Saramago's 'Blindness' revealed as most borrowed library book in 2023

Umut Erdem - ANKARA

While the Turkish Librarians Association has listed the most preferred books by library readers in 2023, the most borrowed book was author Jose Saramago's novel, “Blindness.”

The Association will organize a series of events under the theme of "Sustainability and Advocacy" as part of the 60th Library Week, which will be held between March 25-31 this year.

The week will start with a conference on "Artificial Intelligence Education and Libraries" by Prof. Dr. Şahin Albayrak in the capital Ankara.

On March 27, a silent book reading will take place in the squares or schools of 81 cities with the slogan "We Read Books for a Sustainable World."

Within the scope of the week, statistics from 1,257 public libraries in 81 provinces and districts were used to compile the books most preferred by readers in libraries across the country. Jose Saramago's "Blindness", Matt Haig's "Midnight Library,” Ahmet Ümit's "Land of Lost Gods,” Zülfü Livaneli's "The Story of My Brother" and Ahmet Ümit's "Swallow's Scream" were the top five books most read by library readers.

"Many of the books we buy from a bookstore to 'read' or 'keep on my bookshelf' are not read. In this context, the most read book in libraries means a book that has reached its real readers," said Ali Fuat Kartal, the president of the Turkish Librarians Association.

"The fact that Saramago's novel 'Blindness' is the most read book in libraries is important not only because of Saramago's great narrative, but also because it shows how everything can be abstracted from morality in a world pandemic, and what people do when others cannot see them can be defined as morality," he concluded.