A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Selected from the World's Sacred Texts

Great quality, daily words of wisdom positive, and thought provoking.

A living book of wisdom that seems to always provide a new perspective on how to live one's life peacefully, harmoniously, and humanely. I chose to gift this incredible book to a younger relative who has gone through some of the fires of life and now appreciates and better understands the blessings. To read any page from "A Calendar of Wisdom" is to receive a gift from past generations on what this wonderful life can be. And it all begins with you. How you treat yourself and others. I feel this book is a treasure to man/womankind, if only we slow down, tune down, and put into practice some of its life lessons.

Imagine having tea with Tolstoy every morning while he reads you quotes from the world’s sacred texts, nods sagely, and then adds a mic-drop thought of his own. That’s A Calendar of Wisdom. This isn’t a fluffy feel-good affirmation book. It’s a daily invitation to slow down, think deeply, and—let’s be honest—question your entire existence (in the best way). Tolstoy curated centuries of wisdom from thinkers like Emerson, Epictetus, Lao Tzu, and the Gospels, layering in his own insights like a literary sommelier pairing soul food with fine thought. Some entries soothe. Others prod. A few might make you roll your eyes before realizing you needed to hear it. But if you’re the journaling type, the thinking type, or just want your mornings to feel more like philosophy and less like doomscrolling—this book earns its place on your nightstand. Tea optional. Introspection inevitable.

This is a fantastic work, loaded with spiritual wisdom. Anyone who admires Tolstoy's beliefs or his writing should read it. The topics and sources are widespread and worthwhile. My only gripe is that each daily page is not very well organized. Many pages include both a few quotes from various sages along with commentary by Tolstoy. The only problem is that it's very hard to tell where Tolstoy's thoughts end and someone else's begin. The editors could have made that a little easier to follow. Also, many times the source of the quote will say something like "after Marcus Aurelius" or "after Cicero." I would have benefitted from an explanation of what "after" means. Are these Tolstoy's thoughts immediately after reading these men? Despite the who's saying what dilemma, I loved reading this book. Highly recommend.

I'm so glad to have found this book, a rare book in America, here for the first time in English (recently), apparently. It was one of Tolstoy's very last works (THE last?), and he stated that it was his favorite of his own books. Which was humble of him to say, because it's probably at least half composed of various quotations and sayings of wisdom from a wide array of philosophers, Christian, non-Christian, and even secular. The other half or so of the book is his own thoughts and messages to us. It's structured as a "daily devotional", and each day's entry has a particular topic or theme--the main points of which are (in this edition, though apparently not in the original work of Tolstoy's) conveniently italicized for us. Tolstoy was imperfect and inconsistent just like every other genius. (What IS "consistency"? Even machines and robots and assembly-lines make mistakes...) But he was much to be admired, I feel, for his often radical stands for conscience and truth in a typically corrupt contemporary society--in his case, Russia's. He made many controversial but impressive decisions (giving away much of his wealth, starting at least one Christian community, and voluntarily becoming a laborer, though he was by birth a privileged Count and aristocrat); he wrote many controversial works (like "The Kreutzer Sonata", a short story which was mostly a diatribe against lust and sexual politics, and which even encouraged celibacy in marriages!), and made many controversial statements (for instance, calling his two earlier, famous, epic novels "Anna Karenina" and "War & Peace", "the works of an idle mind," if memory serves.) He was a genuinely born-again Christian, but he was uncommonly friendly and open-minded toward other faiths and philosophers, as long as he discerned in them a genuine interest in truth and love. This book shows how "ecumenical" (in the best sense of that word) he came to be, in his old age. Yes, he might be divisive, but he was an honest seeker of truth, and I look forward to meeting him in Heaven. This "daily devotional"--a swan song, of sorts--is attractively typeset, formatted, and bound, and (most importantly) will surely give the seeker of truth many wise words & perspectives to meditate upon.

Amazing book packed with timeless gems of wisdom

As a person who has a small understanding of the Russian language, I can say that this translation is not the greatest. However, that is not my biggest problem with this book. As a lover of Tolstoy, and a follower of the Messiah, I always look forward to writings and reflections on the gospel and the life of Christ. Tolstoy was a man of conviction and a true follower of Yeshua, or, so I thought. His writings on the gospel and his "religion" show a profound love for the Father and Son, however, in this book he chooses quotes from many questionable sources - Primarily, the Babylonian Talmud. Now, I'm sure Tolstoy is a man who would do deep research into anything before speaking of it, so why he is quoting a book that blasphemes the Messiah he claimed to love and respect? This now has me questioning everything about him. He also adds from Chinese and Buddhist wisdom. One may ask "what's wrong with that?". Well, if you devote so much of your life to Christ in the way that Tolystoy had demonstrated, and the way true believers of today still demonstrate, you would know that there is only one true word to follow, and we have no business taking words from other religions, philosophies and deities. If you're not a religious person and are just looking for words of wisdom, not minding that they come from various religious texts and belief systems, then you will not mind this at all. I still find much of what he writes, along with many of the quotes he selected enjoyable, but I really do not understand why words of the Talmud are in this book. Perhaps he started to change his beliefs in his last few years? I'm not sure. But seeing as this is one of the last things he wrote, I'm now very confused.

I heard about this book on a podcast about what the founding fathers actually considered the true meaning of the pursuit of happiness in their time. It wasn’t money, btw. So I ordered it. And I loved it so much I got more for my daughters, my dad, and a friend. And they all are loving it too. Funny how advice from so long ago stands so true today.

Wonderful book full of amazing wisdom from so many greats of history, compiled carefully by one of those intellectual geniuses.

The delivery was fast but quality control poor. Either someone didn’t notice the discolored glue stuck all over the bottom of the book or just didn’t care.

Ótimo livro

As promised!

I love it. Exactly what I wanted.