Stacey Loscalzo

Oct 15

Twitterature: October Edition

by Stacey

Anne, at Modern Mrs. Darcy, hosts a wonderful monthly reading round up called Twitterature in which writers are asked to create short, Twitter-style reviews of their recent reads. It’s a fun and easy way to learn what people are loving and in some cases, leaving.

This was a strange reading month for me but one in which I remembered something important about my reading style. I can not read more than one book at a time without struggling to finish any one of them.

I did read one book for my library book club and one middle grade books this month but the rest of what I will list here includes books that I have started but not finished. Perhaps next month, I will have completed some of these titles and can return with a more full report.

So… here are a few of my recent reads.

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A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addision. This was our library book club book so with some hesitation I finished. The topic was hard to read; sex trafficking of young girls. The author displayed so much knowledge of the subject that I found myself wishing he had written non-fiction as the story itself felt a bit contrived.

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Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. A middle grade read that felt a little too sad to recommend to my middle grade daughter. Willow, a 12 year old adoptee who struggles with fitting in must continue her journey alone as both of her parents are killed in a car accident. Sad stuff but very well written story.

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Elevate the Everyday by Tracey Clark. I am loving this book that accompanies an on-line photography class that I am enjoying. The book includes photographic tips, inspiration and essays that are all equally motivating.

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Five Days at Memorial by Sherry Fink. I have not finished this amazing report of life at Memorial Hospital in the days following Hurricane Katrina but I will. It is an incredibly well written and researched story that the world should hear. Some pretty wild decisions were made in this time of suffering.

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The Real Boy by Anne Ursu. There is definitely an entire blog post to come about this middle grade read. I hope that big things happen with this book because so far, it is incredible. More to come.

You can read more in this series here, here, and here.

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17 Comments

  1. Melinda Sohval says:

    I just finished “Five Days at Memorial” and found it to be a harrowing, but time well spent read.

    • Stacey says:

      So glad you liked 5 Days at Memorial. I heard the author interviewed on Morning Joe and I can’t wait to keep reading… really fascinating all that happened. 

  2. I haven’t heard of any of these! I love the sound of Elevate the Everyday–I’m working on my photo skills this year, too. Five Days at Memorial sounds so interesting (and makes me wonder if you’ve seen Beasts of the Southern Wild?) And I’d love to hear more about The Real Boy. 

    • Stacey says:

      Goodness… I have not seen Beasts of the Southern Wild but just went and read about it sounds like a powerful film. Have you seen it? What did you think? 

  3. MJ says:

    The Real Boy sounds fabulous – and I’d never heard of it.  I really want to read Five Days at Memorial, but I’m kind of working up to it because I know it will be emotionally hard to read.

  4. Candice says:

    I’m adding Five Days at Memorial to my list. That sounds so fascinating!

    • Stacey says:

      Totally fascinating. It’s hard to believe all that happened in New Orleans after Katrina and that we were just living our regular lives while it happened… 

  5. Shana Norris says:

    What grades/ages would you say The Real Boy would be good for?  Your preview has me wanting to read it.  Ditto Elevate the Everyday and Five Days at Memorial!

    • Stacey says:

      The Real Boy would be good for 4th-7th I would say although, remember, I haven’t finished it yet! And I am thoroughly enjoying it as an adult- a bit Harry Potterish. 

  6. Nina says:

    LOVED A Walk Across the Sun. Disturbing but great read. 

    • Stacey says:

      A Walk Across the Sun was so disturbing! I kept feeling like I didn’t like the writing because it was not realistic and then I realized the real problem is that it is realistic! What a crazy world we live in… 

  7. MK Jorgenson says:

    Definitely interested in Elevating the Everyday; it might push me to finally learn more about my camera!  And I’d love to know more about The Real Boy…guess I’ll have to wait for that post!

    • Stacey says:

      I am loving Elevate the Everyday. It is really reminding me to take pictures of the little things… seeing as those little things really are our lives. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

      • Sarah says:

        I have that book but I’ve never read it for some reason.  I am just so intimidated by the manual settings on my camera, especially when I’m trying to take pictures of my fast-moving kiddos! 

        • Stacey says:

          You should definitely read Elevate the Everyday then! Not about manual setting at all but about capturing the moment however you can. I really use only my iPhone these days and so far, so good!

  8. Stacey says:

    Elevate The Everyday sounds wonderful…adding to my list 🙂

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