Right now I’m on page 296 of Snakehead, the new Alex Rider novel by Anthony Horowitz. It’s a blast!

Alex has gone undercover to bust a people-smuggling racket from Indonesia to Darwin. And along the way, he has messed with Major Ya, a truly nasty agent from Scorpia. And discovered a massive stolen bomb.

There are some killer scenes. My favourite so far is when Alex survives a Thai kick-boxing fight, only to land in a river where some friendly rats decide it mght be nice to crawl over him. Yeeewwww!!!!

What are you reading? Tell us and you can win prizes.

PS: We will have copies of Snakehead to give away at the Bookgig on 22 and 23 November.

If you are in Drouin mark Thursday 8 November in your diary.

If you are in Melton, mark Tuesday 13 November in your diary.

Primary school boys in Drouin, you are at the Drouin Secondary College from 6.30 – 7.30pm.

High school boys at Drouin, your session is at the public library from 7.30 – 8.30pm.

Melton, its an all-ages affair at the public library from 7.00pm.

Guest writer at all sessions will be Michael Wagner (pictured). Michael is the creator of the Maxx Rumble books. Ix (pronounced Ish) will also be along. All sessions will include pizza and drinks. A good time guaranteed for all!

For more about Michael Wagner visit his website.

Stephen Hawking is a world famous scientist, dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the universe. Stephen’s daughter Lucy (with a smidgin of help from her dad) has written George’s Secret Key to the Universe.

You can start to unlock the secrets by visiting the website.

Stephen Hawking shot to fame with his book A Brief History of Time. He has even appeared on The Simpsons.

Ix Adams is a writer and performer who has been working with young people for over ten years. Ix believes everyone is born with the magic power of storytelling and telling a story can change the world, therefore anyone at any age can make a difference!

He is also a volunteer in a mind control experiment conducted by his cat and his five year old daughter who take turns in making Ix do whatever they command him to do. If only it was the other way around!

I am a soccer fan. Back when I was smaller than I am now, I played soccer which was known to the non soccer folk as ‘wogball’. Now it’s known as the world game…who would’ve guessed?

My favourite piece of new technology is an automatic coffee machine. Soon they will be robotic and control our world.

I like books that make you want to live there rather than live in this reality. It hurts to finish such a book.

My dream car is a horse and saddle: economical and environmentally friendly. I can ride but not drive.

Favourite TV program: Skunk Fu. It’s full of Zen wisdom. That’s like learning without thinking.

The best thing about reading is stopping to do daily things and having the itch to jump back into the story.

I have never been able to understand why there is still war in the world. It’s so last millennium.

I began writing as a reason to have a bit of quiet in my life. Still working on it.

The sort of writing I do at the moment is for stage so sometimes I get to perform what I write.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that writers make the biggest myths.

My all-time favourite film is Time Bandits, because I am a time bandit. If only I could remember where I hid all my time from being a bandit. I need it now!

My teenage years are/were a perfect mix of comedy and tragedy.

People might be surprised to know that I was once a stuntman, a cleaner in a ward for people who had no control over their bodily functions, a dishwasher, a hole manufacturer, a poet and a clown just to name a few. Hmm on second thoughts I am still a clown. That’s not a job. It’s a mutation like the X-Men. I’m always very serious I tell you! I wish people would stop laughing at me especially when I am being a clown. It’s hard to think of your clown act when everyone is giggling.

John Weldon is leading workshops in writing about sport. Find out more about the man who once called the Western Oval his office.

I am a Western Bulldogs supporter. I started following them when I was 13, when they were called Footscray and they played at the Western Oval.

My favourite piece of new technology is my tiny transistor radio. It fits in my pocket and I can carry it everywhere. I can plug the earphones in and listen to the football and cricket wherever I go.

I like books that…excite me and fire my imagination. I like books with powerful stories and unexpected twists. I love sports books too, especially those that tell you how to play the game. When I was a kid I loved reading cricket books, by people like Dennis Lillee, that gave you fantastic hints on how to improve your technique.

My dream car is…a 1964 EH Holden. I just love those old cars, they’re so big, and I love the fins.

I like watching Tin Tin DVDS with my kids.

The best thing about reading is…it’s exciting. You can lose yourself in books and live adventures that you might never get to even dream of in real life. I like the fact that through reading you can find out stuff you might never otherwise know. I learnt how to hold a cricket ball so it would swing by reading Dennis Lillee’s book. I love the fact that you can read anywhere: on the bus; in the bath; in bed and even at school.

I began writing stories in my head as a little boy. Then I found that I couldn’t remember them so I started writing them down and then I found that I loved doing that and that people liked to read them and then I found that I couldn’t stop.

The best thing about writing is…having other people enjoy your stories. It’s a real thrill knowing that something you have written has given pleasure to someone else.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that you have to be able to spell and punctuate and write neatly. That you have to spend all day scribbling away at a page, or tapping away at a keyboard. That it’s boring and that you have to be an incredibly full on study-pants to do it. Writing is really about having, and imagining, adventures and turning them into stories. It’s a lot of fun.

If you have a question for John, send it via the comments link, below.

Writer David Metzenthen began writing because he felt he could tell stories other people might find interesting. And he was sick of people telling me to do things at work that he didn’t want to do.

Dave will be taking part in Boys, Blokes, Books. He will be at Drouin on Thursday 11 October for workshops and talks. Copies of Dave’s book The Really, Really Epic Mini-bike Ride will be given away during the program.

I support the Bombers and have since I was five. I also like the Western Bulldogs as my dad loved Footscray.My favourite piece of new technology is Foxtel!

I like books that could be real, and tell me things I want to know.

My dream car is a Ferrari, of course, or an old Indian motor bike I could ride along the backroads without getting killed.

Favourite TV program is the one minute segment with John Clarke and Brian Dawe on 7.30 Report. Boring, eh? Summer Heights High also makes me laugh and The Chaser.

The best thing about reading is it is an escape into another person’s world.

I have never been able to be a jockey (too big), a pilot (too dumb), an AFL footy player(too hopeless), or the captain of a ship (I don’t have a ship), damn!

My latest book is Black Water It’s about Farren and Danny Fox, two brothers who live on an island in 1915, and are orphans. Danny’s been to Gallipoli and has been wounded. Farren has to look after him, and also a wild kid named Souki whom Danny saved from a shipwreck. It’s also about the sea, storms, boats, and what it means to have good mates.

The best thing about being a writer is that I work as hard as I can to write something that is hopefully interesting to other people.

The biggest myth about being a writer is that they’re all mad.

My all-time favourite film is Withnail and I, because its very funny, and although it’s about two actors in England, it’s really all about trying to get somewhere in the world without the world hammering you into the deck.

My teenage years were probably not adequately supervised – oh well!

If I could change one thing about Australia it is stop Climate Change!

People might be surprised to know that I actually try to work hard!

Michael Hyde will be joining us for a day of workshops and talks in Melton on Tuesday 16 October. Here’s the Magpie-loving writer to introduce himself.

I am a mad Collingwood Magpies supporter. When my family arrived in Melbourne in 1954, I was about eight or nine years old. We rented half a house in Parkville, near the Carlton footy ground. My Dad worked at Collingwood Tech as the Chaplain. I went for the Maggies and my brother went for the dirty Blues.

My dream car is a campervan. We used to have vans but then became all conservative and boring with proper cars. My fantasy is to spend a couple of months on the road bumping into stories along the way (just like Alan Marshall used to do)…

Favourite TV program would have to be Summer Heights High. If you’re not watching it by next week I’ll give you a detention where you have to watch the whole series. If you don’t crack up you need a humour transplant…

The best thing about reading is doing it on the toilet. People tend to leave you alone – especially after a hot curry…Don’t you just love Kenny?

I have never been able to kick ten perfect drop punts in a row. As soon as I can Collingwood will put me in the same team as Strauchnie.

I began writing when kids at Footscray Tech in the seventies asked me to have a go. They didn’t much like the stuff that was around then…

My latest book is Surfing Goliath which is about two mates pitting themselves against the power of nature. One kid wants to surf a massive wave and his friend intends catching a huge bronze whaler shark. Both the wave and the shark are called Goliath. And Winning Streak (basketball), the sixth in my choose-your-own-adventure Change the Game series. I have another two teen books and another YA novel out next year.

The best thing about being a writer is the massive pile of money I make which allows me to employ chefs, maids, cleaners and drivers (when I need one), masseurs, a pilot for my private jet, and of course which lets me give away heaps of money to my kids and friends and…

I like books that take me into a world of characters, events and settings that make me forget I’m reading and leave me with a better understanding of the world and people. Don’t care if they make me sad or happy, just as long as they keep me on the hook and leave me with something.

For more on Michael Hyde, visit his publisher’s website.

Allan Ahlberg has written some of the world’s most popular books including The Jolly Postman and Burgular Bill.

Allan Ahlberg was adopted as a child and as an adult worked as a postman, and a gravedigger before becoming a primary school teacher.

Now 700,000 copies of his book Funnybones are being given to children starting school in England. But it won’t make him a squillionaire. He gets nothing for it. “They needed to find an author who wouldn’t take his royalties and go and buy a Porsche,” he says.

You can learn more about Allan here.

Welcome to the Boys, Blokes, Books blog. The blog is for the reading program taking place in Drouin, Melton and Melton.

There are some brilliant writers to introduce to you and get you reading. On this blog you will be able to post questions and comments to all the writers.

The blog needs your input. Chances are, the things you like reading are the things others will like, too.

Tell them what you think of their books, what you are reading, where you are reading…anything you have to say. All comments will be moderated, so keep it (fairly) clean and your thoughts will be up as soon as I can post them.

Our first session is at Drouin Secondary College on Thursday 11 October. Our first session at Melton is on Tuesday 16 October. We’re at Melton South Primary in the morning, Staughton College in the afternoon and Melton Public Library in the evening.

A lot of other great events are planned, so I look forward to meeting you at your school. And hearing from you on the blog.

Mike