Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
My Year of Magical Reading
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
Buy for $17.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Coleen Marlo
-
By:
-
Nina Sankovitch
About this listen
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.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2011 Nina Sankovitch (P)2013 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
The End of Your Life Book Club
- A Memoir
- By: Will Schwalbe
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 840
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 733
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 733
>"What are you reading?" That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less. This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Decent, but not earth-shattering
- By Krista on 10-25-12
By: Will Schwalbe
-
In Defense of Witches
- The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial
- By: Mona Chollet, Sophie R. Lewis - translator
- Narrated by: Carmen Maria Machado, Alix Dunmore
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed? Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Bit Academic
- By Eric Lorenzen on 05-10-22
By: Mona Chollet, and others
-
No Two Persons
- A Novel
- By: Erica Bauermeister
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Braden Wright, Carol Jacobanis, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! Just wow!
- By Debbie on 05-11-23
-
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,309
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,018
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,032
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
-
The House of Doors
- By: Tan Twan Eng
- Narrated by: David Oakes, Louise-Mai Newberry
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 276
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 276
The year is 1921. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband, Robert, a lawyer and war veteran, are living at Cassowary House on the Straits Settlement of Penang. When “Willie” Somerset Maugham, a famed writer and old friend of Robert’s, arrives for an extended visit with his secretary Gerald, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one. Maugham, one of the great novelists of his day, is beleaguered: Having long hidden his homosexuality, his unhappy and expensive marriage of convenience becomes unbearable after he loses his savings—and the freedom to travel with Gerald.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great, but no “Garden”
- By Susan on 10-30-23
By: Tan Twan Eng
-
First Born
- A Novel
- By: Will Dean
- Narrated by: Susie Riddell
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 593
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 509
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 508
Sisters. Soul mates. Strangers. Molly Raven lives a quiet, structured life in London, finding comfort in security and routine. Her identical twin, Katie, living in New York, is the exact opposite: outgoing, spontaneous, and adventurous. But when Molly hears that Katie has died, possibly murdered, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. As terrifying as it is, she knows she must travel across the ocean and find out what happened. But as she tracks her twin’s final movements, cracks begin to emerge.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A ride
- By Quinn on 07-07-22
By: Will Dean
-
The End of Your Life Book Club
- A Memoir
- By: Will Schwalbe
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 840
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 733
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 733
>"What are you reading?" That's the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less. This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Decent, but not earth-shattering
- By Krista on 10-25-12
By: Will Schwalbe
-
In Defense of Witches
- The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial
- By: Mona Chollet, Sophie R. Lewis - translator
- Narrated by: Carmen Maria Machado, Alix Dunmore
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed? Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Bit Academic
- By Eric Lorenzen on 05-10-22
By: Mona Chollet, and others
-
No Two Persons
- A Novel
- By: Erica Bauermeister
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Braden Wright, Carol Jacobanis, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 251
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! Just wow!
- By Debbie on 05-11-23
-
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,309
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,018
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,032
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
-
The House of Doors
- By: Tan Twan Eng
- Narrated by: David Oakes, Louise-Mai Newberry
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 276
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 276
The year is 1921. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband, Robert, a lawyer and war veteran, are living at Cassowary House on the Straits Settlement of Penang. When “Willie” Somerset Maugham, a famed writer and old friend of Robert’s, arrives for an extended visit with his secretary Gerald, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one. Maugham, one of the great novelists of his day, is beleaguered: Having long hidden his homosexuality, his unhappy and expensive marriage of convenience becomes unbearable after he loses his savings—and the freedom to travel with Gerald.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Great, but no “Garden”
- By Susan on 10-30-23
By: Tan Twan Eng
-
First Born
- A Novel
- By: Will Dean
- Narrated by: Susie Riddell
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 593
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 509
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 508
Sisters. Soul mates. Strangers. Molly Raven lives a quiet, structured life in London, finding comfort in security and routine. Her identical twin, Katie, living in New York, is the exact opposite: outgoing, spontaneous, and adventurous. But when Molly hears that Katie has died, possibly murdered, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. As terrifying as it is, she knows she must travel across the ocean and find out what happened. But as she tracks her twin’s final movements, cracks begin to emerge.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A ride
- By Quinn on 07-07-22
By: Will Dean
-
The Distant Hours
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Louise Brealey
- Length: 21 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
As a 13-year-old World War Two evacuee, Edie’s mother was chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe and taken to live at Milderhurst Castle with the Blythe family. In the grand and glorious Milderhurst Castle, a new world opened up for Edie’s mother. She discovered the joys of books and fantasy and writing, but also, ultimately, their dangers. Fifty years later, as Edie chases the answers to her mother’s riddle, she too is drawn to Milderhurst Castle and the eccentric Blythe sisters. Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good but not like her other novels
- By K. Patricoski on 04-23-23
By: Kate Morton
-
These Precious Days
- Essays
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,900
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,668
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,660
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Heartfelt Essays, Beautifully Performed
- By Brent Holcomb on 11-23-21
By: Ann Patchett
-
Mean Baby
- A Memoir of Growing Up
- By: Selma Blair
- Narrated by: Selma Blair
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,871
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,674
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,659
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention. In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering, Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Poor little privileged girl...
- By Tesa Fisher on 09-20-22
By: Selma Blair
-
The Great Good Thing
- A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ
- By: Andrew Klavan
- Narrated by: Andrew Klavan
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,225
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,019
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,015
How did a New York-born, Jewish, former-atheist novelist and screenwriter - a winner of multiple Edgar Awards, whose books became films with Clint Eastwood and Michael Douglas - find himself at the age of 50 being baptized and confessing Jesus as Lord? That's a tale worth telling.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Profound and Beautiful
- By Jason Hague on 09-30-16
By: Andrew Klavan
-
A House of My Own
- Stories from My Life
- By: Sandra Cisneros
- Narrated by: Sandra Cisneros
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 136
From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico in a region where “my ancestors lived for centuries,” the places Sandra Cisneros has lived have provided inspiration for her now-classic works of fiction and poetry. But a house of her own, where she could truly take root, has eluded her. With this collection—spanning three decades, and including never-before-published work—Cisneros has come home at last.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Rich stories, wonderful narration.
- By Anna on 03-01-16
By: Sandra Cisneros
-
Crazy Brave
- A Memoir
- By: Joy Harjo
- Narrated by: Joy Harjo
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 832
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 726
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 728
In this transcendent memoir, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music and poetry, Joy Harjo, one of our leading Native American voices, details her journey to becoming a poet. Born in Oklahoma, Harjo grew up learning to dodge an abusive stepfather by finding shelter in her imagination, a deep spiritual life, and connection with the natural world. She attended an Indian arts boarding school, where she nourished an appreciation for painting, music, and poetry; gave birth while still a teenager; and struggled on her own as a single mother, eventually finding her poetic voice.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommend
- By Firedancer on 06-29-19
By: Joy Harjo
-
Chosen Forever
- By: Susan Richards
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
When Susan Richards adopted an abused horse rescued by the local SPCA, she didn't know that the memoir she would write about the experience would become a best seller - or that she would fall in love.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Ugh!!!
- By Dr. Bill on 03-11-10
By: Susan Richards
-
A Circle of Quiet
- The Crosswicks Journals, Book 1
- By: Madeleine L'Engle
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Set against the lush backdrop of Crosswicks, her family's farmhouse in rural Connecticut, this deeply personal memoir details Madeleine L'Engle's journey to find balance between her career as a Newbery Medal-winning author and her responsibilities as a wife, mother, teacher, and Christian.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I Love Madeleine L'Engle!!!
- By Neyhart on 02-08-18
-
The Long Goodbye
- A Memoir
- By: Meghan O'Rourke
- Narrated by: Meghan O'Rourke
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
What does it mean to mourn today, in a culture that has largely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After her mother died of cancer at the age of 55, Meghan O'Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensity of her sorrow. In the first anguished days, she began to create a record of her interior life as a mourner, trying to capture the paradox of grief - an endeavor that ultimately bloomed into a profound look at how caring for her mother during her illness changed and strengthened their bond.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Really great. Loved it.
- By Pamela Harvey on 04-18-11
By: Meghan O'Rourke
-
A Dream Called Home
- By: Reyna Grande
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 498
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 427
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 426
When Reyna Grande was nine years old, she walked across the US-Mexico border in search of a home, desperate to be reunited with the parents who had left her behind years before for a better life in the City of Angels. What she found instead was an indifferent mother, an abusive, alcoholic father, and a school system that belittled her heritage. With so few resources at her disposal, Reyna finds refuge in words, and it is her love of reading and writing that propels her to rise above until she achieves the impossible and is accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful
- By Carolyn on 10-17-18
By: Reyna Grande
-
Small Victories
- Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace
- By: Anne Lamott
- Narrated by: Anne Lamott
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 475
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 414
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
Anne Lamott writes about faith, family, and community in essays that are both wise and irreverent. It's an approach that has become her trademark. Now in Small Victories, Lamott offers a new message of hope that celebrates the triumph of light over the darkness in our lives. Our victories over hardship and pain may seem small, she writes, but they change us - our perceptions, our perspectives, and our lives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Book Anne has ever done.
- By Craig L. Ervin on 11-14-14
By: Anne Lamott
-
Seeking Peace
- Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World
- By: Mary Pipher
- Narrated by: Kymberly Dakin
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
In Seeking Peace, Mary Pipher tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals truths about our search for happiness and love. While her story is unique, "the basic map and milestones of my story are universal," she writes. "We strive to make sense of our selves and our environments." In Seeking Peace, she recounts how she tried to achieve that.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Self talking to Self
- By Paula S on 10-04-09
By: Mary Pipher
Related to this topic
-
Ordinary Light
- A Memoir
- By: Tracy K. Smith
- Narrated by: Tracy K. Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 162
Tracy K. Smith has a fairly typical upbringing in suburban California: the youngest in a family of five children raised with limitless affection and a firm belief in God by a stay-at-home mother and an engineer father. But after spending a summer in Alabama at her grandmother's home, she returns to California with a new sense of what it means for her to be Black: from her mother's memories of picking cotton as a girl in her father's field for pennies a bushel to her parents' involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Simply spoken - poetic
- By CarolynneRHarris on 04-27-15
By: Tracy K. Smith
-
Rare Bird
- A Memoir of Loss and Love
- By: Anna Whiston-Donaldson
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 57
On an ordinary September day, 12-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace. In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother's story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Warning! Tears
- By Madge on 08-16-15
-
Modern Loss
- Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome.
- By: Rebecca Soffer, Gabrielle Birkner
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it's clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let's face it: Most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We're awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What I Was Expecting
- By Bessie Mae on 03-01-23
By: Rebecca Soffer, and others
-
Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
-
Chicken Soup for the Soul - Find Your Happiness
- 101 Inspirational Stories about Finding Your Purpose, Passion, and Joy
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
What makes you happy? Others share how they found their passion, purpose, and joy in life in these 101 personal and exciting stories that are sure to inspire and encourage listeners to find their own happiness. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness will encourage listeners to pursue their dreams, find their passion and seek joy in their life with its 101 personal and inspiring stories. This book continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope, reminding us that we all can find our own happiness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I got even more depressed
- By Tom on 09-08-14
By: Jack Canfield, and others
-
Speak
- A Novel
- By: Louisa Hall
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley, Christopher Ashman, Adrienne Rusk, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the 17th century to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human and what it means to be less than fully alive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Like nothing else
- By Anonymous User on 06-22-17
By: Louisa Hall
-
Ordinary Light
- A Memoir
- By: Tracy K. Smith
- Narrated by: Tracy K. Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 162
Tracy K. Smith has a fairly typical upbringing in suburban California: the youngest in a family of five children raised with limitless affection and a firm belief in God by a stay-at-home mother and an engineer father. But after spending a summer in Alabama at her grandmother's home, she returns to California with a new sense of what it means for her to be Black: from her mother's memories of picking cotton as a girl in her father's field for pennies a bushel to her parents' involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Simply spoken - poetic
- By CarolynneRHarris on 04-27-15
By: Tracy K. Smith
-
Rare Bird
- A Memoir of Loss and Love
- By: Anna Whiston-Donaldson
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 57
On an ordinary September day, 12-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace. In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother's story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Warning! Tears
- By Madge on 08-16-15
-
Modern Loss
- Candid Conversation About Grief. Beginners Welcome.
- By: Rebecca Soffer, Gabrielle Birkner
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it's clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let's face it: Most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We're awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not What I Was Expecting
- By Bessie Mae on 03-01-23
By: Rebecca Soffer, and others
-
Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
-
Chicken Soup for the Soul - Find Your Happiness
- 101 Inspirational Stories about Finding Your Purpose, Passion, and Joy
- By: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
What makes you happy? Others share how they found their passion, purpose, and joy in life in these 101 personal and exciting stories that are sure to inspire and encourage listeners to find their own happiness. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Happiness will encourage listeners to pursue their dreams, find their passion and seek joy in their life with its 101 personal and inspiring stories. This book continues Chicken Soup for the Soul’s focus on inspiration and hope, reminding us that we all can find our own happiness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I got even more depressed
- By Tom on 09-08-14
By: Jack Canfield, and others
-
Speak
- A Novel
- By: Louisa Hall
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley, Christopher Ashman, Adrienne Rusk, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 86
In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the 17th century to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human and what it means to be less than fully alive.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Like nothing else
- By Anonymous User on 06-22-17
By: Louisa Hall
-
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire
- The Journals of Alice Walker
- By: Alice Walker, Valerie Boyd - editor
- Narrated by: Aunjanue Ellis, Alice Walker, Janina Edwards
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 104
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
From National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker and edited by critic and writer Valerie Boyd, comes an unprecedented compilation of Walker’s fifty years of journals drawing an intimate portrait of her development over five decades as an artist, human rights and women’s activist, and intellectual.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A must-read for any creative artist!!
- By amazonluver on 04-30-22
By: Alice Walker, and others
-
The Great Failure
- A Bartender, a Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth
- By: Natalie Goldberg
- Narrated by: Natalie Goldberg
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 23
"The Great Failure is a boundless embrace, leaving nothing out. I wanted to learn the truth, to become whole. If I could touch the dark nature in someone else, I could know it in myself." So begins Natalie Goldberg in this candid exploration of her life. Here, Goldberg makes sense of primary relationships between father and daughter, teacher and student, and exemplifies the accomplishment available when creating daily writing practices.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you have been let down by anyone. Listen
- By Mia on 04-19-18
By: Natalie Goldberg
-
Until I Say Good-Bye
- My Year of Living with Joy
- By: Susan Spencer-Wendel, Bret Witter
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
Susan Spencer-Wendel's Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy is a moving and inspirational memoir by a woman who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After Spencer-Wendel, a celebrated journalist at the Palm Beach Post, learns of her diagnosis of ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, she embarks on several adventures, traveling to several countries and sharing special experiences with loved ones.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Until I Say Good-Bye is a paradox for me.
- By Bonny on 03-19-13
By: Susan Spencer-Wendel, and others
-
Learning to Die in Miami
- Confessions of a Refugee Boy
- By: Carlos Eire
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Carlos Eire's story of a boyhood uprooted by the Cuban Revolution quickly lures us in, as eleven-year-old Carlos and his older brother Tony touch down in the sun-dappled Miami of 1962 - a place of daunting abundance where his old Cuban self must die to make way for a new, American self waiting to be born. In this enchanting new work, narrated in Eire's inimitable and lyrical voice, young Carlos adjusts to life in his new country.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent memoir of a forgotten time in history
- By BRB on 03-23-15
By: Carlos Eire
-
Bitter in the Mouth
- By: Monique Truong
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 43
Growing up in the small town of Boiling Springs, North Carolina, in the 70’s and 80’s, Linda believes that she is profoundly different from everyone else, including the members of her own family. “What I know about you, little girl, would break you in two” are the cruel, mysterious last words that Linda’s grandmother ever says to her.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"Tasting Words" made this hard to hear!
- By Kate Anderson on 11-06-11
By: Monique Truong
-
Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty
- An Intimate Portrait of My Grandmother
- By: Kate Hennessy
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a prominent Catholic, writer, social activist, and cofounder of a movement dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Her life has been revealed through her own writings as well as the work of historians, theologians, and academics. What has been missing until now is a more personal account from the point of view of someone who knew her well.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Great content.HORRIBLE Narration. Cannot listen.
- By Christian on 04-21-17
By: Kate Hennessy
-
Where the Past Begins
- A Writer's Memoir
- By: Amy Tan
- Narrated by: Amy Tan
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 162
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 158
Moving from her childhood in Oakland and growing up with her Chinese parents through her success as a novelist, Amy Tan delves into her creative interests in music, the paralysis of beginning a new project, journal writing, and travelling. Where the Past Begins chronicles the making of a writer. With characteristic humor and poignant observation, Tan weaves a nontraditional introspective narrative that is as complex and vibrant as this beloved American novelist's fiction.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Narration Issues
- By Sara on 12-14-17
By: Amy Tan
-
I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This
- A Memoir
- By: Nadja Spiegelman
- Narrated by: Nadja Spiegelman
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
For a long time, Nadja Spiegelman believed her mother was a fairy. More than her famous father, Maus creator Art Spiegelman, and even more than most mothers, hers - French-born New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly - exerted a force over reality that was both dazzling and daunting. As Nadja's body changed and "began to whisper to the adults around me in a language I did not understand", their relationship grew tense.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Aweful
- By Haley Abreu on 07-05-17
By: Nadja Spiegelman
-
The Scent of Water
- Discovering What Remains
- By: Naomi Zacharias
- Narrated by: Naomi Zacharias
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 39
Follow Naomi as she talks to women working in brothels in Mumbai; survivors of an Indonesian tsunami in which more than 160,000 lives were lost; a young girl waiting on an operation to save her life; and victims of domestic violence horrifically burned by fire. Be still with her when she realizes the pain she feels in the face of these extreme injustices reveals a common struggle that exists within all of humanity. And rise with her as she wrestles with confusion over her identity, comes face to face with redemption, and then begins to understand her own story.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
.
- By Justicepirate on 05-21-18
By: Naomi Zacharias
-
Thunder and Lightning
- Cracking Open the Writer's Craft
- By: Natalie Goldberg
- Narrated by: Natalie Goldberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 47
The challenge we face as writers, Natalie Goldberg says, begins with the process of turning inward and then trying to communicate what we find. From the secret of letting characters and stories "write themselves" to finding mentor sources and responding to criticism to writing's one essential ingredient, which is the mind - here are all-new Zen-based lessons and reflections, refined and proven at Natalie's acclaimed national writers' workshops.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Inspiring
- By StoryDtechtive on 02-11-17
By: Natalie Goldberg
-
Native Country of the Heart
- A Memoir
- By: Cherríe Moraga
- Narrated by: Cherríe Moraga
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 53
Native Country of the Heart is the writer and activist Cherrie Moraga's love letter to her "unlettered" mother. It begins with her mother, Elvira Isabel Moraga, who as a child, along with her siblings, was hired out by her own father to pick cotton in California's Imperial Valley. The lives of Cherrie and her mother, and of their people, are woven together in a story of critical reflection and deep personal revelation as Moraga charts her own coming to consciousness alongside the heartbreaking story of her mother's decline.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a must read for all chicanx
- By Rachel Barnett on 04-28-19
By: Cherríe Moraga
-
Fairyland
- A Memoir of My Father
- By: Alysia Abbott
- Narrated by: Alysia Abbott
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
A beautiful, vibrant memoir about growing up motherless in 1970s and 80s San Francisco with an openly gay father. After his wife dies in a car accident, bisexual writer and activist Steve Abbott moves with his two-year-old daughter to San Francisco. There they discover a city in the midst of revolution, bustling with gay men in search of liberation - few of whom are raising a child. Steve throws himself into San Francisco's vibrant cultural scene.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great representation of the time
- By AvidReader22 on 06-07-19
By: Alysia Abbott
What listeners say about Tolstoy and the Purple Chair
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Greta
- 06-25-21
For Grievers Only
This book would be great for someone who both loves books and is grieving the loss of a loved one. I could not identify with the latter. This book is ridiculously long and follows no plot line — just a series of vignettes from the speaker’s life as recalled from various book inspirations. There are some great book recs, a few isolated fantastic quotes to remember, and a truly great final chapter that seemed to tie together all the loose pieces that felt irrelevant until the end. The book requires patience and took me months of drifting and returning, but I’m glad I finished it because the end brought the necessary closure.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- colprubin
- 07-28-14
True Inspiration
What did you love best about Tolstoy and the Purple Chair?
I love the idea behind the book, the idea that grief can be processed through reading. What a wonderful accomplishment and inspiration. Excellent weaving of personal stories with books read.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Tolstoy and the Purple Chair?
I don't think this book had a really "memorable moment." It was all very even and memorable.
Have you listened to any of Coleen Marlo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No I've never heard Marlo before but I would definitely look for her again. Her voice is clear and lovely, perfectly modulated.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me want to read a book a day for a year!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful