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I barely knew I had skin before I met you. Sarah Waters Happy birthday, Sarah Waters! As part of her research for her PhD thesis, the Welsh writer re…
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Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. J.D. Salinger July 16, 1951: J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye was publis…
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Facts are like cows. If you look them in the face long enough, they generally run away. Dorothy L. Sayers English crime writer Dorothy L. Sayers (bor…
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I know all about endings. It is beginnings that elude me. Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Zimmer Bradley (born June 3, 1930) wrote her first novel at th…
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I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen. John Steinbeck May 28, 1935: John Steinbeck's first successful novel, Tortilla Fl…
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There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights. Bram Stoker May 26, 1897: Dracula was publ…
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Women want love to be a novel. Men, a short story. Daphne du Maurier Daphne du Maurier (born May 13, 1907) was created a Dame Commander of the Order …
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Happiness is holding someone in your arms and knowing you hold the whole world. Orhan Pamuk April 27, 2012: Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk spent years co…
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Memory is more indelible than ink. Anita Loos American screenwriter and author Anita Loos (born April 26, 1888) followed up her blockbuster short sto…
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The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear. Daniel Defoe April 25, 1719: Robins…
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There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars. Jack Kerouac April 22, 1951: On this day, Jack Kerouac completed a d…
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I am little concerned with beauty or perfection. I don't care for the great centuries. All I care about is life, struggle, intensity. Émile Zola Fren…
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If they strain me up tight, why, let 'em look out! I can't bear it, and I won't. Anna Sewell Anna Sewell (born March 30, 1820) published only one nov…
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We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep. Nathaniel Hawthorne March 16, 1850: The Scarlet Letter, often called the first great American …
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Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready. Ernest Hemingway March 4, 1952: Er…
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When I discover who I am, I’ll be free. Ralph Ellison Ralph Ellison (born March 1, 1914) is best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the Nat…
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All I ever really want to know is how other people are making it through life—where do they put their body, hour by hour, and how do they cope inside…
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She wanted something to happen - something, anything: she did not know what. Kate Chopin The Awakening was the last thing Kate Chopin (born February …
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You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm. Colette The French writer Colette (born January 28, 1873) was preparing for the Broadway ada…
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Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got. Philip José Farmer Hugo Award-winning sci-fi writer Philip José F…
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I feel I stand in a desert with my hands outstretched, and you are raining down upon me. Patricia Highsmith Crime writer Patricia Highsmith (born Jan…
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I love myself when I am laughing. . . and then again when I am looking mean and impressive. Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (born January 7, 18…
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In a way, looking back, it seemed a long, long time since she had been eighteen, but in another way her memories were so clear and vivid that it seem…
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War is what happens when language fails. Margaret Atwood Happy 75th birthday, Margaret Atwood! Besides writing iconic books like The Handmaid's Tale,…
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Love is a capricious creature which desires everything and can be contented with almost nothing. Madeleine de Scudéry French author Madeleine de Scud…
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Read as much as you want on BostonGlobe.com, anywhere and anytime, for just 99¢. Books Boston.com Classifieds : Cars Jobs Real Estate Log In Subscrib…
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A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it. D.H. Lawrence November 2, 1960: Penguin Books was sued for obscenity for releasi…
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Folks want to glow, to leave their worries and dead skin behind. Terry McMillan Happy 63rd birthday, Terry McMillan! Her bestselling third novel, Wai…
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If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing. Sherman Alexie Happy 48th birthday, Sherman Alexie! The author grew u…
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Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up. Thomas Wolfe Thomas Wolfe (born October 3, 1900) grew up in a…
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There was no harm in taking aim, even if the target was a dream. John Knowles American author John Knowles (born September 16, 1926) is best known fo…
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We've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen. D.H. Lawrence British author D.H. Lawrence (born September 11, 1885) lived briefly in New Me…
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One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words…
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What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? John Green Happy 37th birthday, John Green! His bestselling yo…
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I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I felt lonely. Curtis Sittenfeld Happy 39th birthday, Curtis Sittenfeld! The writ…
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If death is this brilliant slide, this high, fine music felt as pure vibration, this plunging float in wind and silence, it's not so bad. Jayne Anne …
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This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today. David Nicholls July 15th is St. Swithun's Day in the U.K. According to legend, if it rain…
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You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. Mark Twain June 21, 528: In Mark Twain's time-travel novel, Connecticut Yankee i…
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You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. Amy Bloom Happy 61st birthday, Amy Bloom! After selling her first novel…