One of the emails I enjoy receiving daily is a quote from a writer. To receive a daily quote all you need to do is go to Goodreads at www.goodreads.com and register - you can choose whether you want to receive book recommendations or just the quote-a-day. The quote is usually sent on the birthday of the author and it also gives a little detail about them - many of whom I have never heard of!
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| Let the quote come to you with goodreads (the guardian) |
Here is a selection from the last few weeks for you to ponder:
William Saroyan
William Saroyan (born August 31, 1908) often wrote about characters who share his Armenian heritage, as in his book of short stories, My Name Is Aram. He is best known for his first play, The Time of Your Life. It was awarded a Pulitzer, which he refused, saying that "commerce should not patronize art."
Temple Grandin
Happy 67th birthday, Temple Grandin! The animal scientist and author drew from her own experience with autism to develop humane practices in the livestock industry.
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.
With his debut novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe (born August 28, 1749) became an international celebrity. It was one of
Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite books.
How slow life is, how violent hope is.
Writer Guillaume Apollinaire (born August 26, 1880) is credited with coining
the term "surrealism." He first used it in the program notes of a ballet by Jean
Cocteau and Erik Satie.
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
August 25, 1609: Galileo, a professor at the time, demonstrated his
modification of a Dutch spyglass—it was the first telescope and led to his
career as an astronomer.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do
something remarkable?
Happy 37th birthday, John Green! His bestselling young adult novel, The Fault
in Our Stars, was inspired by the time he spent as a chaplain at a children's
hospital. Though he was enrolled in divinity school and wanted to be a priest,
the experience shifted his ambitions.
I always worried someone would notice me, and then when no one did, I
felt lonely.
Happy 39th birthday, Curtis Sittenfeld! The writer is best known for her
debut novel, Prep, a coming-of-age story set at an elite boarding school.
You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to
you. You have to go to them sometimes.
August 21, 1920: A.A. Milne and his wife thought that their baby was going to
be a girl. When he emerged a boy, the parents chose a new name for
him—Christopher Robin. It would be popularized in Milne's many Winnie-the-Pooh
stories of a boy and his bear.
I wanted to teach myself some life lessons at the age of 60 and one of
them was that you don’t give up.
Happy 65th birthday, Diana Nyad! In 2013 the writer and champion swimmer
achieved her long-held dream of swimming—without a shark cage!—from Havana to
Key West. It was her 5th attempt.
Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.
Even after he found literary success, Honoré de Balzac couldn't resist a
get-rich-quick scheme. The French author failed at running a printing press and
a type foundry as well as speculating in slag and in lumber. He died 164 years
ago today.
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.
Frederick Douglass
September 3, 1838: Writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass escaped slavery by boarding a train dressed in a sailor's uniform and carrying borrowed identification. He wrote about his journey in his autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.
And finally for a good laugh!
I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.
Happy 69th birthday, Steve Martin! The comedian may be a "wild and crazy guy"
onstage, but he has also written a philosophical play that imagines a meeting
between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso (Picasso at the Lapin Agile) as well
as two novellas and a memoir.
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| Summer is a-coming (the guardian) |
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