se times
02/11/2010
Whether they have a few minutes to kill or a leisurely afternoon, Southeast Europe's readers are reaching for fiction and have definite favourites.
By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 02/11/10
Whether they have a few minutes to kill or a leisurely afternoon, Southeast Europe's readers are reaching for fiction and have definite favourites.
By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 02/11/10
Readers will be the first to tell you: unplug from TV, the computer, or texting for awhile and a world of adventure awaits. It can also be a great escape mechanism.
"Reading takes my mind off of things," said Milica Sekulic, a mother of three in Montenegro. "It gives me a chance to forget the daily grind and enter a completely different world. I'm a passionate reader. I'll try to read almost any book, but I have to say that books like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Alchemist, and other similar ones are the most enjoyable."
She also likes murder mysteries and crime stories, by Michael Crichton or James Patterson.
Podgorica's Milan Vuletic devours crime stories as well. "I will read anything by Arthur Conan Doyle, especially his Sherlock Holmes stories. Agatha Christie also comes to mind."
The Twilight Saga is among favorite reads in Croatia's coastal city of Sibenik, equally popular among adults and children, said the city's Algoritam bookstore.
Elsewhere in Croatia, readers prefer Swedish crime-writer Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. While the younger audience gravitates towards vampire tales, Larsson's 500-700 page crime novels have been a "must read".
In Tirana, foreign writers are in high demand, including Danielle Steel, Johanna Lindsey and Dan Brown, according to Adrion Ltd, Tirana's largest bookstore. Top reads include Stieg Larsson's Men Who Hate Women (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), as well as novels by Paulo Coelho, Khaled Hosseini and Amos Oz.
As for local talent, Albania's Nobel Prize winning Ismail Kadare is far ahead in sales.
Among the classics, readers of all ages favour the works of Jean Paul Sartre.
Studies suggest that reading develops creativity, as a reader recreates the world on the page. But nowadays, many are inclined to watch a story rather than read it.
"It takes less time," says Tamara Mijovic, 17, a student from Podgorica. "It's not that I don't like reading, I just never seem to have time for it. I read all required readings, but they are not as interesting."
What teens want to read are novels by Cecelia Ahern, Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth Gilbert and Federico Moccia.
Also popular among this demographic is Stephanie Meyer's series The Twilight Saga, which has become a box-office favourite as well.
"All my friends and I watch the movies over and over, "said Jelena Nikolic, 15, a high school student from Kotor. "I just started reading the books during the summer break. I love the books too."
"Reading takes my mind off of things," said Milica Sekulic, a mother of three in Montenegro. "It gives me a chance to forget the daily grind and enter a completely different world. I'm a passionate reader. I'll try to read almost any book, but I have to say that books like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Alchemist, and other similar ones are the most enjoyable."
She also likes murder mysteries and crime stories, by Michael Crichton or James Patterson.
Podgorica's Milan Vuletic devours crime stories as well. "I will read anything by Arthur Conan Doyle, especially his Sherlock Holmes stories. Agatha Christie also comes to mind."
The Twilight Saga is among favorite reads in Croatia's coastal city of Sibenik, equally popular among adults and children, said the city's Algoritam bookstore.
Elsewhere in Croatia, readers prefer Swedish crime-writer Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. While the younger audience gravitates towards vampire tales, Larsson's 500-700 page crime novels have been a "must read".
In Tirana, foreign writers are in high demand, including Danielle Steel, Johanna Lindsey and Dan Brown, according to Adrion Ltd, Tirana's largest bookstore. Top reads include Stieg Larsson's Men Who Hate Women (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), as well as novels by Paulo Coelho, Khaled Hosseini and Amos Oz.
As for local talent, Albania's Nobel Prize winning Ismail Kadare is far ahead in sales.
Among the classics, readers of all ages favour the works of Jean Paul Sartre.
Studies suggest that reading develops creativity, as a reader recreates the world on the page. But nowadays, many are inclined to watch a story rather than read it.
"It takes less time," says Tamara Mijovic, 17, a student from Podgorica. "It's not that I don't like reading, I just never seem to have time for it. I read all required readings, but they are not as interesting."
What teens want to read are novels by Cecelia Ahern, Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth Gilbert and Federico Moccia.
Also popular among this demographic is Stephanie Meyer's series The Twilight Saga, which has become a box-office favourite as well.
"All my friends and I watch the movies over and over, "said Jelena Nikolic, 15, a high school student from Kotor. "I just started reading the books during the summer break. I love the books too."
Then there are the celebrity tell-alls. In Croatia, for example, tabloid staple Vlatka Pokos had a best-seller on her hands titled Life in Heaven. Also selling well was theatre critic and playwright Mani Gotovac's autobiography I Miss You.
Jorge Bucay's Let Me Tell You a Story was another popular non-fiction choice.
For many however, science fiction remains the great escape. At the American Corner, a library and education centre in Podgorica, summer brought sci-fi enthusiasts out in droves, says Sonja Dragovic, the library co-ordinator. Magazines are always popular, she added, especially "new issues of Time, Wired, The New Yorker, Scientific American and Smithsonian".
Marina Roganovic in Podgorica, Ksenija Jurkovic in Sibenik and Manjola Hala in Tirana contributed to this report.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
Jorge Bucay's Let Me Tell You a Story was another popular non-fiction choice.
For many however, science fiction remains the great escape. At the American Corner, a library and education centre in Podgorica, summer brought sci-fi enthusiasts out in droves, says Sonja Dragovic, the library co-ordinator. Magazines are always popular, she added, especially "new issues of Time, Wired, The New Yorker, Scientific American and Smithsonian".
Marina Roganovic in Podgorica, Ksenija Jurkovic in Sibenik and Manjola Hala in Tirana contributed to this report.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
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