Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Chaos by Rachel Ward

First line: The knock on the door comes early in the morning, just as it’s getting light.

Book description:

When he was a little boy, Adam learned about the numbers.

The first ones he saw were Jem’s. That was how he knew she was going to die.

Adam inherited his mother’s curse. With a vengeance. When he stares into someone’s eyes, he doesn’t just see the date of their death, he feels the searing, shocking pain of it.

Orphaned, Adam has grown up by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But as rising tides flood the coast, they flee to London. The city is an alien, anarchic place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can’t help but clock how many people’s numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year’s Day.

What chaos awaits the world?

Can Adam and his damaged friend Sarah stop a catastrophe?

Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?

Book Details: 352 pages; Chicken House; Pub. March 2011

To commemorate the upcoming release of Wishful Thinking (I’m loving that cover), you can download a free ebook copy of Wish by Alexandra Bullen from now through January 3, 2011.

About the book:

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone… until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn’t just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can’t solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

In a breathtaking debut from Alexandra Bullen, WISH asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

You can read the book through the widget or download a copy to your Kindle. Also, keep your eyes open for a Wishful Thinking giveaway (which will be open to international readers, yay!).

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

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 somewhere on that page
• 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

This week’s teaser:

"Carts were used to wheel it all in. It was dumped in the middle of the town square and dowsed with something sweet." pg. 109 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I have no idea what I’m getting myself into with this book, but I’ve seen it mentioned and heard nothing but good things, so I’m hoping I won’t be disappointed.

To be honest, I didn’t realize that it dealt with such heavy subject matter matter and not sure if it’s something I can handle right now…but I’ll try.

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

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 somewhere on that page
• 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

This week’s teaser:

The others followed his example, putting their packs against the bank and their legs out into the road. After a rest they had a good lunch, and then more rest. pg. 74 The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

It’s probably not a surprise, but I love The Lord of the Rings and it’s been a very long time since I read any part of it. I’ve had this mammoth single volume edition sitting on my bookshelf for too long, so I decided to read it a chapter at a time in between my other books. So far, I’ve smiled, gasped, and laughed…and it’s reminded me why I prefer reading books before watching movies–so many little things end up changed in a movie and a book povides you with the broader picture, usually. (But to be clear, I think the movie production was awesome.)

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

First (two) sentence(s): I couldn’t think. My chest hurt from running, and I wasn’t even sure I was in the right place.

Initial thoughts: The first chapter paints this book as an intriguing read, but I can tell straight away that another round of edits for minor errors was needed, but I’m hoping it won’t detract from the reading. It starts in media res with Digger, a thief, having just escaped some guards, leaving behind her boyfriend. (I assume it’s her boyfriend since they were kissing.) And there’s a mystery swirling around the letters she and her boyfriend were commissioned to steal. So far, this looks like it will be action-packed fantasy and I want to know more.

Book description:

High in the snow-covered mountains of Llyvraneth, in a castle full of the country’s elite, Celyn Contrare serves as a lady-in-waiting to shy young Merista Nemair. Her days are spent dressing in velvet and brocade, attending Lady Merista, navigating court gossip, and charming noblemen over lavish feasts.

And at night, she picks locks, steals jewels, forges documents, and collects secrets. Because Celyn isn’t really a lady-in-waiting; she’s not even really Celyn Contrare. She’s Digger, a sneak-thief on the run from the king’s Inquisition, desperate to escape its cruel instruments and hatred of magic. If she’s discovered, it will mean her certain death…

…But life as a lady-in-waiting isn’t safe either. The devious Lord Daul knows her secret, and he’d blackmailing her to serve as his personal spy in the castle. What she discovers–about Daul, about the Nemair, even about her own Lady Merista–could signal civil war in Llyvraneth. And for a thief trained never to get involved, taking sides could be the most dangerous job yet.

Book Details: 400 pages pages; Arthur A. Levine Books; Pub. October 1, 2010.