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Narrator reveals his life in the form of several lessons on how to live, cope or avoid various forms of writer's block: 1. Indecisiveness - diving me…
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I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. Julia Child August 15, 1912: It was a meal of oysters and sole meunière (and fine wine!) …
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Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper. Francis Bacon The most valuable contribution that Sir Francis Bacon (born January 22, 1561) made to…
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Nobody gets everything in this life. You decide your priorities and you make your choices. I'd decided long ago that any cake I had would be eaten. D…
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The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. Michel de Montaigne Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne (born February 28, 1533) pioneered the pe…
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Let the wild rumpus start! Maurice Sendak Oh Maurice Sendak, we love you so! The illustrator and writer (born June 10, 1928) created naughty children…
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I wanted to teach myself some life lessons at the age of 60 and one of them was that you don’t give up. Diana Nyad Happy 65th birthday, Diana Nyad! I…
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Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met. Marguerite Duras April 4, 1914: French writer and filmmaker Marguerite Duras…
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Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg before it is broken. M.F.K. Fisher July 3, 1908: Food writer M.F.K. Fisher was born in…
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Remember if people talk behind your back, it only means you are two steps ahead. Fannie Flagg September 21, 1944: Happy 69th birthday, Fannie Flagg! …
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Living in that childish wonder is a most beautiful feeling - I can so well remember it. There was always something more - behind and beyond everythin…
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Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were--Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. Beatrix Potter July 28, 1866: Children's…
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Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. …
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There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world. Robert Louis Stevenson Nov…
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I want to go about like the light-footed goats. Johanna Spyri June 12, 1827: Swiss writer Johanna Spyri created the beloved children's book Heidi, wh…
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We live for books. Umberto Eco January 5, 1932: Happy 82nd birthday, Umberto Eco! The Italian writer, semiotician, and philosopher is a real biblioph…
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It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. Herman Melville August 1, 1819: American writer Herman Melville created one of our …
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There is no sinner like a young saint. Aphra Behn August 6, 1666: Aphra Behn, code name "Astrea," filed her first report as a spy for the court of Ch…
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Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another. Ambrose Bierce June 24, 1842: Writer Ambrose Bierce is best known for his Devil'…
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I think literature is best when it's voicing what we would prefer not to talk about. Rick Moody October 18, 1961: Happy 52nd birthday, Rick Moody! Th…
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No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire. L. Frank Baum What do Cap…
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If you work really hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen. Conan O'Brien Happy 51st birthday, Conan O'Brien! Before becoming a host of lat…
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God save us from people who mean well. Vikram Seth Happy 62nd birthday, Vikram Seth! The writer was in his thirties when he moved back into his child…
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The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great, that I thought I was in a dream. Jack Kerouac Beat Generation write…
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The conversation of kisses. Subtle, engrossing, fearless, transforming. Alice Munro July 10, 1931: Happy 82nd birthday, Alice Munro! The Canadian s…
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I now walk into the wild. Jon Krakauer April 12, 1954: Mountaineer and writer Jon Krakauer's work explores the impulses that lead us to long for outd…
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Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything. Sherwood Anderson September 13, 1876: Sherwood Anderson spent his early career …
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Funny, when you finally faced reality, it was amazing how clearly you could see things. Mary Higgins Clark December 24, 1929: Happy 84th birthday, Ma…
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Maybe we are all cabinets of wonders. Brian Selznick July 14, 1966: Happy birthday, Brian Selznick! The American illustrator and writer created The I…
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The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there. Truman Capote Not long …
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But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more. Hans Christian Andersen April 2, 1805: Dutch writer Hans Christian Andersen's fai…
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Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. Thích Nhất Hạnh October 11, 1926: Happy 87th birthday, Thích Nhất Hạnh! The influential Buddhist…
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And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anaïs Nin Best known for her candid diary,…
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Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside. William S. Burroughs August 21, 1888: Subversive writer William S. Burroug…
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A lesson taught with humor is a lesson retained. Ruth K. Westheimer June 4, 1928: Happy birthday, Dr. Ruth Westheimer! The diminutive therapist and w…
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Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world. L.M. Montgomery November 30,…
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Like all magnificent things, it's very simple. Natalie Babbitt Happy 82nd birthday, Natalie Babbitt! The American writer and illustrator is the autho…
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Children aren't happy with nothing to ignore,And that's what parents were created for. Ogden Nash August 19, 1902: Ogden Nash is America's preeminent…
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Where words leave off, music begins. Heinrich Heine December 13, 1797: German writer Heinrich Heine composed lyric poetry that was set to music by Fr…
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What a pity every child couldn't learn to read under a willow tree... Elizabeth George Speare November 21, 1908: American children's book writer Eliz…
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Two is company, four is a party, three is a crowd. One is a wanderer. James Thurber December 8, 1894: Funny, dark, and slightly surreal, American wr…
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How slow life is, how violent hope is. Guillaume Apollinaire Writer Guillaume Apollinaire (born August 26, 1880) is credited with coining the term "s…
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How much does one imagine, how much observe? One can no more separate those functions than divide light from air, or wetness from water. Elspeth Huxl…
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I have great faith in fools - self-confidence my friends will call it. Edgar Allan Poe The American writer was born on this day in 1809.
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I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Noth…
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Books, Cats, Life is Good. Edward Gorey February 22, 1925: Happy Birthday Edward Gorey! The writer and illustrator, who created an entire genre of de…
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Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. David Foster Wallace February 21, 19…
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The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night. Isabel Allende Happy birthday, Isabel Allende! The Chilean-American writer h…
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I do not understand how anyone can live without some small place of enchantment to turn to. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings American writer Marjorie Kinnan …
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I address you all tonight for who you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers. Brian Selznick …