August Book Giveaway - A Discovery of Witches (by Deborah Harkness)

This month we have a copy of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness to give away. A Discovery of Witches begins when historian Diana Bishop finds an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years. 

To enter our book giveaway just leave a comment on our blog. And don't forget to increase your chances by checking out how to gain bonus entries!!

Bonus Entries
+1 Entry = Follow our Blog
+1 Entry = Liking the Reading Habit Page on Facebook (Click here to do so)
+1 Entry = Following us on Twitter (Click here to do so)
+2 Entries = Provide a Link to our Giveaway on Your Blog

+2 Entries = Join the Reading Habit Community Network (Click here to do so)
NB: If you're eligible for bonus entries, make sure you let us know when you leave your comment!!

Entries are open until 5pm EST on Friday 31st August 2012. 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 3rd September 2012. Good luck to everyone!!

What Types of Books Do You Like to Collect?

In my line of work I am constantly amazed at the weird and wonderful types of books people like to collect. You always come across the bibliophiles who collect things like modern first editions. These collectors are the norm. It’s the offbeat ones that always raise an eyebrow for me. I’m intrigued to know why they collect what they collect, and how their obsession started. Today, for instance, I had a customer call who wanted me to compile a list of books we had available that had blue spines. Seems he was collecting them to create some sort of arty wall feature slash bookcase. And, only last week I fielded an enquiry from a lady who collected children’s books that had butterflies on the cover. Turns out she collects them so that she can cut out the illustrations for craft projects. Sacrilegious, I know! My favourite of all time though is the guy who collected books with the last page missing. I don’t mean the blank endpapers at the end of most books. I mean the last text page! He collected them because he found it amusing to read a book and not know the real ending. I never quite worked out why he didn't just rip out the last page of every book he came across. Each to their own, I guess! It got me to thinking what other crazy book collecting habits are out there in the book-o-sphere.

My own book collecting habits are of the more mundane kind. When I was a teenager I collected the Trixie Belden detective books. I’m still fuming that my mother consented to lend them to a friend and they were never to be seen again. I then went through a funny phase of collecting any books that had my name in the title. How very self indulgent of me? Again, I was just a teenager and in my defence had recently fallen in love with the novel Forever Amber, so it seemed only logical that I’d be just as smitten with every other book with ‘Amber’ in the title. This theory was soon debunked after I read Elizabeth Lowell’s, Amber Beach (apologies to all Elizabeth Lowell fans out there). The Hare with Amber Eyes is the next title on my book club list and it’s got rave reviews, so there may be life left in this particular book fetish yet. It won’t surprise you to know that now-a-days I collect books written by people who run, or have run, second-hand or antiquarian bookstores. You’d think this would be a fairly narrow sub-genre, but actually there are quite a lot of books out there on the topic. It seems nearly every second-hand bookstore owner puts pen to paper eventually. I also collect books written by the great sporting coaches. I’m a netball coach myself and am always looking to be inspired by the words of the masters. I collect them because the good ones seem to be few and far between, and because I’m always inclined to re-read them when I’m low on confidence. Last but not least, I collect any books that deal with the history and current social plight of Aboriginal Australians. For me, this last obsession is all about trying to fill the gap that my white Australian education created. Sorry to end on such a serious note!

So fess up! What types of books do you like to collect, and why? Or, dob in a friend! They’ll never know.

June Book Giveaway - The Secret Lives of Dresses (Erin McKean)

This month we have a copy of The Secret Life of Dresses by Erin McKean to give away. The Secret Life of Dresses is "A captivating and enchanting novel about vintage frocks and new experiences for every girl who knows that the right dress can change your life". The book is written by Erin McKean, the author of the blog www.dressaday.com.

To enter our book giveaway just leave a comment on our blog. And don't forget to increase your chances by checking out how to gain bonus entries!!

Bonus Entries
+1 Entry = Follow our Blog
+1 Entry = Liking the Reading Habit Page on Facebook (Click here to do so)
+1 Entry = Following us on Twitter (Click here to do so)
+2 Entries = Provide a Link to our Giveaway on Your Blog

+2 Entries = Join the Reading Habit Community Network (Click here to do so)
NB: If you're eligible for bonus entries, make sure you let us know when you leave your comment!!

Entries are open until 5pm EST on Saturday 30th June 2012. 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 3rd July 2012. Good luck to everyone!!

May Book Giveaway - Balthazar (Claudia Gray)

Courtesy of our friends at Harper Collins, this month we have a copy of Balthazar by Claudia Gray to giveaway.

Balthazar is the sixth book in the New York Times bestselling Evernight series. For hundreds of years, the vampire Balthazar has been alone, without allies, without love. When he agrees to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, he has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye and Balthazar stand together to fight Redgrave, growing closer - first unwillingly, then undeniably. Balthazar realises his world could finally be changed by her....

To enter our book giveaway just leave a comment on our blog. And don't forget to increase your chances by checking out how to gain bonus entries!!

Bonus Entries
+1 Entry = Follow our Blog
+1 Entry = Liking the Reading Habit Page on Facebook (Click here to do so)
+1 Entry = Following us on Twitter (Click here to do so)
+2 Entries = Provide a Link to our Giveaway on Your Blog

+2 Entries = Join the Reading Habit Community Network (Click here to do so)
NB: If you're eligible for bonus entries, make sure you let us know when you leave your comment!!

Entries are open until 5pm EST on Thursday 31st May 2012. The competition is open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA and the UK. The winner of the competition will be announced on Friday 1st June 2012. Good luck to everyone!!

Notes in the Margin: Good or Bad?

I’ve had a copy of Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom sitting on my shelf to read for some time. This particular copy of the book was originally in my second hand bookstore inventory, but I removed it because firstly I wanted to read it, and secondly because in my view it was close to unsellable. Almost every page had notes in the margins, pink highlighted passages or underlined quotes. You can see what I mean in the image to your left. Most book sellers view this as book vandalism bordering on the sacrilegious, but I’ve always found myself hanging around the fringes in this debate. On the one hand, I agree that good clean second hand copies of books make for easy selling and easy reading. On the other hand, I sometimes find things like inscriptions from previous owners on the inside front page of a book endearing. These kind of markings show that a book has been loved, enjoyed and devoured, and give the book a sense of character beyond its’ content.

So what about my copy of Tuesdays with Morrie? Did the notes in the margins enhance or detract from my reading experience? The book on its own is brilliant. So brilliant, that I can’t resist giving it a massive plug. It should be on everyone’s must read list and that’s that! The book itself took me on a journey, but the notes in the margin told another story and I found myself simultaneously getting to know Morrie and Mitch, as well as the anonymous jotter. It was like solving a mystery where each scribble gave me further insight into the person behind it. Whilst I will never know the true name or nature of the anonymous jotter, I have formed a picture in my head. In my head, the mystery person is a “she” and she was at the time studying to be a nurse. I imagine that she wanted to work in palliative care and that she was fascinated by the transition of a patient from illness into death. She is compassionate, caring, empathetic and intuitive. She is spiritual and is looking for direction and guidance in her life. She wants to be more present and the book seemed to be providing her with the tools to accomplish that.

It’s safe to say that I could be severely off base here and that my psychoanalysis is more the result of a rampant imagination than actual perception, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is how it made me feel about my reading experience. The book alone took me on a spiritual journey, but the notes in the margin made me feel like a good friend was travelling with me, and we all know how much better a holiday is when you have someone to enjoy it with.

What about you? Have you had any similar reading experiences? And, what are your thoughts on notes in the margin. I imagine the general reading public is divided on the issue, but nonetheless I’d like to hear what you think, or what your preferences are.

WIN A $100* GIFT VOUCHER FOR READING HABIT ONLINE SECOND HAND BOOK STORE!!

During the month of February, to celebrate the National Year of Reading in Australia, Reading Habit is offering you the chance to win a $100* gift voucher to use in our online bookstore. There are three simple ways to enter the giveaway.

1. Make a purchase of any size in our online second hand bookstore (http://www.readinghabit.com.au) anytime during the month of February 2012 and you'll automatically go into the draw.

2. Join our new online book social networking site – Reading Habit Community (http://readinghabit.ning.com) – anytime during the month of February 2012 and you'll automatically go into the draw. It’s free, quick and easy, and will put you in touch with lots of other book lovers.

3. Do both of the above and you’ll receive two entries. 

*TERMS & CONDITIONS: The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Thursday 1^st March on our website (http://www.readinghabit.com.au) and on the Reading Habit Community site (http://readinghabit.ning.com). The competition is open to residents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, and the USA. The $100 gift voucher will be issued in Australian Dollars and cannot be used to cover postage costs incurred with book purchases.

Have You Ever Read a Book That Changed Your Life?

Once in a while a book comes along that has a profound influence on you. So much so that the experience of reading it actually compels you to make changes in your life. Personally, this has only ever happened to me a handful of times, but just last week I finished a book that left me feeling empowered and ready to tackle some of my own demons. I'm talking about a little pocket classic titled Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. This delightful nugget of wisdom was originally published in 1986 and at the time created a mini revolution in the way people approached the art of writing. I purchased the book from a paranormal romance author on one of my fortnightly book buying jaunts for my second hand bookstore. It immediately went into my satchel and I've been carrying it around with me, reading a chapter here and there, for the last month. Last week I finished it, and after years of arguing back and forth within my own mind about whether to attempt to write, and usually losing, I finally put pen to paper in and honest and real way.

Writing Down the Bones is not a manual on how to write. It's something much more. It's about being honest enough to free the writer hidden within yourself. It's also about leaving yourself enough room to explore the craft fully and breathe your own life into it without censorship. It talks of the physicality of writing and the importance of total immersion. It teaches you to embrace your failures as much as your successes, and to that end it's not just teaching you about writing but also about how to approach life in general. 

I could go on and on about the things I've learned from this book, but there is one quote in particular that resonated the most - "I used to think freedom meant doing whatever you want. It means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on this earth, and then simply doing it" ( pp71). This is a truth that I've only recently come to grips with myself. Reading it in print elicited a physical reaction, as it helped me to not only understand what I was good at, but to accept these things as gifts, and to embrace them fully rather than fighting them. I can now say with conviction and contentment that I'm a leader, a teacher, and a writer, and those are the things I want to pursue in my life. 

To say that this book alone got me to this point would be naive. The reality is that this book found me at the right time and helped push me over the edge of a cliff that I was already leaning over. It may not have the same impact on you. However, it is my belief that writers of all sorts will find some, if not many, gems of wisdom in this book. Its' short, punchy chapters also lends itself to re-reading. I can easily picture myself picking it up every now and then in years to come when I'm struggling for inspiration.

If you've read this book I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I'd also love to hear what books have impacted on you so much that they've made you take steps to change your life, no matter how big or small.