I have hosted quite a few couchsurfers through the years. Among them some have stayed in my life as very close friends. I like the idea of couchsurfing a lot and have mostly had great experiences through it :)

My favorite roman so far is "Min Kamp" by Karl Ove Knausgård, it's translated into english as"My struggle" I think it's also in french, spanish, german, finish... read it everyone. If there is a nordic spirit, this book should be one way to experience this. I enjoy all kind of music. There are loads of great street music in Istanbul - for example Siya Siyabend.