It is no frustrating truth to claim that self-improvement texts written by famous authors are prevalent. Their passionately-written titles such as “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***” or “You are a Bad*ss” capture the audience's immediate interest and it is only a matter of time before they steal the headlines as bestsellers.

Since the beginning of written texts, books that outline self-development through advice, and experience are quite frequent. In fact, Meditations - written by Marcus Aurelius - one of the earliest books in stoic philosophy, can be best described as a self-help book.

They have proven to be interactive and reachable, hence their popularity and selection.

In the Kurdistan region and the Middle East, reading culture is undergoing massive change with the growth of bookstores which provide the latest books from all over the world.

For many, book culture, such as the creation of book clubs, are important due to how they offer the readers a kind of ‘an escape’ from daily affairs which prioritizes many people to consider visiting libraries or get books from local bookstores.

Currently, bookstores - a majority of whom have social media pages on instagram - throughout the Kurdistan region sell a variety of books written from all around the world. With popular classics being translated into Kurdish, the public has access to many literary works around the globe.

Yet the question remains of whether such prevalent access to self help texts can be useful to broaden book culture. Due to pressure from the market and demand, bookstore owners rarely increase the number of books that are not bestsellers. Classics are rare to find and the ones that are not prevalent or old can only be ordered which may be expensive and inaccessible for many areas.

So, when you want to reflect back at Oscar Wilde’s texts or want to study about the history of India, written by a professor, there isn’t much to hope for other than digital access which for some may not offer the same experience as a paperback, or paying for an expensive order abroad.