Pack light, but make room for a book

Move over, Louis Vuitton. This season’s must-have travel accessory isn’t a designer bag - it’s a book, tucked under your arm as you journey through the world at a slower pace. In Norway especially, where long, meandering train rides cut through fjords, forests and mountain passes, there’s no better travel companion than a gripping novel.

Forget the pressure of ticking off ten cities in three days. Slow travel is the new luxury, and there’s nothing slower than stretching out on the Bergen Railway or the Arctic Circle Train. Book in hand, allowing landscapes and literature to swirl together.

Add to that Norway’s never-ending summer light: 24 hour-midnight sun in the north and luminous evenings in the fjords, and suddenly you have the perfect excuse for reading long past your bedtime. In Norway, even nature seems to say just one more chapter.

Shelf-made stars: how reading became a status symbol

Once reserved for book clubs and academics, books have become the ultimate style statement. They’re hotter than a midsummer night in Oslo – just ask Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, or Dua Lipa, all spotted flaunting their latest reads like designer clutches. With celebrity book clubs sprouting like cabins in Lofoten, books are now fashion accessories, home décor, and personal branding tools, all for less than the price of your average airport lunch.

And these stars aren’t just posing with paperbacks, they’re building empires. Kaia Gerber runs literary community Library Science, Emma Roberts has Belletrist, and Reese Witherspoon and Natalie Portman each run their own book clubs. Sarah Jessica Parker has even taken it further, publishing new literary talent with SJP Lit and judging the 2025 Booker Prize. Carrie Bradshaw would definitely raise a Cosmopolitan to that.

8 books that let you travel through Norway – one page at a time

Stroll through Oslo with anti-hero detective Harry Hole (thank you, Jo Nesbø), solving gritty crimes laced with personal chaos.
Seek the soul of the Norwegian forests in Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting. More than a guide to stacking logs, it’s folklore at its deepest – apparently, women once judged potential husbands by their woodpiles.
Trace the melancholic footsteps of The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen, set in Oslo. The novel was hailed by The Guardian as a “phenomenally successful novel.”
Dive into the Neshov family’s tangled universe in The Berlin Poplars by Anne B. Ragde, set around Trondheim. It’s a darkly humorous exploration of roots, family secrets, and rural life.
Channel your inner eco-warrior with Maja Lunde’s The History of Bees. In a country where nature is central to the sense of identity, her climate themes feel especially timely.
Explore the complexity of Norwegian cabin culture, with a scenic Oslofjord twist. In The Guests by Agnes Ravatn, a tense psychological drama is wrapped in dark humor.
Wipe your tears as Melissa and Ronja in Ingvild H. Rishøi’s Brightly Shining quietly break your heart. A tender Christmas tale set in contemporary Oslo – and a firm favourite on Oprah’s “Best Books of 2024” list.
Get to grips with Nobel Prize-winner Jon Fosse, your ultimate literary travel alibi. Born in Strandebarm, near Bergen, his works draw heavily from Norway’s western landscapes and the quiet intensity of local life.

In other words, when packing for Norway, skip the heels and slip in a hardcover. Whether you’re café-hopping through Bergen, gliding past fjords on a slow train, or soaking up the midnight sun in the north, the right book can turn a journey into something more. Because in Norway, where the summer days stretch long and the landscapes linger, getting lost in a story might just be the perfect way to find your pace.