“My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical sc…” — Elif Batuman

There's a lot to be said for an American-style liberal-arts education, which prevents young people from professionalizing right away.

'Constructed Worlds' comes from a novel draft that I wrote in my early twenties and reread/revised only in my late thirties.

Soccer is taken extremely seriously in Turkey.

I enjoy a good meal as much as anyone, but I get so confused by nutritional, budgetary, ecological, ethical, aesthetic, and time-management concerns that I often subsist for weeks on instant oatmeal and multivitamins.