The value of books sold in Romania was down 15 percent last year, to EUR 60 million, according to an estimation by Romanian bookstore chain Diverta. The value doesn't include books sold in kiosks, which would take the number up to EUR 112 million, according to Diverta.

The average price of a book in Romania is of RON 19 (around EUR 4.4), up 2 percent on 2009. The average number of purchased books per inhabitant in Romania is just one, while in countries like Poland and Hungary, the average is 8 to 10 books per inhabitant.

The best sold authors last year were, according to Diverta's statistics, Gheorghe Mencinicopschi, with a book on food, followed by Dan Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Rhonda Bryne, Herta Muller and Paolo Coelho.

editor@romania-insider.com