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alidottie's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. At times it was hard to "watch" the author's grief and many questions about her sister's death because I don't share those uncertainties, feeling very comfortable with the roles of our life here and though not a big fan of death (I definitely understand the pain she feels for the loss of her sister's companionship), I feel confident in a reunion to come with those whom we love. Otherwise, I loved how she uses the books she reads to learn about herself and life. She is not a mindless, escapist reader--though she certainly can find escape in a book--but rather she is a thinker who relates to the characters in the books she reads.
It is amazing, absolutely amazing, to me that she did this while raising 4 busy boys--still cooking and cleaning and chaffeuring. I wish I could read even close to the pace she does--not that I want to read a book a day (Oh, I never mentioned that! She reads a book every day for an entire year!!!), but if I read faster, I could get so much more out of the short minutes I snatch here and there to read!
It is amazing, absolutely amazing, to me that she did this while raising 4 busy boys--still cooking and cleaning and chaffeuring. I wish I could read even close to the pace she does--not that I want to read a book a day (Oh, I never mentioned that! She reads a book every day for an entire year!!!), but if I read faster, I could get so much more out of the short minutes I snatch here and there to read!
lnbrittain's review
5.0
Wonderful memoir, contemplation upon grief, and reader's list of books to read, all in one.
Nice to reread quickly for more depth.
Nice to reread quickly for more depth.
laila4343's review
3.0
A hard book to categorize. It's basically a memoir of how Sankovitch dealt with her grief over losing her sister. She read a book a day every day for an entire year. There were some lovely notions about the universality of books, how they connect us and how they make us more aware and empathetic to others' pain. I admit to skimming some at the end. I know that if I attempted such an undertaking it would feel like a chore very quickly.
cindyjac's review
5.0
Nina Sankovitch begins a year of reading and writing about a book a day after the death of her sister as a way of coping and healing. I have dog-eared dozens of pages and collected triple that number of quotes. If you have ever faced a difficult loss and if you believe that books can speak to your pain and recovery, you will love this book. It's a reread for me, and I've got a new appreciation for Nina's insights into the healing power of books. "words are alive, and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living."
shervinbr's review against another edition
3.0
در مجموع کتاب قابل قبولی بود برای من. داستان زنی که برای رهایی از رنج از دست دادن خواهرش به دنیای کتاب ها روی میاره و به دنبال چالش جدیدی در زندگی میگرده. کتاب هرچقدر جلوتر رفت برای من یکنواخت تر شد و کمی از جذابیتش کم شد اما نکته جذاب کتاب، تکه های کتاب های مختلف بود که در این کتاب سرجمع شده بود.
toniclark's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Especially having just read the Andy Miller’s terribly disappointing My Year of Reading Dangerously. Unlike Miller, Nina Sankovitch is the least pretentious of readers and writers. She reads widely, voraciously, and nonjudgmentally, with an openness to any genre. She takes what she can from each book, thinks about how it might relate to her intellectual and emotional life. And goes on reading, learning, loving life.
Sankovitch took on the project of reading (and reviewing! on a public website!) a book a day for a year — something almost inconceivable to me. And Sankovitch had a home, husband, and four boys at the time — little boys!! I don’t know how she did it. (She reads fast!) She seemed still able to be a nearly full-time wife and mother, if a little more relaxed housekeeper. Hey, what’s important, anyway?
The reading project became a way of coming to terms with the overwhelming loss of her sister to cancer. And it’s a marvelous and beautiful journey. Not that she will ever get over the loss, but through reading, Nina comes to accept at some level what she already knows: life is just not fair. It wasn’t fair to her sister, but really, it’s not fair to anyone. Reading about others’ difficult paths helps Nina to reconnect with humanity, to value the memories and the way her sister’s life is now part of her own, to think about how she wants to live her own life, and to recognize — even in the face of limitations and injustice — the extent to which we can make conscious choices about how we will spend our short and precious lives.
I admit to being grabbed from the first sentence in Chapter 1: “My sister was forty-six years old when she died.” My own sister was forty-four when she died, so right away, I know something about Nina Sankovitch. We share a loss that we’ll never get over. I found that I share much else with Sankovitch, however different our lives, but maybe it’s easy to feel that way when a writer reveals so much. The book has been called a “grief journal” and at times, the grief seems too often repeated in the same way — but I just can’t hold it against her. It’s also part family history (the author’s family of origin as well as her own marriage and motherhood) and part reading journal — my favorite part, but they all flow seamlessly together. But beyond that, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair shows how books and the ideas in them bring us together, bind us to one another in surprising ways.
“Life is hard, unfair, painful. But life is also guaranteed – one hundred percent, no doubt, no question – to offer unexpected and sudden moments of beauty, joy, love, acceptance, euphoria.” The good stuff. It is our ability to recognize and then hold on to the moments of good stuff that allows us to survive, even thrive. And when we can share the beauty, hope is restored.” — from Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
I would like to have heard more about the books she read. That’s my only complaint. I know a book can’t be all things to all people, but that would have made it even better.
I read a digital version. This is one that I will probably buy in hardcover and I’ll be gifting it to other book-lovers as well. Sankovitch also maintained a blog, where she reviewed books read during her magical year. She continues to add book reviews — over 1000 and counting, now. I foresee spending many hours there. http://www.readallday.org/blog/
Addendum, July 4, 2015: I did buy the hardcover!
Sankovitch took on the project of reading (and reviewing! on a public website!) a book a day for a year — something almost inconceivable to me. And Sankovitch had a home, husband, and four boys at the time — little boys!! I don’t know how she did it. (She reads fast!) She seemed still able to be a nearly full-time wife and mother, if a little more relaxed housekeeper. Hey, what’s important, anyway?
The reading project became a way of coming to terms with the overwhelming loss of her sister to cancer. And it’s a marvelous and beautiful journey. Not that she will ever get over the loss, but through reading, Nina comes to accept at some level what she already knows: life is just not fair. It wasn’t fair to her sister, but really, it’s not fair to anyone. Reading about others’ difficult paths helps Nina to reconnect with humanity, to value the memories and the way her sister’s life is now part of her own, to think about how she wants to live her own life, and to recognize — even in the face of limitations and injustice — the extent to which we can make conscious choices about how we will spend our short and precious lives.
I admit to being grabbed from the first sentence in Chapter 1: “My sister was forty-six years old when she died.” My own sister was forty-four when she died, so right away, I know something about Nina Sankovitch. We share a loss that we’ll never get over. I found that I share much else with Sankovitch, however different our lives, but maybe it’s easy to feel that way when a writer reveals so much. The book has been called a “grief journal” and at times, the grief seems too often repeated in the same way — but I just can’t hold it against her. It’s also part family history (the author’s family of origin as well as her own marriage and motherhood) and part reading journal — my favorite part, but they all flow seamlessly together. But beyond that, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair shows how books and the ideas in them bring us together, bind us to one another in surprising ways.
“Life is hard, unfair, painful. But life is also guaranteed – one hundred percent, no doubt, no question – to offer unexpected and sudden moments of beauty, joy, love, acceptance, euphoria.” The good stuff. It is our ability to recognize and then hold on to the moments of good stuff that allows us to survive, even thrive. And when we can share the beauty, hope is restored.” — from Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
I would like to have heard more about the books she read. That’s my only complaint. I know a book can’t be all things to all people, but that would have made it even better.
I read a digital version. This is one that I will probably buy in hardcover and I’ll be gifting it to other book-lovers as well. Sankovitch also maintained a blog, where she reviewed books read during her magical year. She continues to add book reviews — over 1000 and counting, now. I foresee spending many hours there. http://www.readallday.org/blog/
Addendum, July 4, 2015: I did buy the hardcover!
caitlinmchugh24's review
4.0
There are many books about reading and the impact that has for individuals.
This one is worth your time. The writing, connection to her life, and how the books are described makes this book enjoyable.
This one is worth your time. The writing, connection to her life, and how the books are described makes this book enjoyable.
lilyellyn's review against another edition
4.0
After the death of her sister, Sankovitch throws herself headlong into her life, cramming it full to the brim with activities only to find herself exhausted a few years later. Unable to continue at her current pace she decided to slow down. She reads one book a day for an entire year and writes about the healing and growth that come from stories.
I admit that I personally found some of her conclusions dissatisfying or not all that comforting. Sankovitch doesn't have any kind of religious belief and without it she can't seem to believe there is any kind of purpose or meaning in the difficult things in life. While I often feel like Christian answers are insufficient or dissatisfying, reading this perspective from someone without any kind of religious faith made me realize how difficult it would be for me personally to come to peace with some of life's injustices without faith.
I admit that I personally found some of her conclusions dissatisfying or not all that comforting. Sankovitch doesn't have any kind of religious belief and without it she can't seem to believe there is any kind of purpose or meaning in the difficult things in life. While I often feel like Christian answers are insufficient or dissatisfying, reading this perspective from someone without any kind of religious faith made me realize how difficult it would be for me personally to come to peace with some of life's injustices without faith.