“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.” ― John Steinbeck, Travels With Charley: In Search of America

John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968)

Growing up is highly overrated.

1896:
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, author of such classics as The Great Gatsby
and Tender is the Night, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota.

F. Scott Fitzgerald & Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald

nevver:

E.B. White

A library is a good place to go.

nationalbook:

The 2012 National Book Awards are one week from today! We’ll be streaming the event live at www.nationalbook.org on Wednesday, November 14, beginning at approximately 7:15pm. Have some friends over for an Oscars-party-esque, literary soiree and cheer for the Winners as they’re announced! More info about the Awards and this year’s Finalists can be found here.

theparisreview:

“It’s the writer’s job to stage confrontations, so the characters will say surprising and revealing things, and educate and entertain us all.” —Kurt Vonnegut
Illustration Credit David A. Johnson