-
Do for yourself, for no one else will. Johanna Lindsey Happy birthday, Johanna Lindsey! The bestselling historical romance novelist's father saw a lo…
-
When we are young, the words are scattered all around us. As they are assembled by experience, so also are we, sentence by sentence, until the story …
-
You're only young once, they say, but doesn't it go on for a long time? More years than you can bear. Hilary Mantel Happy birthday, Hilary Mantel! T…
-
The truth is life is full of joy and full of great sorrow, but you can't have one without the other. Andre Dubus III Happy birthday, Andre Dubus III!…
-
Nothing whets the intelligence more than a passionate suspicion, nothing develops all the faculties of an immature mind more than a trail running awa…
-
Human nature. I don’t like human nature, but I do like human beings. Ellen Glasgow American novelist Ellen Glasgow (born April 22, 1872) marched in t…
-
In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it. Rose Tremain Happy birthday, Rose Tremain!…
-
To him the stars seemed like so many musical notes affixed to the sky, just waiting for somebody to unfasten them. Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis As …
-
Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet. Colette May 21,1910: On this day, French novelist Colette (born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette) be…
-
Whenever my environment had failed to support or nourish me, I had clutched at books... Richard Wright March 1, 1940: African-American novelist (and …
-
To learn something, to master something, anything, is as sweet as first love. Geoffrey Wolff November 5, 1937: Happy 76th birthday, Geoffrey Wolff! T…
-
Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that s…
-
It was only a phrase that went from mouth to mouth and was never quite swallowed. Ismail Kadare Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare (born January 28, 193…
-
Next to music, beer was best. Carson McCullers Novelist Carson McCullers left her Georgia home for New York and Paris, but her stories of loneliness …
-
Shut your eyes and see. James Joyce December 6, 1902: On this day, James Joyce told his family about his marvelous London adventure with William Butl…
-
Love isn't an act, it's a whole life. Brian Moore Irish-Canadian novelist Brian Moore (born August 25, 1921) left school after failing his senior exa…
-
It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be. J.K. Rowling July 31, 1965: Happy birthday, J.K. Rowling! The British novelist famousl…
-
In love, no question is ever preposterous. André Brink The South African novelist André Brink, born on this day in 1935, was part of a movement to u…
-
Of all our games, love's play is the only one which threatens to unsettle the soul... Marguerite Yourcenar French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar (born…
-
It is 'where we are' that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not. Chang-rae Lee After working on Wall Street for a…
-
They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. Tom Bodett Ha…
-
We're all in this game together. William Styron Novelist William Styron (born June 11, 1925) was both admired and controversial. Black activists call…
-
Next to music, beer was best. Carson McCullers Novelist Carson McCullers left her Georgia home for New York and Paris, but her stories of loneliness …
-
Forgive my asking you to use your mind. It is a thing which no novelist should expect of his reader... Owen Wister Owen Wister (born July 14, 1860) i…
-
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. Alice Walker Happy birthday, Alice Walker! The Color Purple noveli…
-
If your feet are firmly planted on the grount you'll never be able to dance. Iris Johansen Happy birthday, Iris Johansen! It's a family affair for th…
-
Language is a poor enough means of communication as it is. So we should use all the words we have. Caitlín R. Kiernan Happy birthday, Caitlín R. Kie…
-
She kept swimming out into life because she hadn't yet found a rock to stand on. Barbara Kingsolver Happy 60th birthday, Barbara Kingsolver! The nove…
-
Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. George Orwell S…
-
There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one. Kazuo Ishiguro November 8, 1954: Happy 59th birthday, Kazuo Ishiguro! Born in…
-
She had always wanted words, she loved them; grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape. Michael Ondaatje September 12, 1943: Hap…
-
Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic. J.G. Ballard English novelist J.G. Ballard (November 15, 1930) wrote his fi…
-
Poetry has been the longest pleasure of my life. Shirley Hazzard January 30, 1931: Happy 83rd birthday, Shirley Hazzard! The well-traveled novelist w…
-
I abhor the idea of a perfect world. It would bore me to tears. Shelby Foote Historian and novelist Shelby Foote (born November 17, 1916) disliked ty…
-
We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the ac…
-
I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us. Khaled Hosseini Befo…
-
We're all in this game together. William Styron Novelist William Styron (born June 11, 1925) was both admired and controversial. Black activists call…
-
None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are. Anne Rice October 4, 1941: Happy 72nd birthday, Anne Rice! The novelist's…
-
Books may well be the only true magic. Alice Hoffman March 16, 1952: Happy birthday, Alice Hoffman! The novelist, whose settings range from the Bronz…
-
I have no place left to live but in my own heart. Anne Enright Happy birthday, Anne Enright! No other birthday present likely holds as much importanc…
-
My grandfather always said that living is like licking honey off a thorn. Louis Adamic March 23, 1899: Novelist and political activist Louis Adamic w…
-
They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravi…
-
Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep—it can't be done abruptly. Colm Tóibín Happy birthday, Colm Tóibín! The Irish novelist has sai…
-
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. Jack London July 25, 1897: After spendin…
-
I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions. Lillian Hellman February 15, 1980: In the final stroke of a legendary 20th centu…
-
She looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity. Flannery O'Connor March 25, 1925: Southern Gothic novelist, short story writer, a…
-
Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness. Pearl S. Buck Novelist Pearl S. Buck (born June 26, 1892), author of The Good Eart…
-
Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. Thomas Keneally October 7, 1935: Happy 78th birthday, Thomas Keneally! The Australian novelist walked…
-
Accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart. David Guterson Happy 58th birthday, David Guterson! When the nove…
-
The past is always tense, the future perfect. Zadie Smith October 27, 1975: Happy 38th birthday, Zadie Smith! The British novelist sold her first boo…