’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

At Bonsai Steiner-Waldorf Kindergarten, the children happily clean their plates at every meal, even when they're served Brussels sprouts or kale! Meals are nutritious, delicious, vegetarian and 100% natural. This beautifully illustrated cookbook contains over 80 seasonal recipes that celebrate nature: from campfire soup to strawberry ice lollies, swede fries to kale pasta, and green pea cake to cherry focaccia. Living and eating holistically, in tune with the natural world, is key to the philosophy at Bonsai. Food forms part of play and meals are fun: the children grow vegetables and forage for herbs and berries; they help to peel, chop and bake; food is involved in play and songs, and is celebrated through seasonal festivals. As well as offering new ways to serve a range of delicious vegetables, grains and fruit, this inspirational book contains a wealth of advice on developing your own food culture and encouraging children to enjoy healthy food. Recipes are fully adapted to serve either a family of four, or forty children.

’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'

On the Baltic Sea, no one can hear you scream.

Tonight, twelve hundred expectant passengers have joined the booze-cruise between Sweden and Finland. The creaking old ship travels this same route, back and forth, every day of the year.

But this trip is going to be different.

In the middle of the night the ferry is suddenly cut off from the outside world. There is nowhere to escape. There is no way to contact the mainland. And no one knows who they can trust.

Welcome aboard the Baltic Charisma.

'Never mind Scandi crime fiction, the time has come for Scandi horror.' Metro *****

What if...?
A large wolf escapes its captors.
A cult leader breaks out of psychiatric care.
A disillusioned woman is forced to end her self imposed exile.

Stefan Spjut's latest novel explores the ancient notion that our forests may be inhabited by beings we do not understand, creatures neither animal nor human, living in the shadows . . .

Thriller, horror fiction, suspense, Trolls is set ten years on from hit novel Stallo, as Susso Myrén's world once again starts to shift around her

Once inseparable, Joel and Nina haven't spoken in twenty years. When Joel's mother Monika develops dementia, he has no choice but to return to his home town. Monika needs specialist care, and that means Pineshade - which also means Joel is going to have to deal with his one-time best friend, for Nina works there. It's not long before Monika's health deteriorates - she starts having violent, terrifying outbursts, and worse, she appears to know things she couldn't possibly know. It's almost as if she isn't herself any more . . . but of course, that's true of most of the residents at Pineshade. Only Nina and Joel know Monika well enough to see the signs; only by working together can they try to find answers to the inexplicable . . . The Home is an eerie story about love, friendship and the greatest fear of all: losing control of ourselves . . .

'Terrifying and terrifyingly real, a must-read for fans of Stephen King and John Ajvide Lindqvist' - Elizabeth Hand, author of Generation Loss and Hard Light Welcome aboard the Baltic Charisma. Tonight, twelve hundred expectant passengers have joined the booze-cruise between Sweden and Finland. The creaking old ship travels this same route, back and forth, every day of the year. But this trip is going to be different. In the middle of the night the ferry is cut off from the outside world. There is nowhere to escape. There is no way to contact the mainland. And no one knows who to trust . . . On the Baltic Sea, no one can hear you scream. 'I will never set foot on a cruise ship again!' - Asa Larsson, bestselling author of The Second Deadly Sin and Until thy Wrath Be Past

Martin Berg is slowly falling into crisis. Decades ago, he was an aspiring writer who'd almost finished his novel, his girlfriend was the shockingly intelligent and beautiful Cecilia Wickner, and his best friend was the up-and-coming artist Gustav Becker. But Martin's manuscript has long been languishing in a desk drawer, Gustav has stopped answering his calls, and Cecilia has been missing for years. Not long after they were married, she vanished from his life and left him to raise their two young children alone. So who was Cecilia? Martin's eccentric wife, Gustav's enigmatic muse, an absent mother - a woman who was perhaps only true to herself. When Martin's daughter Rakel stumbles across a clue about what happened to her mother, she becomes determined to fill in the gaps in her family's story. Collected Works is a captivating, characterful and witty novel that asks searching questions about motherhood, family relationships, the stories that we tell ourselves and those that we inherit.

Once inseparable, Joel and Nina haven't spoken in twenty years. When Joel's mother Monika develops dementia, he has no choice but to return to his home town. Monika needs specialist care, and that means Pineshade - which also means Joel is going to have to deal with his one-time best friend, for Nina works there. It's not long before Monika's health deteriorates - she starts having violent, terrifying outbursts, and worse, she appears to know things she couldn't possibly know. It's almost as if she isn't herself any more . . . but of course, that's true of most of the residents at Pineshade. Only Nina and Joel know Monika well enough to see the signs; only by working together can they try to find answers to the inexplicable . . . The Home is an eerie story about love, friendship and the greatest fear of all: losing control of ourselves . . .

The Nordic Research Network (NRN) began as a forum for UK- based early career researchers to share their work with peers in a convivial intellectual environment. As a multi-disciplinary gathering, the regular conference provides an opportunity for scholars in all areas of Nordic research to keep up with the diverse subjects and projects being pursued by colleagues across the country. The third conference was attended by researchers from a range of British institutions and took place at UCL over two days on the 5th and 6th of September 2013. Each year since its inauguration, the NRN conference has grown and evolved; this marks the first time the conference proceedings have been published. The conference has provided many new scholars with their first opportunity to introduce their research to the academic community. This book, similarly, gives a number of early career researchers a chance to see their work in print and reach a wider audience. The papers, organised into thematic chapters, reflect and showcase the diversity of subject areas, approaches, and methodologies of the Nordic Studies postgraduate research community. Together, they help illuminate larger questions of how cultural, social, and historical identities are mediated through literature, historical narratives, films, and architecture.

To most English-language readers and theatre goers, Strindberg is mainly known for naturalistic plays such as 'Miss Julie' and 'The Father', but the dramatic production of Sweden's national playwright is infinitely richer and more extensive than these would suggest. This volume presents four of Strindberg's lesser known one act plays, 'The Bond', 'Facing Death', 'The Outlaw' and 'Simoom', written between 1871 and 1892, which showcase Strindberg's remarkable range. 'The Bond' and 'Facing Death', which fall at the end of the time span, are familiarly naturalistic plays set in contemporary European settings which demonstrate Strindberg's provocative engagement with contentious issues of his day. The early experiment 'The Outlaw', however, takes place in the frigid landscapes of the Viking north, drawing heavily on the style of Icelandic sagas. In Simoom, written in 1889, a practically gothic narrative transports us to the scorching deserts of French colonised Algeria, allowing us to observe the beginnings of Strindberg's experimental, mystical phase which culminated in 'A Dream Play'. Different as the four plays are, however, when read together they form a thematic unity, revealing the beating heart of Strindberg's creativity, the issue at the core of his writing: love as a war eternally waged man and woman, husband and wife, children and parents and individuals and society. The four plays were translated from the Swedish by Agnes Broome, Anna Holmwood, John K Mitchinson, Mathelinda Nabugodi, Anna Tebelius and Nichola Smalley.

'A cat has seven souls in Arabic. In English cats have nine lives. You probably have both nine lives and seven souls, because otherwise I don't know how you've made it this far.'

Sami's childhood is much like any other - an innocent blend of family and school, of friends and relations and pets (including stray cats and dogs, and the turtle he keeps on the roof).

But with Syria at war with itself, nothing is really normal. And Sami's hopes for a better future are about to be ripped away.

Inspired by extraordinary true events, The Stray Cats of Homs is the story of a young man who will do anything to keep the dream of home alive. It is tender, wild, raw, and truly unforgettable.