The Aussie Swap discussion

So a lot of you guys seem into the idea of the travelling book. So I thought we can use here to pick a book and then ill get peoples address and set up all the details and we can get it up and running (I like organising lol)

So do we have any titles everyone really wants to read? I don't mind buying the first book and then at the end the last person sends it back to me (that way everyone has to do the exact same thing)

I was thinking everyone writes something on the back or front page like their name and where they are when they get it and I loved the ideas of sending a postcard or bookmark to the next person so you get a keepsake from the last person (yay goodies lol)

Any YA titles or something people are interested in? I just finished the Liar Society that was good but I dunno if that's everyone's thing

I'm okay with anything YA but I like contempt :P

:D have you read the Liar Society? It was sooo good!

Not yet but I featured L&L on my blog so I'm getting around to it soon! i lvoe the pink hair :P

Its a GREAT book! If people want I am happy to lend it out to the travelling book!

I'm pro that! I really want to read The Liar Society!

hahha sweet! okay! well as i said I have it so we will see how the others respond but im happy for my copy to do the rounds (and I gotta admit i kinda want a copy with all these peoples names in it (in a non-creepy way))

ahaha Kylie you make me laugh...

Hahaha I think it's cool too - in a non creepy way. :)
Ohyes the Liar Society would be awesomeeee!! I'm so pumped for this! You know what? It might be easier to organize this through a blog - it's just easier to keep track of things rather than trying to work out this mega topic each time we want to share a book...
Thoughts?

Thats a good idea... I was thinking when we decide on the blook and blah blah here ill make a form on my blog and people sign up and TA-DA

and heheeh Lisa, I try, I try :P

That could work. :) It's like we've got our own sort or online Aussie book club going!! Haha

I already have a copy. >_<

Unless you want me to write on your book! Muhahahaha. =D

If this is going to be a more than one time thing, I'll just participate next time.

I can't wait to read The Liar Society.

At the moment it seems to be the winner...

Cass omg what did you think of it (PM me lol)

O-LAY, I'm in then! please Hold back until I somewhat find six dollars in change so I can send the book along and can we make it bookmarks, honestly postcards aren't very bookish ( unless it's a book cover one) and the Gold Coast ones ARE SO CHEESY

hahahaha yeah bookmarks do sound better! lets do it!!!

Dude, my town doesn't even have postcards. We're just boring suburban Sydney. :/

I'm totally in - just give me some time to make a nice bookmark for someone!! :D

hahah mine doesnt either... my hometown has cows! lol!

Im in syd too.. where bouts are you?

Like, Bankstown area? About an hour out of the CBD... :)
You?

haha no way! I go to uni in Milperra!

I'm Camden area (well 15 min out)

NO FREAKING WAY?! That's so close!!! Ahh, it's so exciting to know there are real live bookish bloggers near me!!! Ahhh *happy dance*

hahahha same!! thats crazy ey! I cant remember, do you go to uni or school?

Uni :)

where at? Maquarie? (or was that someone else)

Wow! Milperra IS really close! I'm like 20 mins drive from you two.

Anyway Kylie I just said I own a copy. I haven't read it yet. :S I need to stop taking review copies if I want to read books I actually paid money for. :/

ahhhh k.. I got excited is all hehehe!

and where abouts are you??

Guys... I'm thinking coffee and book shopping ... :D

And yep, I'm at Macquarie. :$

I've done enough book shopping, but I'm all for going book window shopping! I live near Chester Hill. I sent you my address if you want specifics.

Macquarie's a good uni I think. I've never seen it before though, but it had some pretty high cut-offs haha. And daylight savings! Haven't woken up this early on a weekend in so long! Also, have any of you gone to Borders in Parramatta lately? Last time I went I couldn't find the YA section. :(

Yeah my friend runs parra store! (i used to work at Border Macarthur Square) haha!!! and I am all for books and coffee

Wait... My friend used to work at A&R Macarthur Square!

Yeah, same for me... Only window shopping. But I'll live. :)

Oh I know Chester Hill! Yeah we should get all the Sydney bloggers together and got to Paramatta for the day. I know there was a meet up a few weeks ago but I couldn't go and it wasn't really the YA crowd anyway.

... wow, I going to have to steal Nic then Queenslanders stick together!!! I thinks she lives in Brisbane?

*edited - I didn't mean to call you a 'he' Nic :P My typing is one big mess!

I wish we had like, an Australian version of BEA. It would never be as big, but just something central that us bookish people could come together on.

o0o0 what was your friends name! I knew a few of the A&R peeps as well!

BEA?

Lisa (Badass Bookie) wrote: "... wow, I going to ahve to steal Nic then Queenslanders stick together!!! I thinks he lives in Brisbane?"

I live half way between Brisbane and the Gold Coast! So not too far away :)

I won't participate in the travelling book this time as I am going overseas soon but will when I get back :)

:D Where are you going? Im gonna be in Europe in June/July

Belinda?

BEA is Book Expo America. It's like, the ultimate book conference with Publisher, Authors, Bloggers etc. attending.

:O I wanna go *sulks*

You also get free books LIKE LOADS, it's a free for all buffet for booklovers!

I dunno about you but I think Australian Publishers are nowhere near fair to their consumers. I mean the prices of books are just INSANE here and I dunno how they are with ARCs (never got any so im being honest I dunno how they are) but they just seem so secluded from the public in general you know?

Hmm... Well the pricing thing has something to do with our government actually - I don't fully understand it but there's some stupid tax that prevents booksellers from buying internationally or something weird like that (as I said, I don't really get it) but that's why our prices are so high. This article explains it but I'm still a little lost - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/20...

I think we have some really nice publishers and they've always been really lovely to me - although I do wish there was an environment for Bloggers and Pubs to converse a bit more.

What do you mean you don't know about ARCs?

I mean that I dunno how they are at giving them out and what not only because I haven;t ever recieved any and I asked around once but never heard back but I understand I'm a newbie and yeah.

When I worked at Borders, I was able to go to a few publisher nights and get a few goodie bags and what now and I was always sad to see it wasn't open to the public you know?

Even contacting the publishers with questions on a series or author, it seems rather difficult to get a response, I think it's a "once you're in its not a problem' deal you know?

I've gotten a few - but ARCs are so expensive to produce that I think it's harder for our smaller Aust pubs (compared to the US) to produce as many.

THERE WERE PUBLISHER NIGHTS?!? I want a job at a bookstore. :(

I agree with the 'once you're in it's not a problem' thing. I mean, I have wonderful chats with the publishers that I review for but there are a couple that I don't review for. I like to send them reviews of books from their house because I think they'd be interested in what I might be saying about their books and it's rare for me to get a response. There is one publisher that was sending me emails regarding Adult releases and only after several tries to different people that were sending them emails was I able to get a response. It was an apolegetic one, but still...

I do wish there was a more open environment to chat with pubs. I think it is difficult to 'get your foot in the door' so to speak in Australia.

How did you get your foot in the door with the publishers??

I don't really know! I mean, about halfway through last year we were contacted by Penguin Aust. asking if we'd like to review books for them.
We've had one or two pubs ask since then but I've also emailed quite a lot letting them know we existed and that we had reviewed some of their books.

I think as long as you're polite and you're in it for the right reasons then then contacting publishers to let them know you exist is alright.
Do yo review for anyone at this point?

Nope... No one wants me haha. My old blog had a fair few followers but I recently moved and its slowly building again. I thought maybe that's a factor you know but *shrugs* who knows I might go on an emailing mission and find out who to email and what not as I'd love to do this you know?

Aw they just haven't discovered your awesomeness yet!
Just be polite, tell them who you are and what you want (be clear!) and maybe mention some of their books that you've liked? Then they'll know you're serious. And give them time - publishers are mad-crazy- busy and it usually takes them a while. :)

If you buy books at places like Kmart and Target and Big W, you get a fairly good pirce for them ( similiar to Book Depo prices) Across the Universe is only like $12 at Kmart I think.

As for your publisher thing, like Sas said our publishing houses are smaller which also means there are fewer ppl to do more jobs, they're very busying people sometimes they just don't have to time to reply to your emails.

Also, publishers look not only at how many followers you have but also how well you write you reviews. Don't worry Kylie, they'll come around, I didn't have a publisher contact me until four months into my blog!

Haha, yeah I buy all my books from Big W/Kmart. Kmart has an awesome YA selection!

I had been blogging for eight months before we got offered any review copies!
I don't think followers were taken into account for us at all - mainly because I used Wordpress and thus don't have a follower count!