*I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe.* [*Donna Tartt*](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8719.Donna_Tartt?utm_medium=email&utm_source=quote_of_the_day) Happy birthday, Donna Tartt! The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch was well on her way to literary stardom at the age of 18. Her writing gained her special admittance into a graduate short story course when she was just a freshman at the University of Mississippi.