You Give, We Give: Let's Make a Difference!

Close your eyes.

I want you to think back. For some of you it's gonna be way back; for others, not quite so far.

I want you to remember the most awesome thing you ever received for Christmas. (Or whatever your family happens to celebrate that time of year.)

Now imagine that totally gone. The gift. The memory. Everything.

Poof!

That's what some people are going to find under their tree this year. If they can afford a tree. And that's just not right.

But it does no good to just talk about it. Talking is fun. Words are pretty. We're book lovers, y'know? We like words. We like talking. We like books.

But now it's time to take action...

What Is You Give, We Give?

Let's let these fine folks tell you about their project in their own words, hm?

We are calling for fellow readers to make a donation of either books or money to buy books. Donated books will placed under the Kmart Wishing Tree in December, which is an annual appeal held here in Australia and New Zealand to help families in need. People place gifts under the trees, which are located in every Kmart department store, and those gifts are then given to families struggling financially. Parents who may not be in a position to buy their children a gift for Christmas. We don't want any child to feel left out this year, so the genius behind this venture, Jess, came up with the idea to use our love of books to spread some joy to others.

You Give = We Give will run from September 10th until the middle of December. The ability to donate money through the donate button will however end earlier (November 30th) due to the fact that it will take up to 10-15 days for any purchased novels to arrive from the Book Depository.

During this time you can either:

- Make a monetary donation which will be used to purchase books from The Book Depository. Big or small, every dollar counts!

- Buy a book yourself from an online bookstore and have it sent to us.

- Personally send us any extra books you have cluttering your bookshelf.

Are we updating our progress?

Each fortnight, all three of us will be posting an update on the books we receive to place under the tree. Our thoughts and Picture Evidence.

Which Kmart Trees?

Jess will be placing books under the Kmart tree in Tasmania, Rachel in NSW and Brodie in Victoria.

Ready to help make a difference? Click here.

If you need a little more persuasion, read on... (I'm stealing the mic back at this point. Just to be clear!)

Why Should I Donate?

Well first off, this is a super awesome idea. As book bloggers / book lovers, how can we refuse the opportunity to help connect kids and teens with some great new books? And further, who better then those of us in the book blogging / book loving community to do that? 

We know books. We love books. We write about them to share our love of them all year round. It's time, now, to bestow upon your favorite books the highest honour they can be given. It's time to give the joy of reading a truly wonderful book to another person.

Okay! Now that the good angel has had it's ten seconds of fame, let's have bad angel give you the other reason you might just be interested in digging out your wallet...

The Grinch look is so not you!

Entering gives you chances to win some totally kick-ass prizes. Remember that link I gave you a little while ago? Yeah? Well, click it, scroll along and watch out for access drool. There are some totally amazing prizes up for grabs and the only way to have a shot at winning is to get rid of your inner Grinch and give a little. 

There are way too many prizes for me to list them all here. And you need to get over there if you decide to get involved anyway... So I'll leave that step up to you. Just trust me. Go have a look. It's awesome.

So, Kat... What are YOU giving? 

Glad you asked. I am quite excited about the selections that I have made to represent I Write, I Read, I Review. The books might not be the most absolutely hot off the press, just released last week titles... But they are books that I have read, reviewed and loved. Therefore, they are books that I am delighted to be sending, knowing that they will (hopefully) be enjoyed by someone else just like they were by me.

The Iron King

by Julie Kagawa

Why I Chose It: This is one of my most recent reviews and is one of my favorite books that I have read since starting my blog. It's got it all: action, adventure, romance, memorable characters and an enchanting world to be explored. As with each book I have chosen that is from a series, I am sending book #1 since there is no way for me to know if someone has read previous books before.

Perfect Chemistry

by Simone Eskeles

Why I Chose It: Are you really surprised to see me chose this? I loved the entire Perfect Chemistry series, so picking a book from it was a given. And since it's a series and there is no way I can be sure who has or hasn't read what, it only makes sense to send book #1. Which is fine, since all three books are equally fabulous anyway. 

The Sky Is Everywhere

by Jandy Nelson

Why I Chose It: Yet again, big surprise, right? This is one of the most jaw-dropping beautifully written books I have ever read. Period. I love this book so much that it inspired me to create an award to celebrate it's greatness, and the greatness of any other books I read that somehow manage to match it. This will be the third person to receive The Sky Is Everywhere from me.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Why I Chose It: This is an utterly fabulous book filled with all the right ingredients... Action, adventure, romance... The works! Plus, it's a book that I know is equally loved by guys and girls. I recommended it to my brother and to Jay and they both loved it too. (This is Jay's pick to send, actually.) 

So, what do you think of my selections? Are you involved in You Give, We Give yet? If so, what did you send / are you sending? (If not, I recommend clicking here.)

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post about You Give, We Give. I hope that I've been helpful in explaining it and in encouraging people to take part. I hope I haven't seemed rude or pushy. (Relax. If you absolutely can't get involved for some reason you aren't really going to turn into a Grinch. In fact, if you ever have skin that green I would suggest seeing your doctor... ;) )

Well, that's it for now! I'm glad you decided to stick through 'til the end. Thanks for reading my blog.