Books, with their ability to educate and entertain, have proven almost indispensable since Gutenberg perfected the printing press in 1440.
The importance of the written word is only highlighted by Google Book’s estimate that approximately 130 million good reads were published in the intervening centuries.
You are reading: Best selling books of all time
such completion means that only a select few of the best books have been read in record numbers.
Note that there is no single source that consistently tracks book sales over the centuries and religious books such as the bible and koran have been omitted as many are freely altered.
read on for individual books and best-selling book series to date in any language.
30. the hite report (50 million)
The hite report helped redefine our understanding of the female sexual experience and the book is still considered essential reading for women of all ages.
first published in 1976, dr. Hite’s book is believed to be the first scientific analysis to focus specifically on women’s sexuality.
29. sunken ship (50 million)
richard adams originally began to tell the story of a small band of rabbits searching for a safe home for his two daughters, who insisted that he publish their tales in book form.
watership down quickly became a huge hit with children and adults alike, and the book won a couple of prestigious awards when it was published in 1972.
28. the eagle has landed (50 million)
jack higgins’ 1975 thriller involves an elite team of nazi paratroopers arriving in the uk to kidnap winston churchill and cripple the allied war effort.
The work of fiction proved so popular that the following year the book was adapted into an equally successful film.
27. the name of the rose (50 million)
Italian author Umberto Eco’s 1980 debut novel is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327.
The book quickly became a critical and commercial success after it was translated into English and other languages three years later, and a big-budget film adaptation followed in 1987.
26. black beauty (50 million)
Composed by author Anna Sewell during the last years of her life, the book is an autobiographical memoir told by the titular horse named Black Beauty.
despite dying only a few months after publication, sewell survived long enough for his only novel to become a publishing phenomenon.
25. Anne of Green Gables (50 million)
The beloved classic 1908 novel is about an orphaned girl’s arrival in a world of privilege.
Canadian author l.m. Montgomery’s episodic novel is now considered one of the best children’s novels of the mid-20th century.
24. baby & common sense book childcare (50m)
the common sense book on caring for babies and children is a book by american pediatrician benjamin spock.
The book’s central message of parents trusting their own common sense was considered revolutionary at the time of its publication in 1946.
23. heidi (50 million)
despite being written and published over a hundred years ago, heidi is still a favorite among children.
johanna spyri’s classic book recounts the adventures of orphaned heidi after she is sent to live in the swiss alps.
22. lolita (50 million)
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Lolita is the controversial 1955 novel by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov.
The plot sees a middle-aged man fall in love with a twelve-year-old lolita girl before the pair go on the run.
21. one hundred years of solitude (50 million)
The historic novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez tells the story of the Buendía family over several generations.
The book’s rich and evocative prose has come to define an entire genre known as “magical realism.”
20. you can heal your life (50 million)
The key message of this self-help book is: “if we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be cured.”
However, the theories outlined in this book have been criticized as unfounded by proponents of evidence-based medicine.
19. ben-hur: a tale of christ (50 million)
Published in 1880, Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur is considered one of the most popular and beloved American novels of the 19th century.
This faithful New Testament story intertwines the life of Jesus and that of a man who finds redemption for himself and his family.
18. the bridges of madison county (60 million)
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 bestselling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller.
The book tells the story of a lonely married woman who meets and falls in love with a free-spirited photographer.
17. the catcher in the rye (65 million)
this j.d. Salinger’s 1951 novel details two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield.
Although controversial at the time of publication for its blunt language, the book became an instant bestseller and school classic.
16. the alchemist (65 million)
Author Paulo Coelho’s visionary blend of spirituality, magical realism, and folklore has topped bestseller lists in 74 countries.
The global phenomenon follows a young shepherd as he embarks on a journey, documenting the transformative wisdom he learns along the way.
15. harry potter and the deathly hallows (65 million)
The final novel in the Harry Potter series was published in July 2007.
The fantasy finds the protagonist and his teenage companions entering into the final fight with Voldemort.
14. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (65 million)
The penultimate novel in the Harry Potter saga was published in July 2005.
The story continues during Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, as Voldemort’s power and followers grow.
13. harry potter & the order of the phoenix (65 million)
The Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the Harry Potter fantasy series.
The book finds 15-year-old Harry in his teens, complete with angry outbursts, a deepening crush, and a powerful sense of rebellion.
12. harry potter and the goblet of fire (65 million)
the goblet of fire is from the author j. k. Rowling’s fourth novel in the Harry Potter series.
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The protagonist takes on tasks that defy death, dragons, and dark wizards with the help of his best friends Ron and Hermione.
11. harry potter & the prisoner of azkaban (65 million)
The third in the Harry Potter series follows the young wizard in his third year at Hogwarts.
The book begins with a tense atmosphere at the wizarding school, due to an escaped mass murderer on the prowl.
10. harry potter & the chamber of secrets (77 million)
the chamber of secrets is the second of the British author j. k. Rowling’s popular fantasy series.
Hogwarts students find themselves turned to stone, which seems to prove Dobby the house-elf’s grim prophecy true.
9. the da vinci code (80 million)
harvard symbologist robert langdon races against the clock to crack a labyrinthine puzzle before an explosive ancient truth is lost forever.
dan brown’s 2003 mystery-thriller novel proved extremely popular with readers for its fast-paced plot.
8. the adventures of pinocchio (80 million)
the animated puppet pinocchio enjoys many adventures after being magically brought to life.
First published in 1883, author Carlo Collodi’s classic tale of redemption and fatherhood continues to appeal to children and adults alike.
7. she: an adventure story (83 million)
The plot finds academic Horace Holly and his pupil Leo Vincey traveling to a lost kingdom in the interior of Africa.
author h. rider haggard’s romantic adventure proved extraordinarily popular upon its release in 1887 and the book has never been out of print.
6. the lion, the witch and the wardrobe (85 million)
A quartet of adventurous siblings walk through a cupboard door into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch.
This book is by far the most popular in the classic fantasy Chronicles of Narnia series, written by Cambridge Academic C.S. louis.
5. and then there were none (100 million)
An incongruous assortment of guests are gathered on a remote island, then killed one by one.
This clever book topped a recent poll for Agatha Christie’s 125th birthday to find out which of her 80 crime books was the world’s favorite.
4. dream of the red camera (100 million)
Written sometime in the mid-18th century during the Qing dynasty, this epic follows the infatuations and adventures of a pubescent boy.
The book has been described by the critic Anthony West as “one of the great novels of world literature […] for the Chinese as Proust is for the French or Karamazov for the Russians.”
3. the little prince (100 million)
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book follows a young royal as he travels the universe.
This deceptively simple fable has captured the imagination of adults and children alike since it was first published in the 1940s
2. harry potter and the philosopher’s stone (120 million)
j.k. Rowling’s first book in the fantasy series finds Harry Potter, an eleven-year-old orphan, who discovers that he is a wizard, and is later invited to study at Hogwarts.
However, even when the protagonist escapes his ordinary life to enter a world of magic, he finds trouble waiting for him.
1. the hobbit (140.6 million)
the hobbit, or back and forth is j. r. r. tolkien’s children’s fantasy novel published in 1937.
The Prelude to the Lord of the Rings has remained in print continuously to entertain successive generations of readers, while the book’s hero, Bilbo Baggins, is one of the most popular fictional characters.
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