Instinct is untaught ability.
—Alexander Bain (Scottish Philosopher)
Hope is the poor man’s bread.
—Common Proverb
Every well-written book is a light for me. When you write, you use other writers and their books as guides in the wilderness.
—Kate DiCamillo (American Children’s Author)
The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.
—Max Lerner (American Author)
When life doesn’t meet your expectations, it was important to take it with grace.
—Patricia Briggs (American Writer)
A scholar who loves comfort is not fit to be called a scholar.
—Confucius (Chinese Philosopher)
All who joy would win must share it,—happiness was born a twin.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (English Romantic Poet)
Being a famous writer is a little like being a tall dwarf. You’re on the edge of normality.
—John Updike (American Author)
Boredom is what you fight. Constant, ever-present boredom. So you learn to look forward to small things. Sunlight glimpsed through a cloud, an extra piece of pie or candy, good thread to sew your blouse, a ribbon to wear in your hair.
—Valerie Wilson Wesley (American Mystery Author)
Work is something you can count on, a trusted, lifelong friend who never deserts you.
—Margaret Bourke-White (American Photographer)
Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.
—Joshua L. Liebman (American Rabbi)
Why can’t peace be a single overriding common purpose: why do we wait for a crisis to pull us together? Let’s pull together for peace.
—Rita Mae Brown (American Writer, Feminist)