The Laughing Heart, by Charles Bukowski:

The Laughing Heart

by Charles Bukowski

Your life is your life.

Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.

Be on the watch.

There are ways out.

There is light somewhere.

It may not be much light but

it beats the darkness.

Be on the watch.

The gods will offer you chances.

Know them.

Take them.

You can’t beat death,

but you can beat death in life, sometimes.

And the more often you learn to do it,

the more light there will be.

Your life is your life.

Know it while you have it.

You are marvelous.

The gods wait to delight

in you.

Charles Bukowski, on writing:

In the morning it was morning and I was still alive.

Maybe I'll write a novel, I thought.

And then I did.

- Charles Bukowski.

Introvert insight:

Introverts are word economists in a society suffering from verbal diarrhea.

– Michaela Chung.

I’m self-sufficient.
I spend a lot of time on my own and I shut off quite easily.
When I communicate, I communicate 900 per cent, then I shut off, which scares people sometimes.

– Bjork.
 
Though introverts are drained by interaction, we can take immense pleasure in watching the scene around us.

– Laurie Helgoe.

I'll read my books and I'll drink coffee and I'll listen to music, and I'll bolt the door.

– J. D. Salinger.

Ann Patchett, on books:

That's important to me, to recommend books.

- Ann Patchett.

World Honey Bee Day – Third Saturday in August:

World Honey Bee Day

Third Saturday in August

#WorldHoneyBeeDay

Concerned about our loss of bees, Morgan Freeman converted his 124-acre Mississippi ranch into a bee refuge. He hired gardeners, filled acres with clover, planted hundreds of flowering trees, purchased 26 hives, and has turned himself into a beekeeper.

Ray Bradbury, on writing:

Find out what your hero or heroine wants,

and when he or she wakes up in the morning,

just follow him or her all day.

- Ray Bradbury.

Cynthia Rylant, on reading:

I learned to write from authors.

I didn't know any, but I read their books.

- Cynthia Rylant.

Margaret Atwood, on writing:

Writing is alone, but I don't think it's lonely.

Ask any writer if they feel lonely when they're writing their book, and I think they'll say no.

– Margaret Atwood.

Betsy Byars, on reading and writing:

For me, reading books and writing them are tied together.

The words of other writers teach me and refresh me and inspire me.

- Betsy Byars.

Junot Diaz, on writing:

In my view, a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope,

even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise,

you keep writing anyway.

- Junot Diaz.

Mary Roberts Rinehart, on writing:

Of one thing the reader can be certain:

the more easily anything reads, the harder it has been to write.

- Mary Roberts Rinehart.

Haruki Murakami, on writing:

You have to dream intentionally.

Most people dream a dream when they are asleep.

But to be a writer, you have to dream while you are awake, intentionally.

- Haruki Murakami.

Lisa Scottoline, on books:

Do you know what they call people who hoard books?

Smart.

- Lisa Scottoline.

Edmund Wilson, on books and reading:

No two persons ever read the same book.

- Edmund Wilson.

Ann Patchett, on writing:

I craft everything in the beginning.

I know where the characters are going before I start writing the book.

- Ann Patchett.

Barack Obama, on dedication:

If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking,

eventually you'll make progress.

- Barack Obama.

Ernest Hemingway, on writing:

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

- Ernest Hemingway.

Jhumpa Lahiri, on writing:

When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message.

I just try to write a story which is hard enough.

- Jhumpa Lahiri.

James Thurber, on how to read:

I always begin at the left with the opening word of the sentence and read toward the right and I recommend this method.

- James Thurber.

Sharon Creech, on books and reading:

I love the way that each book – any book – is its own journey.

You open it, and off you go.

You are changed in some way, large or small, by having traveled with those characters.

- Sharon Creech.