britain in the late 19th century. More recent is Fjærland’s place as a concert venue. The annual bookfair always has an outdoor concert, and with our newly erected outdoor stage/bandshell, we are ready to stage [...]
An old road toll station, a telephone booth and a 20 years old Toyota. This photo can be seen as a show of nineties-sentimentality, or simply a demonstration of the new buildings in The Norwegian Booktown. As you may know, the road to Fjærland (National Route 5) is no longer a toll road, and the toll station is being put into new service in the booktown. It will serve as a road and traffic museum at some point in the future – but first, it [...]
As you may have noticed, the bookshops in The Norwegian Booktown were literaly unharmed from the winter storm Dagmar on Christmas Day 2011. However, our smallest bookshop fell to the power of the tempest. “Sjølvplukken”, the well-known and well-loved Honesty Bookshop in the middle of Mundal, had to be cleared away – but don’t worry, we love this small, charming bookshelf as much as you do, so of course we’ll put up a new one! Come May, you’ll once more be able to pick up [...]
After the severe weather (dubbed “Dagmar”) in Norway 25 to 26 December, we can so far say that The Norwegian Booktown came out of it quite well. The storm centre was off the coast of Norway, and we had unusually strong wind here in Fjærland. Although several buildings were damaged and most of the infrastructure here was affected (roads, electricity, internet, landbased and mobile telephones, broadcast radio), our bookshops and buildings coped rather well. Because of the two days without electricity and internet, a few [...]
Do you tweet? @bokbyen is now in operation – we will tweet about books and events in Fjærland, both in English and Norwegian. Do follow if you like!
All staff and volunteers in The Norwegian Booktown hereby wish to express their condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Oslo and at Utøya island 22 July 2011.
Do you happen to know Italian? Good. Are you familiar with the concept of The Norwegian Booktown? Perfect! Radio24, an Italian radio station, has requested an interview about the booktown Thursday 8 April 2011, of course in Italian. If you can help out, we would be very happy to hear from you.
Take a peek at “Mission Sognefjorden“, the extreme sports and Sognefjord discovery programme at Norwegian Broadcasting! Lots of fantastic footage from Fjærland in early spring, and a clear proof that everybody can find useful books in The Norwegian Booktown.