Libris Tracks 35 Years of Romanian Reading

Libris, a Romanian bookstore chain, published an analysis of its bestselling books over the last 15 years, revealing shifts in the country’s reading habits. Starting in 1991 with a bookstore in Brașov, Libris observed an initial surge in demand for authors previously banned under communist rule—writers like Mircea Eliade and George Orwell. As Romania transitioned, books focused on business and self-improvement gained popularity in the late 1990s.

During the 2000s, Libris expanded online to reach Romanians living abroad and those in smaller towns with limited access to books. More recently, from 2016 onward, titles addressing trauma, meaning, and healing—including works by Gabor Maté and Viktor Frankl—rose to the top of the charts. Notably, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has seen consistent sales growth over the past decade.

Libris now manages a large warehouse and ships roughly 10,000 packages daily, while also supporting literacy through the CarteTeca project. The company acknowledges that fully understanding the long-term impact of these trends requires continued observation.