New Giveaway - The Hunger Games - Book 2 - Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)

We had such a good response to our giveaway for the first Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins that we've decided to giveaway a brand new copy of book two in the series - Catching Fire. Book two sees Katniss re-enter The Hunger Games game zone, but this time she has the whole of the Capitol against her.

Katniss is portrayed throughout the series as a steely teenaged action heroine. To win a brand new copy of Catching Fire just leave a comment telling us which female heroine in teenage fictional history most inspires you. A couple that come to my mind include Ellie from the Tomorrow When the War Began series and Elspeth Gordie from the Obernewtyn Chronicles. Entries are open until 5pm EST on Friday 6th August. The competition is open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA and the UK. The winner of the competition will be announced on Monday 9th August. Good luck to everyone!!

Rescue Me from My Reading Drought

It seems like only yesterday that I was reading the latest edition of Good Reading (GR) magazine and scoffing at the editor's column which revealed the editor was going through a reading drought. I couldn't believe that the editor of such a magazine had stopped reading. Surely reading was a requirement of her job. Hypocritically, I now find myself in a similar situation. I'm surrounded by books all day, but I'm seriously struggling to pick one up. The only difference I claim between myself and the GR editor is that I have genuine reasons - my bath tub is gone and it's freezing!!

Reading in the bath tub every second night of the week is my guilty pleasure. One month ago my precious, though dowdy, bath tub was ripped from its resting place and deposited on the nature strip of my home as a result of a much needed bathroom renovation. Said bathroom renovation is still underway and shows no sign of being completed within the next 3 months. Meanwhile, my new bath is hibernating in plastic teasing me every time I glance its way. Frustrating!!

But it's the bathroom renovation's partner in crime - winter - that has really fuelled my reading drought. By now most of you are familiar with my reading and walking habit. A habit that thrives in the summer months but seems a distant memory in the colder ones. It's just too damn cold to go walking and though I've tried hard to read in bed or on the couch, it just doesn't feel right. Does anyone else suffer as I do? Can anyone remedy my reading woes?

A Book Joke - Never Argue With A Woman

I'm not a big fan of jokes, but there aren't many book related ones out there, so when I came across this via my bookstore email and it tickled my fancy just a little, I thought I'd share!! Here goes!!

One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, puts her feet up, and begins to read her book. The peace and solitude are magnificent.

Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?' 

'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.

'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.'

'Yes, but I see you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'

'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.

'But I haven't even touched you,' says the Game Warden.

'That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.'

'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Join Our Multiple Sclerosis Novel Challenge Team!!

As you would be aware from my earlier post, I have signed up to raise money in the Multiple Sclerosis Novel Challenge. Originally I nominated to raise $500, but I've had such a great response and have already raised $385 so I've just raised my target to $750. I've also started up a team for the friends, family and colleagues of Ambire Secondhand Books. The beauty of a team is that we can work together to raise the money and share our success stories. So far, our team has three participants and we are looking for more people to join.

You can view our team page and our current list of team members by clicking on the following link -
http://register.thenovelchallenge.org.au/The-Novel-Challenge/Feed+Your+Reading+Habit/e. Click on this link to join us and you will be asked to register as part of our team. It's easy and will only take a few minutes of your time. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system affecting more young adult Australians than any other neurological condition. There is no known cause or cure.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me directly at ambire@optusnet.com.au.

Happy reading!!

The MS-Readathon Grows Up - Help Us Raise $500 for Multiple Sclerosis

If you grew up in Australia then you'll remember the MS-Readathon in school. It's a classic fund-raising event that linked children's reading with furthering research into Multiple Sclerosis and providing assistance to sufferers. As a kid, I took part in the MS-Readathon nearly every year and always got a buzz out of how many books I could finish in 30 days. The MS-Readathon is still around, but now there's an adult version called the MS Novel Challenge. And I've just signed up!! My goal is to raise $500 within 30 days for the cause. I've opened my account with a donation and hope that you can help me reach my target. The beauty of the challenge is that it's all online. You can make a donation securely online, get a receipt and watch my progress through my very own MS Novel Challenge page - http://register.thenovelchallenge.org.au/The-Novel-Challenge/AmbireBooks. Any donations go directly to the charity so it's all completely above board. You might even want to sign up for the challenge yourself, and if you do we'd love to hear about your progress and throw a dollar or two your way - just leave a link to your page in the comments!!

New Giveaway - The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

With the third and final instalment of Suzanne Collins bestselling Hunger Games series titled 'Mockinjay' due out on 25th August 2010, I thought I'd take you back to where it all began. Here's your chance to win a brand new copy of the first book in the series simply titled 'The Hunger Games'. This thrilling series aimed at young adults takes the reader into the very near future and a reality TV show called the Hunger Games where teenagers must fight against each other for their own survival. Kill or be killed is the motto!!

To win a brand new copy of the first book in the series just leave a comment telling us what your favourite young adult action/adventure series is. Mine is John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began series and I'm really looking forward to the blockbuster movie interpretation due out soon. Entries are open until 5pm EST on Friday 2nd July. The competition is open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA and the UK. The winner of the competition will be announced on Tuesday 6th July. Good luck to everyone!!

The Share-A-Book Program - Aust. Literacy & Numeracy Foundation

I've been looking ferociously on the internet for places I can donate some of our excess stock to and it's actually been harder than I thought. Most of the organisations are based overseas, so postage is a nightmare, and they often only take brand new books. The predominant ones within Australia are your major op-shops like the Salvos or St Vinnies. Whilst these charities are great, I was hoping to donate to an organisation that was focusing on literacy and getting books to those most in need.

After some searching I stumbled upon The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation website (http://www.alnf.org/programs/share-a-book.php) and a program they have titled Share-A-Book. The program is focused on providing new and quality second hand books and magazines to indigenous, refugee and marginalised communities and is exactly what I was looking for. Their focus is on children and teens so books must be age appropriate and as such I have parceled up a box of pre-loved young adult titles for donation. They are in the mail this afternoon and it feels great to give!!

For more information on the Share-A-Book program just visit this website link - http://www.alnf.org/programs/share-a-book.php. Or if you want to donate books you can mail them to: Share-A-Book, 208 New South Head Road, Edgecliff NSW 2027. Reading should be accessible to everyone so let's share the love of books.