{"product_id":"tolstoy-and-the-purple-chair-my-year-of-magical-reading-isbn-9780061999840","title":"Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading","description":"\u003cp\u003e“NinaSankovitch has crafted a dazzling memoir that remindsus of the most primal function of literature-to heal, to nurture and to connectus to our truest selves.\" —Thrity Umrigar, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Space Between Us\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCatalyzedby the loss of her sister, a mother of four spends one year savoring a greatbook every day, from Thomas Pynchon to Nora Ephron and beyond. In the tradition ofGretchen Rubin’s \u003cem\u003eThe Happiness Project\u003c\/em\u003e and Joan Dideon’s\u003cem\u003eA Year of Magical Thinking\u003c\/em\u003e, Nina Sankovitch’ssoul-baring and literary-minded memoir is a chronicle of loss,hope, and redemption. Nina ultimately turns to reading as therapy andthrough her journey illuminates the power of books to help us reclaim ourlives. | \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNina 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 forty-six, 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTolstoy and the Purple Chair\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair masterfully weaves beloved and sometimes surprising books into central events in the writer’s life. There is much to learn from this moving book. Sankovitch writes with intelligence and honesty, leading us to respond in a similar manner.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of One Amazing Thing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair will transport you to a time before texts and tweets. Through the stories of her own family, Nina Sankovitch shows how books have the power to refresh, renew, and even heal us. I loved this memoir.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJulie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, her affectionate and inspiring paean to the power of books and reading, Sankovitch gracefully acknowledges that her year of reading was an escape into the healing sanctuary of books, where she learned how to move beyond recuperation to living.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A beautifully fluid, reflective, and astute memoir that gracefully combines affecting family history with expert testimony about how books open our minds to ‘the complexity and entirety of the human experience.’ Sankovitch’s reading list in all its dazzling variety is top-notch.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What is best in \u003ci\u003eTolstoy and the Purple Chair\u003c\/i\u003e, however, is not the author’s literary criticism, but the way in which she blends her accounts of her reading with the story of her family and with broader human concerns.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmoky Mountain News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] brilliant and heartwarming book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVentura County Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Anyone who has ever sought refuge in literature will identify with Tolstoy and the Purple Chair.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eO, The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Tolstoy and the Purple Chair] offers timeless wisdom, is uplifting and has a powerful message.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePsychCentral.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A beautifully paced look at how mindfulness can affect the psyche.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An original and touching…account of one woman’s lifelong affinity for books and her attempt to channel that affinity to deal with her grief after her sister dies. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is an understated but moving story about the effects of a ‘year of magical reading.’” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dartmouth\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“She is adept at stitching together musings about the books she is reading with memory and narrative from her own life.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Century\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is an absolutely lovely account of the healing power of literature.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDevourer of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sankovitch’s account works well because she uses her reading list to jump off into topics that are tangential, yet intriguing and often important.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuffalo News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[An] entertaining bibliophile’s dream…Sankovitch’s memoir speaks to the power that books can have over our daily lives.  Sankovitch champions the act of reading not as an indulgence but as a necessity, and will make the perfect gift from one bookworm to another.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is original, uplifting and very moving: a unique celebration of life, love and literature.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eS. J. Bolton, author of Now You See Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What Sankovitch has accomplished in her first book is not only to celebrate the transformational, even healing, powers of reading, but to give the reader a feeling of reading those books as well, through the eyes of an astute reader.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This graceful memoir describes a true love affair with books.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sankovitch’s memoir stands as a tribute to the power of books to enrich our daily lives.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is a must-read for anyone who adores books. It is also a primer on the healing power of taking time off to grieve by immersing oneself in a revered activity.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Book Bully\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Tolstoy and the Purple Chair] digs deep into that near-mystical connection between a reader and an author—that startling feeling that you are channeling someone you have never met...A gripping and inspiring book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eConnecticut Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Her deeply moving memoir artfully intertwines her immigrant family’s history with the universal themes of hope, resilience, and memory. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair celebrates not only the healing power of literature but its ability to connect us to the best of ourselves — and each other.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerican Way\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nina Sankovitch has crafted a dazzling memoir that reminds us of the most primal function of literature—to heal, to nurture and to connect us to our truest selves.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThrity Umrigar, author of The Space Between us\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The beauty of her project lies in seeing how books intertwine with daily life, how very much they affect our moods, interactions, and, especially important for Sankovitch, how we recover and process our memories….She makes reading seem accessible, relaxing, inspiring, fun.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890324795621,"sku":"NP9780061999840","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061999840.jpg?v=1730233036","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/tolstoy-and-the-purple-chair-my-year-of-magical-reading-isbn-9780061999840","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}