My terrible first line

I've had an extremely unproductive summer and I'll admit I did absolutely nothing worthwhile with my time but hey, I'm back home and here nobody expects me to put myself to any good use when I'm off for vacations.Since I wouldn't want to break my lazy spell by actually writing something, here's a list of the funniest first lines ever written that made my morning! 33 Of The Most Hilariously Terrible First Sentences In Literature History

I'm also down with a terrible flu but this made me feel SO much better! Its just Horrilarious! (a term used to define something which is equal parts horrifying and hilarious). Thank me later for giving you a new word. 

This list actually inspired me to write something myself.  Here's my attempt at a terrible first line: 

As she lay in a pool of crumpled tissues each one lined with snot, she looked up to her computer screen, the blank whiteness tingled her senses like nose hair right before a sneeze and in that sudden moment of epiphany, she knew. Her writing the greatest novel was as inevitable as a colony of bacteria on a beef steak at room temperature! 

How do you like me now!? 

P.S. Please ignore me. It's the meds talking. 

The 'Before' Trilogy- Reaffirming faith in true love since 1995

I picked up a couple of books over the past month..Moth smoke, Of love and other demons, To the lighthouse... only to lose my interest and put them back. I figured I'll just take them back to Istanbul and read them there. I have however, been watching many movies lately and tonight I watched the third and probably the last installment in the 'Before' trilogy- Before Midnight. Now I know not many people have seen it or liked it but for me, each movie resonates exactly what love is- a feeling that cements over time and lasts with us as long as we live.

The first part of the movie came out 18 years ago. Some of the interesting parts that drew me to this series are the unconventional actors: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, both rendering undeniably charming performances in all three films, the fact that they co-wrote the movies and that the story evolves as they age; each part coming out after a whopping nine years.

I'm a major romantic drama junkie but that's not the only reason why I love this series. Not only is every movie accentuated with thoughtful dialogues and masterful direction, but it also succeeds in being real and convincing, so much so that its almost painful to watch sometimes. It's about witnessing a couple's evolution from twenty-somethings into their forties; each movie depicting one day in their lives and the unrelenting love that binds them together. Every conversation in those movies leaves you craving for more and wondering if you'd ever find someone who you could talk to that way.

The first one makes you believe in simple, true love. The second makes you believe in destiny and pure luck while the third makes you question everything you've come to believe along the way.

Before sunrise (1995)
"I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away."
"Isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?"

Before Sunset (2004)
"Jes: In the months leading up to my wedding, I was thinking about you all the time. I mean, even on my way there; I'm in the car, a buddy of mine is driving me downtown and I'm staring out the window, and I think I see you, not far from the church, right? Folding up an umbrella and walking into a deli on the corner of 13th and Broadway. And I thought I was going crazy, but now I think it probably was you.
Celine: I lived on 11th and Broadway.
Jesse: You see?"

Before Midnight (2013)
"I fucked up my whole life because of the way you sing."
"Like sunlight, sunset, we appear, we disappear. We are so important to some, but we are just passing through." 

Summertime sadness and Gatsby

Once you leave and come back, people expect you to be the same but you're not nearly the same person who left. This is why coming back is hard. I came back home after a year in Turkey and it surprises me when people ask me about my time there. I have so little to say. When you're out there on your own, there is a strange air of solitude that takes holds of you. Nobody to come home to, nobody to ask about your day and even if they did, nothing you say can explain to them the change you feel in yourself. They still see you as the same person who left but you know better. 

How do you explain to someone the longing you felt looking at hazy islands drawn on a horizon smudged by the receding light of the sun from a ferry boat? How do you tell them of the freedom you feel walking home with a friend at 4 in the morning with your head up, marveling at the white birds circling a brightly lit building? Nothing you say can make them understand the euphoria of joining a protest in a foreign city, along with hundreds of roaring civilians, all the while knowing it has nothing to do with you. Heck! You don't even know what they are chanting. How do you tell someone of the inexplicable peace you felt 2..300ft up in the air, attached to a parachute, looking down at the sea, feeling bigger than the world? The answer is, you can't because they weren't there with you. So I don't even try. But I hope I'm more articulate at writing about the books that I took along with me than I am at talking about my experiences.  

Up in the air!

What am I itching to write about? The Great Gatsby! We readers have had the misfortune of watching our favorite novels being turned into horrible movies time and again but that wasn't the case with Gatsby (at least not for me).Never before has contemporary music been featured in a period film and I think it worked extremely well, especially because it was in a movie like this. I went to watch it three times! And every time my heart broke a little when Daisy, with her perfectly coquettish accent said: 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.' 'Cant repeat the past? Well, of course you can', I murmured with Gatsby trying to say it just like him. And every time, I left the theatre satisfied after hearing that iconic line: 'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.'

Somewhere, Fitzgerald sitting among teary-eyed authors with unfaithful adaptions is looking down at us with a glass of champagne and a smug smile because Baz Luhrmann did complete justice to his work. I imagine he looks like this-

Do I want to watch the movie a 4th time? Will I sever all relations with you if you speak ill of the movie? Will I throw a brick at the critics who gave the movie a bad review if I ever see them? The answer to all those questions is a big YES :) 

To Mr. Luhrmann, I have only one thing to say (and here I assume Nick Carraway's awe struck voice): "They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." 

I'm back!

As guilty as I am about neglecting my blog for over three months, I am not going to wallow in self reproach (done enough of that) and instead move on to tell you of the books I've been reading and the things I've been doing. 

First things first, I moved to a new city! I now live in Istanbul, Turkey which feels pretty much like lıvıng ın a museum at times. Excuse the dot less 'i's, for I haven't gotten used to the Turkish keyboards. I'm studying Psychology, exploring a highly intriguing city and adjusting to a completely different (read: independent)  life over here. Living alone has its charms and I feel extremely lucky to be having that oh-so-desirable European college experience. 

Needless to say I haven't allowed the craziness around me take its toll on my reading. So here's the list of books I read since I got here. 

1. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway 
2. Animal Farm - George Orwell 
3. Istanbul: Memories and the City - Orhan Pamuk 
4. A Mercy - Toni Morrison 
5. The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde

...and currently Im reading This side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My obsession with Fitzgerald ıs at an all time high these days due to the movie adaption of The Great Gatsby. The trailer alone gives me chills every time I watch ıt. We've all had our share of horror stories about brllıant books ruined by movies but I have high hopes from this one, primarily because I think the cast is gorgeous! 
Moving on, last night I made a collage...a sort of hodge podge of pop culture mixed with personal favorites. Its for the cover of a notebook I recently got.  

No pretentiousness intended but I carry around a notebook with me when I'm travelling, writing down whatever grabs my attention. A seat by the window is all you need to get the ideas rolling in. I love the cover, its a painting of the Maiden's Tower (built during the Byzantine era) in the middle of the Bosphorus. The tower gets it's name from the two maidens who are said to have lived there.

Every monument in Turkey has a story behind ıt. Some are enshrouded in legends and myths, others in ancient glory. Its a city of varying tastes, beliefs and sights. Before coming here I heard and read a lot about the 'stark contrasts' within the city or as Orhan Pamuk puts it, the dilemma of:  'Westernisation and Europe or tradition and Islam.' Istanbul undeniably has strong elements of both. In his memoir he talks at length about the Huzun (melancholy) of the city's citizens which comes of living amid the ruins of a lost empire, but lets leave that discussion for another post. I'm itching to write about this fascinating city so expect something of that sort in the near future.

In short, I am back. I started this blog last August and now that I sit here writing after so long I realise just how much Ive mıssed ıt. A big thank you to all those who read and appreciate it. Hope you all read some wonderful books in 2012. The list of books I read this year is in the left section and I'd love to see yours too.  

Happy reading! 

Things I do not need: More books. Things I will keep buying: More Books.

Exactly what I'm going for.

P.S. Pictures of a dozen new books gracing my shelves to be put up soon. One step closer to creating a personal library. XD