Elif Batuman Quotes
The first thing I tried to write was a novel, when I took that time off in grad school. Then I didn't finish it. I went back to school, and then I started writing nonfiction kind of by accident.
Quotes to Explore
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I love being the mayor. I want to be the mayor forever.
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I could be the best looking guy in the Duma, but that's only because all the other guys are over 60.
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If a Chinese student does not know Chinese learning, it's like a person without a surname, a horse without a bridle, a boat without a helm. The more Western learning he possesses, the more hateful of China he will become. Even if he becomes a capable man of vast learning, how can he be of any use to the state?
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I think music needs danger; it needs risk.
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It is absolutely unacceptable to think that in the last year of the president's term, that he should stop doing his job, and he won't.
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However, it does seem now that the international community, more importantly the powers that have influence, and, even more importantly, Afghanistan's neighbors realize that it is high time that they work together, and not against one another.
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One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
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I was studying political science; I was adamant that I was going to follow in my father's footsteps.
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It gives me immense pleasure to be trustworthy, faithful, and true – to have the kind of romantic bond that inspires this.
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I applied for funding to embark on an overseas field trip in Iceland, and spent six weeks there happily holed up in the national archives, museums and libraries, sifting through ministerial and parish records, censuses, maps, microfilm, logs, and local histories.
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I'll sit around and play my guitar; that's how I write tunes.
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I consider science fiction and fantasy my genre. And I've noticed over the years that there doesn't tend to be a lot of lighthearted, comedic stuff.
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Everything that has happened to me has been amazing and surprising.
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The promotion of family continuity and stability is a legitimate state interest.
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I was under the false impression that I could sing in high school, so I did a lot of musical stuff. I can't sing or dance, so that was entertaining for everyone.
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Dave thought he was bigger than Van Halen the band. So there was this catfight going on for 10 years.
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I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.
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If I were to meet the most incredible man, and he just so happened to not make as much money as I do, I wouldn't hold it against him.
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It's good to have a governing body to oversee matters in making of films, but you can't blame films for what is happening in society.
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I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive, and I'm very fast. I tend to not write for a long period of time until I can't not write, and then I write first drafts in gallops. I won't eat right. I forget to do my laundry.
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Ever since I was little, my mum used to choose an outfit for me and lay it on the bed so I'd know what I was wearing the next day. I never went to a uniformed school, so I always had an outfit – and I never really grew out of that, I don't think.
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I think America has a bad rap right now... and hopefully Obama will change that.
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I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you of all people. Throughout my life you were the one person I could turn to. The one person I could always count on to understand. And now that I’ve lost you, I’ve lost everything.
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The first thing I tried to write was a novel, when I took that time off in grad school. Then I didn't finish it. I went back to school, and then I started writing nonfiction kind of by accident.
