Tolstoy and the Purple Chair My Year of Magical Reading (Audible Audio Edition) Nina Sankovitch Coleen Marlo HarperAudio Books
Download As PDF : Tolstoy and the Purple Chair My Year of Magical Reading (Audible Audio Edition) Nina Sankovitch Coleen Marlo HarperAudio Books
Nina Sankovitch has always been a reader. As a child, she discovered that a trip to the local bookmobile with her sisters was more exhilarating than a ride at the carnival. Books were the glue that held her immigrant family together. When Nina's eldest sister died at the age of 46, Nina turned to books for comfort, escape, and introspection. In her beloved purple chair, she rediscovered the magic of such writers as Toni Morrison, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ian McEwan, Edith Wharton, and, of course, Leo Tolstoy. Through the connections Nina made with books and authors (and even other readers), her life changed profoundly, and in unexpected ways. Reading, it turns out, can be the ultimate therapy.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair also tells the story of the Sankovitch family Nina's father, who barely escaped death in Belarus during World War II; her four rambunctious children, who offer up their own book recommendations while helping out with the cooking and cleaning; and Anne-Marie, her oldest sister and idol, with whom Nina shared the pleasure of books, even in her last moments of life. In our lightning-paced culture that encourages us to seek more, bigger, and better things, Nina's daring journey shows how we can deepen the quality of our everyday lives - if we only find the time.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair My Year of Magical Reading (Audible Audio Edition) Nina Sankovitch Coleen Marlo HarperAudio Books
When Nina Sankovitch lost her elder sister Anne-Marie to stomach cancer, she also lost the person with whom she most regularly shared new books and authors. Sankovitch, her two sisters, and her brother were lucky to have grown up in a home in which books were so appreciated, but now one of them would be missing from the conversation. It was only after three years of living life at a frantic pace in which she tried to live both for herself and for Anne-Marie that Sankovitch finally decided to try something different in order to deal with her grief. She would read a book per day for the next 365 days – and she would spend two or three hours writing a formal review of each and every one of those books. Believe it or not, she did it - Tolstoy and the Purple Chair tells us how she managed it and what she gained in the process.From the beginning, Sankovitch set a few firm rules for herself:
• She would read only one book per author,
• She would not re-read any books she had already read,
• She would limit her choices to books that were no more than one inch thick, ensuring that they would, for the most part, be in the range of 250-300 pages each,
• And she would only read the kind of books she and Anne-Marie would have likely enjoyed together if her sister were still alive.
In Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, Nina Sankovitch devotes time to Anne-Marie’s story, to what it was like growing up in her family, to how she dealt with her sister’s death both before and after beginning her reading year, and to many of the 365 books she read that year. Reading enthusiasts will be intrigued by the book choices that Sankovitch made during the year, as well as by how often, and how regularly, she was able to find something in those books that spoke to her personally about the grieving process. Readers seeking new ideas about dealing with the grief associated with the loss of a family member are likely to be equally enthusiastic about the Tolstoy and the Purple Chair because Sankovitch is frank and open about her own experiences following Anne-Marie’s death – starting with the question that so often haunted her: “Why do I deserve to live?”
Coming in to her year of reading, Sankovitch knew exactly how lucky she was that her family was willing to support her effort to find comfort through such a time-consuming project. As she says in the book’s second chapter:
“For years, books had offered me a window into how other people deal with life, its sorrows and joys and monotonies and frustrations. I would look there again for empathy, guidance, fellowship, and experience. Books would give me all that, and more…I was trusting books to answer the relentless question of why I deserved to live. And how I should live. My year of reading would be my escape back into life.”
She found what she was searching for.
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Tolstoy and the Purple Chair My Year of Magical Reading (Audible Audio Edition) Nina Sankovitch Coleen Marlo HarperAudio Books Reviews
My husband died suddenly last July at age 51. While riding the waves of grief that followed, I experienced moments when I was drawn to the calm of books. I wanted desperately to sink into a comfortable chair to read the hours away. I had trouble indulging myself, however. It seemed selfish and frivolous to think of such a thing at a time of crisis.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair gave me permission to indulge. So much of Nina's struggle resonated with me. I too desperately need quiet and time for reflection to figure out my feelings and to learn how to live again.
This book has been on my TBR wishlist since its release a few years ago and I've finally gotten around to reading it! Not gonna lie, it was mostly that purple chair on the cover that sucked me in -- I want one!! -- but also because I'm all for books about books, reading, book culture, booknerds, etc.
This is the author's memoir about her project to read one book a day for an entire year. Sankovitch explains how after tragically losing her sister to cancer, she went for some time doing anything and everything to keep herself busy, not wanting to face those emotions of grief, loss and the like. Eventually though she comes to a point where she admits she can't live like that anymore or she's bound to break, physically and emotionally. Remembering how her sister and she shared a love of books, Sankovitch decides to embark on this project to read one book a day for an entire year, but with a few rules she gives herself
1) No reading any writer more than once for the course of the year.
2) Pick all new titles -- No re-reading books you've already read previously
3) Must review everything you read
While she's not exclusive about it, Sankovitch does also incorporate titles that her sister especially liked -- as a sort of way to honor her life and memory. She also decides to go for books under 300 pages, explaining that while she is able to knock out a 300 pg book in about 4 hours, she is also a working mom, so she has to work the project schedule (reading, reviewing, trips to the library, etc) around her kids' school schedules, dinner and laundry, as well as personal time with her husband. Amazing how fast hours of the day can slip away from you!
This memoir ended up reminding me of another bookish memoir I read recently -- The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe -- where he talks about doing a reading project with his mom who was battling terminal cancer. While I did have a casual enjoyment of Sankovitch's story, I wasn't riveted. This may in part be due to some of the memoir bordering on TMI for me. I laughed at some parts (even through the ick visuals) like how she talks about trying to write up a review one day when one of her young sons is sent home from school with a surprise stomach bug. So she's trying to maintain this project schedule while cleaning out vomit buckets and bring down her child's fever. Then there's the night she's wrapped up the project work a little ahead of schedule so she tries to go "give some attention" *wink wink* to her husband, only to find him passed out on the couch, tv blaring. But the part that really had me cringing is discovering that this famous purple chair she did her reading in was not the one you see on the cover. Nope...hers, she describes, is "a muted purple with a pattern of flowers and vines." That's not what had me cringing though. No, it was the detailed description of how one of her cats would repeatedly tinkle on this chair to the point of it being so offensive in stench, no one could be near it for more than a few minutes. This was to be her throne of literary escapism. Blech!
It wasn't just that. Largely, I just didn't find it that gripping. There were parts I liked, parts that made me sad, and I left with some nice additions to my TBR. I'm content. Glad I read it, just not favorited.
When Nina Sankovitch lost her elder sister Anne-Marie to stomach cancer, she also lost the person with whom she most regularly shared new books and authors. Sankovitch, her two sisters, and her brother were lucky to have grown up in a home in which books were so appreciated, but now one of them would be missing from the conversation. It was only after three years of living life at a frantic pace in which she tried to live both for herself and for Anne-Marie that Sankovitch finally decided to try something different in order to deal with her grief. She would read a book per day for the next 365 days – and she would spend two or three hours writing a formal review of each and every one of those books. Believe it or not, she did it - Tolstoy and the Purple Chair tells us how she managed it and what she gained in the process.
From the beginning, Sankovitch set a few firm rules for herself
• She would read only one book per author,
• She would not re-read any books she had already read,
• She would limit her choices to books that were no more than one inch thick, ensuring that they would, for the most part, be in the range of 250-300 pages each,
• And she would only read the kind of books she and Anne-Marie would have likely enjoyed together if her sister were still alive.
In Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, Nina Sankovitch devotes time to Anne-Marie’s story, to what it was like growing up in her family, to how she dealt with her sister’s death both before and after beginning her reading year, and to many of the 365 books she read that year. Reading enthusiasts will be intrigued by the book choices that Sankovitch made during the year, as well as by how often, and how regularly, she was able to find something in those books that spoke to her personally about the grieving process. Readers seeking new ideas about dealing with the grief associated with the loss of a family member are likely to be equally enthusiastic about the Tolstoy and the Purple Chair because Sankovitch is frank and open about her own experiences following Anne-Marie’s death – starting with the question that so often haunted her “Why do I deserve to live?”
Coming in to her year of reading, Sankovitch knew exactly how lucky she was that her family was willing to support her effort to find comfort through such a time-consuming project. As she says in the book’s second chapter
“For years, books had offered me a window into how other people deal with life, its sorrows and joys and monotonies and frustrations. I would look there again for empathy, guidance, fellowship, and experience. Books would give me all that, and more…I was trusting books to answer the relentless question of why I deserved to live. And how I should live. My year of reading would be my escape back into life.”
She found what she was searching for.
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