Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Drift: Stories by Victoria Patterson

First line: I met Annette when Jim hired us to work at Shark Island.

Initial thoughts: Lately I’ve been craving more short stories. Not just any short stories, either, but well-written ones that evoke raw emotions. And when I read the overview of Drift, and its reviews, it sounded like a winner. Plus, I really like the cover—the use of color and angle is spectacular.

Book description:

Deceptively powerful and refreshingly frank, Victoria Patterson’s stories–like those of ZZ Packer, Julie Orringer, and Nell Fruedenberger–plumb the depths of female friendship and what it means to be an outsider. Through the lives of waiters and waitresses, divorced and single parents, and alienated teens, Drift offers a rare and rewarding look inside the real life in Newport Beach, a community that isn’t always as glamorous as we imagine.

Book Details: 240 pages; Mariner Books; Pub. June 25, 2009

First, thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for a chance to win Serena Robar’s upcoming YA title, Giving Up the V.

I combed through each of the comments, tallied them up and, with the help of random.org, selected a winner:

Congratulations dsmitty1012

An email has been sent out, but if I don’t hear back within 48 hours, I’ll select another entrant.

Now, if you didn’t win this time around, please don’t fret. I’m planning to hold a number of giveaways in the future (infinitely-wise higher power willing).

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

Not too long ago, I received an email pointing me in the direction of this book called Wait Until Twilight. The email mentioned that there would be an excerpt on the website.

Well, after reading the brief excerpt, I’m waiting…patiently (or not so).

What I need to do, needs to be done before it gets too dark . . .

Sixteen-year-old Samuel confronts his own inner monster when he discovers a set of deformed triplets whose mother believes they were immaculately conceived. Soon, the babies have taken hold of his waking and sleeping thoughts, and, unable to escape them, he decides to save them, but their shut-in mother and violent older brother want nothing to do with him.

Samuel must fight the trouble within him and the trouble he sees around him to determine who he will become in a year that forces him to grow from motherless boy to self-defined man. Set in a small Georgia town, this psychologically complex story of survival and self determination explores the dark, often contradictory worlds of young contemporary life, laying bare the ugly truths and secrets that haunt all of us.

I mean deformed triplets whose mother believes they were immaculately conceived? Does it get more interesting than that?

Wait Until Twilight sounds like it’s going to be a chilling (and twisted) ride and I’m curious to see what unfolds.

You can read an excerpt online: Wait Until Twilight Excerpt [PDF] or it can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

My current lust is Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Although there has been recent buzz about Hush, Hush, I actually knew about it from late last year. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to have it. I just couldn’t wait until it came out (and I’m still having a little trouble waiting if I told the complete truth).

And now that I get to see a cover, my little fingers are burning. Isn’t that cover the complete hotness?

Anyhoo, without further ado, here’s the rundown:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

The book is scheduled to arrive in October 2009 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Happy Tuesday! It’s time again for another edition of Teaser Tuesdays…

Remember how I said that I was reading The Great Perhaps last week? Well, yeah, I’ve set that aside for a minute.

Gena Showalter’s Blacklisted is my current detour. It’s an easy read. In fact, I’m nearly finished—so close to finished that I will be in the next fifteen minutes. It hardly seems fair to use it for my Teaser Tuesday piece, but it is the book I’m currently reading. So, here goes…

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12
• You also need to share the title of the book where you get your teaser from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid spoilers

“They pounded toward us, guns raised. But there was surprise in their eyes, as if they hadn’t expected to see us.” pg. 129 Blacklisted by Gena Showalter

So far, I’ve enjoyed reading this book. It’s light and fluffy and, in some cases, stereotypical, but entertaining. I don’t feel as though I’ve wasted my time with this detour. (I needed one of those “shut your brain off and jump into the story” reads and this definitely fits the bill.)