I haven’t done a Mailbox Monday post in a long while because I’ve been giving the books individual spotlights as they come into my home through my recent arrivals series. But I’ve been slacking a bit and am many, many books behind; doing an individual post for each would take days. So, I’m just going to do a quick round-up post highlighting all the new additions to my TBR pile.

I’ve already finished (and loved!) Still Missing by Chevy Stevens; the review is forthcoming. I actually set aside Stolen by Lucy Christopher in order to read it. The two books run along similar lines—kidnap victims and the aftermath, though Stolen is for a younger audience and Still Missing is purely adult. Another difference between the two is the pacing: Stolen is slow going and Still Missing flew by at breakneck speed.

After finishing Still Missing, I decided to try my hand at Stolen again and after another thirty agonizingly slow pages, I decided to set it aside (…for the second time) and picked up Rumor Has It by Jill Mansell. While this book took more than a few chapters to get into, I’ve warmed up to the story and the characters. Frankly, though, the Anglicisms are tripping me up and I’m not overly fond of the writing style—but the story is shaping up to be a good one.

And a quick note about the cover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson…the image does it no justice. It’s absolutely beautiful and the blue is a lovely hologram-y type of material that reflects and changes as it bends and shifts. Words cannot describe.

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:

“I changed my clothes, finding a baggy T-shirt scrunched in the closet in the hall with the words SAVE THE EARTH, NOT YOURSELVES printed on it. It was loose enough not to hurt the burns too much.” pg. 196 Stolen by Lucy Christopher

When I first heard about this book I was certain I wanted to read it. From the synopsis and some early reviews, I was able to gather that it would be controversial in some way. I enjoy reading controversial novels, especially those that present a conundrum. Stolen does just that. From what I’ve gathered, it touches on the concept of Stockholm syndrome. And after reading the first few pages, it seems like it’s going to be a smooth read.

This post will be sticky until the contest is over. Scroll down to read the new stuff.

In my recent review of Morpheus Road: The Light by D. J. MacHale, I basically gushed. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to gush about a horror novel. And thanks to the wonderful book fairies at Simon & Schuster, I’m able to giveaway 5 copies of the finished book. (Hooray for book fairies!!)

The last few giveaways I’ve held, I’ve asked you to help me create a story, but this time around, I’m going to be different…

One common thread throughout this book was fear, complete and utter.

Imagine for a moment that there was an entity which could climb inside your head and make you believe the most heinous things are happening all around you. What would you see? What is that deep dark fear lurking in the outer reaches of your mind?

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment answering the question above. If you’d like extra entries, there’s a couple ways you can do it:

• Follow me on Twitter +1
• Tweet about the giveaway (include a link to your tweet in the comments) +2
• Add a link to the giveaway in your sidebar +2
• Blog about the giveaway +3
• Become a confirmed newsletter subscriber +3
• Leave a comment on the Morpheus Road: The Light review +1
  (No spammy comments please. Spamminess of comments measured at my sole discretion.)

Entrants must be at least 13 years old. The contest is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada. (My apologies to my international readers, but I’m limited by the publisher’s shipping restrictions.) The contest is open until 12 Midnight EST on Sunday May 16th, 2010. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me.

Sometime last year, I came across an interesting kit which contained bookmarks, a reading diary, and some other interesting bits. I don’t remember the name of it, and I’m kicking myself in the head because I should have written it down, but it was the bookmarks which caught my attention.

These weren’t any old bookmarks. They were special. They had a section to write the title of the book and its author along with some basic information.

Looking back over the books I’d read through the years, I realized having that information on a bookmark would come in handy. However, I didn’t really need everything else that came with them, so I devised a plan to use index cards to jot down notes while reading. That’s what I call the dark ages of my reading system.

The index cards were haphazard and unorganized and sometimes lacking vital information about the book I’d read. But through experimentation, I found the index card bookmarking system that works well for me.

(I wasn’t lying when I said I have tiny handwriting and it only gets tinier the faster I write.)

I’m sure it will evolve over time and through more experimentation, but in the meantime this works. Now I just need to invest in some decorative index cards or maybe design a printable template because I truly miss the cuteness of traditional bookmarks.

(BTW, if anyone is interested in a printable template, let me know because I may decide to make it available as a download.)

What system, if any, do you use while reading? And if, by chance, you know or have an idea of the bookmarking kit that I was talking about at the beginning of this post, please let me know. Thanks!

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

Since the first WoW selection is coming out later this month, I’ve decided to include a second WoW selection that’s coming out a bit later.

Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis is scheduled for publication April 27, 2010 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

I’d love a cup of coffee. . . . I wish she didn’t hide how pretty she is. . . . I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. . . . I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin. . . .

Joy is used to Hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good—to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears Jessica Whisper I want to kill my Hearing dead, and kill me too if that’s what it takes, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car, and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier is scheduled for publication September 21, 2010 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

It’s a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths–for good and evil–of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?