Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is a memoir of hope, and also a highly readable and fascinating book. Lifelong book lover Nina Sankovitch read a book every day for a year -- and wrote insightful reviews of each. Her project was her personally crafted therapy to overcome the devastating grief that engulfed her when her sister Anne Marie died suddenly of cancer. While most people would look to non-fiction self-help books about death/dying in their search for answers and ways to cope and overcome their grief, Sankovitch took the more difficult path; she read great fiction, novels, short stories -- some intense, as well as some more distracting books -- in search of her own release from the guilt and pain that trapped her in the aftermath of her sister's death. Rather than provide clear answers, the books prompted Sankovitch to delve deeper into herself, as well as into the characters; they helped her constructively deal with her own personal grief and ultimately enabled her to find the will to move joyfully forward once again. Book lovers will adore this book, but even for a casual reader, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair will resonate because the story of Sankovitch's grief and how she came to terms with it is something universally relatable. The simple gift of a great book's lessons is the most precious to Sankovitch, and sharing what she has learned during her yearlong project is her gift to fellow readers. Masterfully woven into her daily life of laundry and kids' birthdays, reflections of time spent with her intellectual and fellow-book-loving sister, recollections of childhood memories and parents' histories, come the books' meaningful lessons she's uncovered during her year of reading. Quotes at the beginning of each chapter from some of the books highlight meaningful themes in her reading and provide a context for the chapter contents. Sankovitch loves to read, but more than that, she must read; it is an addiction that is positive, one that she finds motivating, meaningful, and in the case of her project, freeing. Sharing her experiences via Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is, for her, a gift to other readers so they too may glean from her experiences and be inspired to read and gain understanding and knowledge from great books and their characters. Sankovitch tells the story not only of how she managed to read and review a book a day (dirtier house, lots of late nights) but also tells her family story as the youngest of three daughters of immigrant parents growing up in suburban Chicago; as a college foreign exchange student; as an accomplished professional in New York City; and as a wife and mother of 4 boys living on the east coast. With tales and reflections that span from her father's own tragic legacy in war-torn Europe to her sons' birthdays in their Connecticut home, Sankovitch exposes her readers to the emotions and thoughts she experienced during her reading project. Yes, there is sadness here, but there is also learning, growing, humor, love, and joyful emergence from the depths of sadness and guilty grief as Sankovitch tries to come to terms with the fact that she has been spared and granted a wonderful life while her sister was abruptly denied her own full life in a painful and unfair death. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair highlights ideas from various books Sankovitch read during her yearlong project and relates them to her emotions and struggles while she groped her way back to her previously happy life. Reading the memoir gives not only an appreciation for what Sankovitch went through, but also a reverence for the seemingly effortless, natural weaving of literature with her emotional state, memories and reflections, and her daily life during her year of reading. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair reveals what it was like to take on this project, how it was gratifying and challenging, and especially how the books she read were able to help her find comfort and relief from her overwhelming sadness. Her gift to herself.What is understated in this memoir is the extent to which Sankovitch reviewed each book. Imagine, if you will, writing an essay every day. And we are talking thoughtful, well written, insightful, essays that get you an `A' grade, at that. These personally meaningful, incredibly insightful and thought-provoking reviews are readily available on her website [...] Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is a tribute to the power of books and authors; it's a reminder that great books hold lessons for all of us if we choose to look deep enough. Of course books can be enjoyed purely for pleasure, without thinking too deeply, if that is what we need. But there is no doubt in the readers' mind that this project was meaningful and healing for Sankovitch, for whom books are a comfort as well as a truly necessary joy. But she's made them into lifesavers as well, and for this simple gift of sharing that journey, her readers will be grateful.

This book began as the author's blog where the author would write a review each day of the book she read that day. She committed to reading one book a day to help her alleviate the pain and grief she felt from her sister's untimely death. I found it a bit difficult going at first but did appreciate the comments about all these books, some of which I had read and some I decided I will read after reading this book. It is not just reviews of the books and comments about them but also her life story with her sister and her struggles with this sister's death--this is interwoven with the parts about the books she read. One big positive for me is that it inspired me to commit to reading at least one book a week for 2023 and to blog about each of them. At the end of the book is a list of all the books she read. You can also go back into the book and see what she said about a particular book to help you decide if you want to read it. I find this helpful as I choose new books to read.

I chose "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair" because it was supposed to be of a kind I like, books on books. I didn't read much about it other than the editorial reviews, so that's what I expected when I started reading: books. I had read, but not carefully, about the author's experience of fighting cancer in the family and eventually losing a loved one. I started reading and quickly found out that this was a very important part of the book. As I was facing the same situation, someone very close with cancer, I first thought it might not have been the wisest choice of reading. I feared that might not be the best time to read such a story, but I went on, which proved to be a good decision after all. Hard as it may be to read about similar situations, doubts and even certainties, the book is a very good read indeed.Nina Sankovitch deals with her problems and finds a way to overcome by means of learning from human experience. There is nothing new under the sun, so it seems, but we have to learn that, and a lot of that experience is in books to draw from. That's where she goes for what she needs, and she finds it through a huge and enviable project of reading a book a day for one year. Quite a goal, truly magical in another way, hats off for such an accomplishment. Next thing you think, however, is that you may not got through such an extensive account without getting a bit tired, and you are soon aware that many other books read before this special year are mentioned too! No worry. It's all very well balanced and I was able to keep interested till the end.The books are there, plenty of them. It's actually a book on books, and also a personal story about illness, grief and mourning. Which was good to read as well. But there is a lot more. It is a family memoir, which goes back to the author's family story in Europe during WW II, and that's a surprising and very good part of the book as well. A highlight in my view, but there are several other parts in her process of extracting wisdom from her reading that may appeal more to other readers, like her years as a teen or as a mother.Half of the book read, I was still being pleased at every page, but by then I had understood her approach. It looked like I was more familar with the author, her family, her reading, her conclusions. And as for the conclusions from each book read, I was starting to think that I already knew that, that I wouldn't have needed to read that book to come to that understanding. Pretension, I'll admit to that. But the Big Brother was watching me. Just a while after having finished the book and still in the "I already knew that" mood, I was delivered a book ordered from The Folio Society. Together came a nice book marker, with this: "The best books... are those that tell you what you know already."(George Orwell)! Like the books to Nina, this quote conveyed a precious idea to me. Even if I was not in need to read those particular books and come to those specific conclusions, I was, and I am, we are, always, in need to read, even if we read about what we already know.I may not want to read many of the books on Sankovitch's list (you expect to get some reading suggestions from such books, and you do), but I'll certainly want to read more books by this author! And yes, you learn something or get some very good ideas, like "better not to criticize a friend's favorite author".

Loved this book! It is books like this one that make me want to curl up in my secondhand red velvet chair and hide away from the world to read and learn more of the world. Take a step back, sit down and read...return to the world a wiser and more humble individual, renewed and ready to share the lessons learned through acts of kindness and a greater understanding of human nature.

Pour l'aider à surmonter le deuil de sa soeur aînée, l'auteur prend une décision pour le moins originale : elle lira un livre par jour pendant un an.Le roman nous dévoile comment Nina a trouvé des remèdes à ses souffrances dans la lecture de ses romans, comment ceux-ci lui ont permis de trouver une réponse à certaines questions existentielles, comment finalement elle a pardonné à la vie de lui avoir enlevé si brutalement sa soeur adorée.Génial pour celles et ceux qui adorent lire et trouveront dans cet ouvrage un exemple parfait de bibliothérapie.