Creativity bridges in the world of books

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Listen to the story: “Let your work be in tune with your purpose,” wrote Leonardo Da Vinci. This can be seen as obvious, but in practice, it should nevertheless be seen as a guide, an objective. This is what the theory of reflexivity among other things proclaims. A theory based on the real circumstances of participating people. Creativity is in this perspective the bridge over which one crosses the river of uncertainty. Unconscious consequences In a transformative time, creativity is the very bridge that leads to the new and away from the old. One can borrow the terminology from George… Read more

Amos Oz on the art of writing and a cure for fanatics

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The author Amos Oz describes his childhood as an atmosphere of Tolstoy’s philosophy and a daily conflict, and from this, his writing was born. The city he grew up in was at that time one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world with German, Armenian and Jewish quarters, a Greek and an American colony, as well as the Arab neighborhoods. Oz describes it as loosely composed districts during his childhood in the 1940s where tensions existed but no violence. The city where the author grew up was Jerusalem to which his parents in the 1930s managed to escape from… Read more

A tale of two cities

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This is the beginning of Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of two Cities” from 1859. This masterpiece came out in the same year as the philosophical reflection “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill which had such a profound impact on the further development of society. Where Mill describes a vision for a prosperous humanistic social development based on the individual. Dickens focuses on the problem that where many see opportunities, others only find risks. In such a perspective, the degree of well-being is very unequally distributed. Because when… Read more

Mark Twain’s essay on the art of telling a story

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Mark Twain’s authorship is timeless as the words weigh heavy and find new nourishment through decades and centuries. For example, the short story collection Gränsfarare (in Swedish) and with the translated title Bordertraveller stories that will be published in August 2020, which is the starting point for this blog, begins with words from his inspiring pen. Below Mark Twain’s essay “How to tell a story” is published in a complete version. __________________________________________________ HOW TO TELL A STORY The Humorous Story an American Development.–Its difference from Comic and Witty Stories.   I do not claim that I can tell a story… Read more

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Bordertraveller blog opens with 360-degree comics and text-audio stories

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Very welcome to the Bordertraveller blog. It is focusing on books, publishing and the society in general, and it is the English version of Gränsfararebloggen (in Swedish) that has been around for a while. Besides publishing stories to read and listen to, the blog also will include more interactive experiences like the 360-degree comics that we are launching now, see below, there is much more to come. Using 360-degree comics To use a 360-degree comics strip experience you drag the strip clockwise. As you follow the comics strip you will find additional integrated features like audio, video, text, links and… Read more

Europe before the misery of nationalism

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Listen to the story When the author Karl Kullberg travelled through a fairly peaceful Europe in 1842, the map looked much different than today. Germany, for example, had about thirty years to go until its final unification and Italy for about twenty years. Both before and after the upheavals of the mid-19th century, Europe’s internal borders have been in constant motion, and almost exclusively because of victories and losses on the battlefield. A fact that led the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to designate national borders as the worst invention ever created by politicians. Especially in the way… Read more

After television and the book’s renaissance

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Listen to the story Each age has its own innovative format for stories. The oral tradition turned into innovations such as the texts and illustrations of the printed book. To then turn into moving image and sound in the form of film, radio, and TV. What is significant, however, is that the power of a good story regardless of format can conquer mountains and break through walls. The energy that drives groundbreaking stories is an engaging mix of aesthetics, logic, and dreams that are achievable or not. Today, in the digital age, the innovation is that the user takes another… Read more

Samples from the short story Breaths

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Listen to the story An involuntary return is the prelude to “Breaths” which is included in the short story collection “Gränsfarare” by LarsGöran Boström. When Emmy, 26 years old, with a fast-paced career, returns to her hometown, it leads to entanglements on several levels. The clash of cultures is obvious, but beneath the surface, there is a deeper conflict. A contradiction that will bring her valkyrie to life. Here are the first impressions Emmy gets when she arrives. Excerpt from the short story Breaths “The familiar contours are getting closer and closer as the train slows in on its way… Read more

Three perspectives on Science Fiction and books in different formats

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Listen to the story Science fiction is a bridge to visionary possibilities, to explore possible futures. It also helps to see our own existing society from a new perspective where science is the driving force of the story. For Science Fiction is not just about future space flight to other planets and solar systems. It’s fiction based on science where not even the sky is the limit of the possible. To use Professor Richard Dawkins’ words: “I like science fiction. But not all science fiction. I like science fiction, which contains a scientific lesson, for example – when the science… Read more