Balzac drank 50 cups of coffee a day?

10 Bizarre Literary Myths and Conspiracy Theories
There are people who spend years trying to prove certain literary myths and conspiracy theories, Jason Diamond writes in Flavorwire, but most never quite do it.
“Some of those theories are hilarious,” he says, “a couple are totally pointless, others are impossible to prove right or wrong, while the most entertaining ones are borderline batshit insane. These are a few of our favorites.”
Did Honore de Balzac really drink that much coffee on a daily basis? I mean, I drink 50 cups a week and everyone thinks I am an addict, but 50 a day? Come on!
honore-de-balzacUnfortunately, no outside source — a 19th-century barista, perhaps — stepped forward as a witness to Balzac’s chain-drinking of black coffee, and that would have been a whole lot of caffeine coursing through his veins (not to mention liquid swimming around in his stomach).
Bizarre Literary Theories
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“My Bookstore Needs Your Help”
“I am making a personal appeal for funds to catch up on back rent and back taxes owed,” Patty Cryan writes, “due to high medical expenses.”
It will be a day worth celebrating when bookstores have enough to stay in business without having to jump through hoops while the military has to go and beg for money to fund the latest useless killing toy to add to their gadget closet. But until that day comes… save books. If you have a buck or two to spare, throw it thisaway.
Save a bookstore
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Author pleads: Please don’t buy my new novel on Amazon
Jaime Clarke, a Boston-based author and independent bookstore owner, has sent out a public plea that readers resist buying his new novel from the e-commerce giant.
Don’t buy my book
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Never such a good time for a political rant as right now…
“HOW THE HELL DO YOU SHUT DOWN A *GOVERNMENT* AND STAY A VIABLE NATION?,” I ask at my personal blog.
Personal rant
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Family hosts 200 homeless for dinner after daughter’s wedding is called off
When an engaged couple calls off the wedding, it is usually a time of sadness and anger. But one family in Atlanta found a way to turn a terrible situation into a beautiful one.
Carol and Willie Fowler’s daughter Tamara was set to get married at the Villa Christina catering hall, when the wedding was called off just 40 days before the event. Initially the Fowlers were upset to hear that the lavish gathering they had planned and paid for was not going to happen.
Then they had a wonderful and generous idea: They invited 200 of the city’s homeless to feast on the four-course meal that would have been part of Tamara’s wedding reception.
Wedding feast for homeless
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Alma Alexander
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