Istanbul residents are fond of romance novels while people in some southeastern provinces often read books with psychological themes, the first-ever map of Turkey’s “reading culture” has revealed.

The survey of 6,212 people in 26 provinces that produced the map showed that 60.83 percent of participants do not have time to read books, and only one in four said they were in the habit of reading, at most for 30 minutes at a time.

On average, Turks read approximately 7.2 books each year, with literature, religion and education the most popular topics. Despite low levels of reading, 82.9 percent of people said they buy books; 47.4 percent, meanwhile, said they did not use libraries.

Prepared by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the SONAR Research Company, the Turkey Reading Culture Map also showed that 84.16 percent of survey participants said they did not read pirated books, even though many found book prices to be high.

“The only result that made us and the ministry surprised, and should not be taken seriously, was that pirated books are not preferred,” said Hakan Bayrakçı, SONAR’s executive board chairman. “Since the survey was made with the Culture Ministry, people may not have confessed that they read pirated books because of [potential] punishment.”

According to the survey results, 45.5 percent of participants choose books at random and do not read regularly. Despite increased use of the Internet, 82.32 percent of participants said they still read printed materials such as newspapers, magazines and books.

Among survey participants, 85.7 percent read Turkish books, with Ömer Seyfettin, Ayşe Kulin and Orhan Pamuk among the authors whose books are read most regularly. When people do not have favorite authors, they typically watch TV in their spare time.

The survey also showed regional differences in reading habits, with people in Istanbul and the southeastern provinces of Bitlis, Hakkari, Muş and Van often reading romance novels while people in the northern province of Tokat prefer detective books. Psychological novels are popular in the southeastern provinces of Batman, Mardin, Siirt and Şırnak.