Another book making the jump to graphic novel style is Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. It’s a great way to get into the Artemis stories, the young criminal genius once described as the anti-Harry Potter. There are a few cheapo GN versions out there: Artemis Fowl is done with maximum care and style. For more on Artemis Fowl, visit Eoin Colfer’s website.

“Eoin” is pronounced “Oh-wen”. I saw him speaking to about 300 people at Federation Square a little while back. He could talk for Ireland in the Olympics! Funny, too.

One of the things we did during the Boys, Blokes, Books Bytes program is give free books to everyone involved. Readers were offered six books from the list below. They chose three at the first evening event and three more at the finish when we staged a Bookgig at the State Library of Victoria.

We had multiple copies of all books, though not enough for one of everything for everyone. If you see what I mean.

Titles are listed from younger to older readers, approximately.

Michael Wagner Maxximum Maxx Rumble

Too Cool Phil Kettle

It’s True series (Allen & Unwin non-fiction titles)

Pat Flynn Tuckshop Kid

David Metzenthen The Really, Really Epic Mini-bike Ride (Chomp)

Doug MacLeod Kevin the Troll

Justin D’Ath Spider Bite (Extreme Adventures series)

Michael Hyde Change the Game series (two titles)

Eyewitness Pirates (DK Press)

Archie Fusillo On the Mat

Richard Franklin Digger J Jones

Michael Panckridge The Cursed

Anthony Horowitz Snakehead (new Alex rider title)

Anthony Horowitz Point Blanc, graphic novel

Scot Gardner Gravity

I had also intended to have Gareth Hinds’ Beowulf on the list but couldn’t obtain it at the time.

Thanks to the Little Bookroom for helping us track them all down.

Have you noticed just how many versions of the Beowulf story are around right now? The story, part history and part myth, is over 1,500 years old. It started life as a spoken story and was later written down. The only surviving manuscript is in the British Library. Think about that. A manuscript that is a thousand years old and that survived revolutions, rats, the Great Fire of London, time itself.

The original manuscript looks like this:

Now there is the movie with Ray Winstone and another one being made. There are numerous graphic novels and text versions. There is a poetry version by Semaus Heaney. The story of Beowulf was one of the inspirations for The Lord of the Rings.

Beowulf is a story of three mighty battles fought by the hero against the monster Grendel, Grendel mother and a nameless serpent. Recently, this graphic novel edition by Gareth Hinds was published. I love this book. It’s exciting, dramatic, has amzing pictures and that old world language is a fresh as the day it was written down.

You can see more pages at Gareth’s website, along with sketches that he made in creating the characters. It’s well worth exploring. Have you read a graphic novels that you want people to know about? Tell us in the comments below.

Where would movies be without writers? Earlier this week I was lucky enough to see The Golden Compass, the movie based on Philip Pullman’s novel Northern Lights. It’s an action-packed, dramatic, exciting, scary story. The movie looks amazing, especially when Lyra, the story’s hero looks into the golden compass, the instrument that can tell the truth to any question you ask. (No, not like Wikipedia!)

Now the good people at Scholastic have sent me the movie tie-in edition of Northern     Lights, which I would like to give away. To win it, tell me what’s your favourite movie  based on a book?

Matilda? Lord of the Rings? Deadly Unna? (filmed as Australian Rules)

While you are thinking about that, visit the movie website and find out about your own daemon.

Send your answer via the comments below.

Here’s your chance to get published in The Age! Next year, as part of the Premier’s Reading Challenge, The Age is looking to publish a poster each month. The first one, to be published in February, will feature stories of action, conflict and adventure.

So, if you have read say, Snakehead or the books of Extreme Adventure books by Justin D’Ath or Maxx Rumble or anything else with bags of action, get thinking and gt writing! The posters will include reviews of 150 words. Think: short, sharp, punchy and inviting.

Reviews don’t just tell us the plot. Introduce the main character. What is their problem? Who or what will stop them from getting what they want? (Remember the workshop with Michael Wagner?) Did you find the book exciting? How exciting???

Send your review to Mike Shuttleworth as an email to: youthlit@slv.vic.gov.gov.au or snail mail it to me at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria.

Get cracking for a chance to share your thoughts with the whole of Victoria.

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If you follow this link you will find an article written by brothers Felix, Benjy and Leo. They’ve been busy reading, including Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz.

The boys also mention a new book by Philip Ardagh. Who is Philip Ardagh? Follow this link and you can hear the very tall and very bearded author talking to an audience in Melbourne earlier this year. If you like to laugh I think you will like his books.

Philip meets Harry

Have you got a book you want to tell people about? Add it to the comments section below.

Aiden has discovered the Ranger’s Apprentice series. See his comment below.

For more about this exciting series, see the new website launched last week!

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.

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.

In the competition to save one book (see the post below), I mentioned that there would be prizes. What prizes? I hear you ask.

First name drawn will win The Dangerous Book for Boys. I have a spanking new Australian edition worth $45 and chock full of dangerous information. Visit their website and take the quiz.

Now, what book would you save?