Numbers of books sold is a good thermometer to guide book readers. And then it is only a vague guess, probably inflated by the xtains. Asterix by rene goscinny, albert uderzo, and jeanyves ferri. The most prolific and popular novel of all time, don quixote, is a testament to how great storytelling has no expiration date. Reading books on ipads in the united states in 2012. That versatility makes it one of the best comics of all time. With all those caveats in mind and not including e book sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell. To make the bible the most printed book you have to add up all its flavors. In my version of the the list, the bible remained the top seller in the world, with sales figures ranging. This book is the story of a pilot who finds himself isolated in a. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. Thank you vey much for accepting the material i located as the answer to your question.
Sonys ps4 is the second bestselling console of all time. It is also the most widely and given some of the liberties taken, wildly translated book of all time, too. Historys 10 best selling cars of all time autoblog. Authors of comic books are not included unless they have been published in book format. Just last week i was looking for a new book, so naturally i headed over to amazon to take a look at the best seller list. Nov 15, 20 researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world.
Here are some sources that cite the pilgrims progress as the second most widely read book, after the bible. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the sorcerers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. The list of video games and figures mentioned below have been compiled from various sources around the web, such as wikipedia. In honor of the kindles 10year anniversary, amazon released new data from amazon charts, sharing some of the most popular kindle books of all time, based on kindle sales in. The 30 bestselling comic book series of all time best life.
Oct 10, 2016 sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. The book thief anniversary editionthe book thief anniversary edition markus zusak markus zusak. The bestselling book series of all time list challenges. Since then it has been translated into over 200 languages and is said to be the second biggest selling book in world history after the bible. Menu icon a vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines.
These are the 20 most popular video games of all time. The 20 most popular video games of all time updated 2020. Bestselling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. The fifty shades trilogy just topped 10 million copies sold in the u. While the novel enjoys surges in popularity now and then, especially in spain, the sales number is a guess.
Atlas shrugged has sold around 7 million copies since it was published, which puts it at around half as. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. There is, of course, no way to tally sales from the 1600s, so although some sources suggest that this has sold 500 million copies, theres no way anyone could. I believe that claim is a reference to a 1991 survey conducted by the library of congress of 2,000 book of the month readers, so take that as you will. For the record, the excluded books have sold an estimated hundreds of millions of copies each several billion, in the bibles case and would have taken most of the top positions on the list. May 30, 2018 the most prolific and popular novel of all time, don quixote, is a testament to how great storytelling has no expiration date. This is a book that is going to hold the topmost position in the list.
The following list shows hard copy sales figures from a slew of sources. One reason behind it being the worlds best selling book of all times is that it is available in more than 2,000 languages. Within bunyans own lifetime it sold 100,000 copies. Don quixote is at the top of the most published books of all time list. In my version of the the list, the bible remained the top seller in the world, with sales figures ranging widely. Other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. Jun 02, 2014 the best selling books of all time are hard to list, as reliable sales figures are hard to find, especially for the bible and the quran, the most printed books of all time. May 25, 2018 the bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. Book one of the fifty shades trilogy fifty shades of grey seriesfifty shades of grey. Book one of the fifty shades trilogy fifty shades of grey. The second bestselling book of all time crisis magazine. Best selling books of all time which are the bestselling books of all time.
It shows dan browns da vinci code is the big seller of the last decade, followed closely by jk rowlings harry potter novels. Today, the worlds most translated book is the bible. With all those caveats in mind and not including ebook sales, here are. Here are the 10 best selling books of all time with their estimated sales figures. This book is the story of a pilot who finds himself isolated in a desert and encounters a prince who happened. The song recognized as the bestselling single of all time, was released before the poprock singleschart era and was listed as the worlds bestselling single in the firstever guinness book of records published in 1955 andremarkablystill retains the title more than 50 years later. How does it stack up against other bestselling book series of all time. The erotic fifty shades trilogy is about to sell over 20 million copies in the u. The most popular book of all time christian universities. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years he found. It is speculated that as much as 6 billion copies of the bible were sold in the past, and it is still the most preferred book for the masses.
With all those caveats in mind and not including ebook sales, here are the 21 bestselling books of all time, as far as we can tell. There is, of course, no way to tally sales from the 1600s, so although some sources suggest that this has sold 500 million copies, theres no way anyone could know for certain. Just to remind some of the commentators, this is number of books sold in all time according to sources of wikipedia. Most of the books selected are suitable for a well educated layman with only a few being for a more serious reader. Also, nobody likes people like john galt or those who try to follow him. Although it is quite difficult to come to a conclusion on the most popularly sold book throughout history, this article tries to list down top ten of the most probable bestselling books of all time. The imitation of christ by thomas a kempis 1418 sales unknown, but widely regarded as the bestselling christian title after the bible.
To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies. It was published in three volumes between 29 july, 1954 and 20 october, 1955. The 100 most influential books ever written 181 books. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. May 14, 2018 top 10 most published books of all time posted on may 14, 2018 january 29, 2019 les listes is a participant in the amazon services llc associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to and affiliated sites. The history of thought from ancient times to today 1998 is a book of intellectual history written by martin seymoursmith, a british poet, critic, and biographer. The huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. The husbands secretthe husbands secret liane moriarty liane moriarty. See how it compares with the most popular book series ever. A list of the best selling books of all time, fiction and nonfiction best sellers. Sonys playstation 4 has become the second bestselling console of all time, surpassing the original playstation, which sold 102. Number of books read in the past 12 months in the u. One reason behind it being the worlds best selling book of all times is.
Hebrew, greek, aramaic many copies of the holy bible have been freely given away during missionary work. Its notoriously tough to track total sales over the years, and older titles in the public domain can be sold by many publishers. These top selling books span multiple centuries, covering many genres and original. Quotations from chairman mao authored by mao zedong book sales. This surprising list of bestselling music artists by alltime sales finds the backstreet boys have sold more albums than queen. A tale of two cities charles dickens over 200 million copies sold. Rowlings harry potter series at fifth place with 450m copies. The top 100 books of all time and of the last year is out. Mar 12, 2011 is atlas shrugged the second most popular book next to the bible. To keep the list manageable, only authors with estimated sales of at least 100 million are included. The most startling result is that even going out to the top 20, we still fell just shy of the topselling individual book by dr. First, in the story, the titular character read too many books about chivalry and romances.
Sep 07, 2010 the huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. Following closely on the heels of its big brother the honda civic, the accord entered the scene in 1976. And for more classic reading content, check out these 40 books every women over 40 should have on her bookshelf. One of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes, spiderman, has maintained cult status in the eyes of geeks and even normal people for decades. Jun 28, 2016 other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Best selling refers to the estimated number of copies sold of all fiction books written or cowritten by an author. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. What is the second best selling book of all time after the bible. Rowling is the best selling book series in history. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed.
At one time mein kampf was the number one produced book in germany. Since religious and political books, such as the holy bible, are often given away for free, they have not been included on this list. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. The book has remained in the top slot in the uk bestseller lists for the 16th week running. With thousands of translations, over forty original authors, and a two millennium history, lets take a look at the trails, tribulations, changes, and status of the worlds most popular book. It is the oldest book on this list, so its had a long time to accrue sales. The top 10 most published books of all time les listes. This is a list of the worlds bestselling albums of recorded music.
In fact, the very first book printed in english was a translation. Sep 22, 2006 to make the bible the most printed book you have to add up all its flavors. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. Honda has sold around 18 million accords since then. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and quotations from chairman mao are believed to. The second and third books, fifty shades darker and fifty shades freed, are also selling fast, with uk. It has become the second most widely read book of all time after the bible. Platinum record for michael jackson s thriller 1982, the bestselling album of all time. What does that mean anyway if it was produced in the biggest number. As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80. Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, harry potter by j.
May 09, 2012 number of books read in the past 12 months in the u. The most popular novel on this list was spanish novel don quixote which came in at fourth place with 500m copies sold, followed by j. African american literature book club celebrating our literary legacy since 1997 black literature is for everyone african american literature book club. The novel the lord of the rings is authored by english scholar j. The novel was authored between 1937 and 1949 and is regarded as one of the bestselling books. Is atlas shrugged the second most popular book next to the. Sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. Book readership in the united states from 2000 to 2012.
The 100 best science books of all time list contains a mixture of classic and popular works, chosen for their accessibility and relevance. What is the second best selling book of all time after. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin. I feel that goodreads should sponsor its own list of best selling books of all time.
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