The world of books, reading, and words is full of surprises. Take a look at some of these stories about writers and other creative people (from the Buzzfeed website):

• Green Eggs & Ham – This Dr. Seuss classic was written on a bet. Publisher Bennett Cerf wagered $50 that Ted Geisel couldn’t write a children’s book using fewer than 50 different words. Geisel won.
• Thomas Jefferson – The third U.S. president (and writer of the Declaration of Independence) invented more than 100 “American” words to distinguish U.S. writing from British usage—including the word “anglophobia.”
• Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell began work on her first (and only) novel after recovering from an auto accident. During her convalescence, she read so many books from the local library that her husband got tired of going back and forth—so she suggested she try writing a book of her own.
• Amazon – The first book sold on the now dominant website was Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies, by Douglas Hofstadter. Its subject: whether machines could be taught to think like people.