Author of quotes: Orhan Pamuk

Being a good reader does not mean to view and capture text; we need to immerse ourselves in the text of the entire soul. And for the life we fall in love with very few books. A good personal library should consist of these rare, but real books.

Much later, here lying in my bed, I realized that when the journey on the cart that is called life will end, you will not be able again to go to him, but if you're holding a book, no matter how difficult and confusing it may be, you can always go back to the beginning when it runs out, to understand life and what you could not understand. And then you again will want to read over the book.

In life so many things, so much can happen, and I keep waiting for something. What I want happens, but if very slowly, and when it does, it is not as I thought and expected. So it seems to me.

My element is water. Before you write one line or paragraph, I need to hear yourself, or near, its murmur, the gentle lapping of the waves, a tide.

In light moments I, of course, Tolstoy. When I feel good about myself when I'm happy and balanced, when I see that the world around is beautiful and meaningful - as in Tolstoy, I feel Tolstoy and trying to capture in his novels the harmony and integrity of creation. But there are moments when I don't like is happening - and that's when my soul is waking up the rebellious spirit of Dostoevsky, who whispers to me: "Tolstoy is lying, everything he says is comforting and naive fiction". In such moments I see the world is too dramatic, too stuck on himself, and it causes my anger, which finds a way through the frenzy of Dostoevsky, through his rage and pain. I infinitely admire Dostoevsky as a person and a visionary, so in moments of irritation, anxiety and depression I, of course, automatically be on his side.

First, I never describe a person one to one. Secondly, I avoid writing a book based on the history of one person. Not one life deserves to become the basis for a novel. A literary character is always a combination of many people. I often hear: "Oh, please, Mr. Pamuk, describe my life! I'll tell you everything - it's very interesting!" But interestingly it happens only while you are listening to this person or a hundred others. For a novel you need a lot of stories. One man's life is not a good novel.

I'm used to that I imagine: "Here's Orhan Pamuk - a Turkish writer, Nobel prize laureate, he writes about Istanbul." I love the city of Istanbul. But I'm more interested in people in Istanbul, his life, experiences, memories. Istanbul has become one of the heroes of my prose, he is not just a decoration. Even at a distance I feel connected with this city.

To die is like suddenly to get under the covers. As if to say: let everything be as it is, I want to go.

Love is a disease, the scientist said people. And marriage is the only cure. But this medication is like a terribly bitter quinine, and you have to take it the rest of my life, even after the fever has passed.

Modernity tells us to be mobile, get off things, don't stay in one place. It's an impossible ideal, but rather, someone's invention, which is trying to pass off as a model of life. Look around: most people don't jump from place to place and live in one place, vrasta into it, becoming part of the landscape. I'm also trying to be in his place and tell stories, like "standing on it".