Nina Sankovitch is my new book-blogging hero - heck, even the New York Times is impressed with what Nina has challenged herself to do and how well she is getting it done.What's she doing? Well, how about reading a book every day and writing about each book on her blog? Those of us who have been at this thing for a while know how high a mountain Nina is climbing because most of us are happy to break 100 books and book reviews a year (a milestone I reached this past Sunday, by the way).
According to the Times:
Last Oct. 28, on her 46th birthday, Nina Sankovitch read a novel, “The Elegance of the Hedgehog,” by Muriel Barbery. The next day she posted a review online deeming it “beautiful, moving and occasionally very funny.”And that's how it started.
[...]
In a time-deprived world, where book reading is increasingly squeezed off the page, it is hard to know what’s most striking about Ms. Sankovitch’s quest, now on Day 350, to read a book every day for a year and review them on her blog.[...]
There were a few close calls — Christmas, for example, when she did not start reading until 10 p.m. She has household help for a day every other week, and it doesn’t hurt that the family is comfortable economically or that the household, now in full Halloween mode, seems to have a suburban Glass family quality. Peter, her 16-year-old, is reading Pynchon; the 14-year-old, Michael, reads Ayn Rand and political screeds like those by Al Franken; and asked what kind of books he likes to read, George, the 11-year-old, replied, “Long books.”I love the thought that the New York Times is showing a little love to a fellow book blogger, so let's return the love by reading the whole article (see the link highlighted, above).
And, best of all, here's the link to Nina's blog. I'm adding her to my blog roll to see what she does on day 365 and, even more intriguingly, on day 366. Check her out.
Thanks for the link...I think I saw something about Nina Sankovitch at Pages Turned as well. She's a book hero of mine, as well. Admiration and envy all in one festering expat-ish ball.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great picture!
That's quite a challenge, but I imagine that she would have to limit the books she reads to some degree. There are some books that simply cannot be read in a day. Personally, I prefer to savor my books a little. Still, I am impressed by Nina and her book blog.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on reaching your own milestone!
ReplyDeleteI don't really see the virtue in reading a book a day. I've done that before for short periods (i.e. vacations) but I agree with Alissa that you would be limited in the books you could read. I've actually decided to slow down my reading so that I can think more about what I've read.
But her book blog is impressive.
Thank you, Sam, for introducing me to such a wonderful person. I read her "updates" section and I'm amazed at her insight into life, not to mention her beautiful attitude toward everything she reads. Her openness and excitment is refreshing. She reads books I have never heard of so I will have to do some research and see if there are some new authors for me! :)
ReplyDeleteAlissa, I think the article says that she generally has to stay with books about 250 pages in length but that she does work in the occasional big book.
ReplyDeleteMary, I don't think I could stand that kind of pressure for a whole year. That's one of the things I admire about her challenging herself this way. Whether or not she enjoys reading at this pace is another thing...
ReplyDeleteHappy that you're enjoying getting acquainted with her, Erin. I find what she's accomplished to be fascinating. No way I would have lasted that long.
ReplyDeleteBybee, I can't even imagine the self-inflicted pressure she's been under for a whole year. I would have given up long ago.
ReplyDelete