List of best-selling books
Gutenberg Bible
This page provides lists of best-selling single-volume books and book series to date and in any language. "Best-selling" refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book, rather than the number of books printed or currently owned. Comics and textbooks are not included in this list. Book versions of plays, like Shakespeare's works, are also excluded. The books are listed according to the highest sales estimate as reported in reliable, independent sources.
List of best-selling single-volume books
Claims of at least 1 billion copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bible (Koine Greek τὰ Βίβλια) | Traditional Christian view: Revelation or Inspiration by God to various authors | Hebrew, Koine Greek, Aramaic | 70 BC- 105 AD,
Further information: dating of the Bible |
2.5 billion to more than 6 billion |
| 毛主席语录 (Quotations from Chairman Mao) (the Little Red Book) | Quotations from Mao Zedong; collected by the PLA Daily of the People's Liberation Army and signed by Lin Biao | Chinese & 50 languages |
1964 | 800 million to 6.5 billion; note, however, that of the 6.5 billion copies printed and shipped, maybe only a third were actually bought, and the rest are on stock in stores or factories worldwide |
Claims between 100 million and 1 billion copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| القرآن (The Qur’ān) (Koran) | Traditional Muslim view: Revelation by Allah (God) through Angel Gabriel to Muhammad | Classical Arabic | Traditional Muslim view: | ||
| 新华字典 (Xinhua Zidian) (Xinhua Dictionary) | Chief editor: Wei Jiangong | Chinese | 1957 | 400 million | |
| 毛主席诗词 (Chairman Mao's Poems) | Mao Zedong | Chinese | 1966 | 400 million | |
| 毛泽东选集 (Selected Articles of Mao Zedong) | Mao Zedong | Chinese | 1966 | 252.5 million | |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens | English | 1859 | 200 million | |
| Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship | Robert Baden-Powell | English | 1908 | 150 million | |
| The Lord of the Rings | J. R. R. Tolkien | English | 1954–1955 | 150 million | |
| Book of Mormon | Traditional Latter-Day-Saint view: Compilation by the prophet Mormon, revealed to Joseph Smith, Jr. | English | 1830 - | 130 million | |
| The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life | Jehovah's Witnesses (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York) |
English | 1968 | 107 million | |
| 论三个代表 (On the Three Representations) | Jiang Zemin | Chinese | 2001 | 100 million | |
| And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie | English | 1939 - | 100 million | |
| The Hobbit | J. R. R. Tolkien | English | 1937 - | 100 million | |
| 紅樓夢 (Dream of the Red Chamber) | Cao Xueqin | Chinese | 18th century | 100 million |
[edit] Claims between 50 million and 100 million copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| She | H. Rider Haggard | English | 1887 | 83 million |
| Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | French | 1943 | 80 million |
| The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | English | 2003 | 80 million |
| The Catcher in the Rye | J. D. Salinger | English | 1951 | 65 million |
| O Alquimista (The Alchemist) | Paulo Coelho | Portuguese | 1988 | 65 million |
| Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary | Merriam-Webster | English | 1898 | 55 million |
| Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre (Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning) | Johanna Spyri | German | 1880 | 50 million |
| The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care | Dr. Benjamin Spock | English | 1946 | 50 million |
| Anne of Green Gables | Lucy Maud Montgomery | English | 1908 | 50 million |
| Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions: The autobiography of a horse | Anna Sewell | English | 1877 | 50 million |
Claims between 30 million and 50 million copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il Nome della Rosa (The Name of the Rose) | Umberto Eco | Italian | 1980 | 50 million |
| The Hite Report | Shere Hite | English | 1976 | 48 million |
| Charlotte's Web | E.B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams | English | 1952 | 45 million |
| The Tale of Peter Rabbit | Beatrix Potter | English | 1902 | 45 million |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | J.K. Rowling | English | 2007 | 44 million |
| Jonathan Livingston Seagull | Richard Bach | English | 1970 | 40 million |
| A Message to Garcia | Elbert Hubbard | English | 1899 | 40 million |
| Roget's Thesaurus | Peter Mark Roget | English | 1852 - | 40 million |
| Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book | various authors | English | 1930 - | 38 million |
| Как закалялась сталь (Kak zakalyalas' stal'; How the Steel Was Tempered) | Nikolai Ostrovsky | Russian | 1932 | 36.4 million copies in USSR |
| Война и мир (Voyna i mir; War and Peace) | Leo Tolstoy | Russian | 1869 | 36.0 million copies in USSR |
| You Can Heal Your Life | Louise Hay | English | 1984 | 35 million |
| Kane and Abel | Jeffrey Archer | English | 1979 | 34 million |
| Het Achterhuis (The Diary of a Young Girl,The Diary of Anne Frank) | Anne Frank | Dutch | 1947 | 30 million |
| In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? | Charles M. Sheldon | English | 1896 | 30 million |
| Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary | A. S. Hornby | English | 1948 | 30 million |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | English | 1960 | 30 million |
| Valley of the Dolls | Jacqueline Susann | English | 1966 | 30 million |
| Gone with the Wind | Margaret Mitchell | English | 1936 | 30 million |
| Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) | Gabriel García Márquez | Spanish | 1967 | 30 million |
| The Purpose Driven Life | Rick Warren | English | 2002 | 30 million |
| The Thorn Birds | Colleen McCullough | English | 1977 | 30 million |
| Think and Grow Rich | Napoleon Hill | English | 1937 | 30 million |
| Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book | Bill Wilson | English | 1939 | 30 million |
[ Claims between 20 million and 30 million copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle | English | 1969 | 29 million | Children's Fiction |
| The Late, Great Planet Earth | Hal Lindsey, C. C. Carlson | English | 1970 | 28 million | Religion/Spirituality |
| Betty Crocker Cookbook | various authors as Betty Crocker | English | 1955- | 27 million | Cookery |
| The Wind in the Willows | Kenneth Grahame | English | 1908 | 25 million | Children's Fiction |
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | George Orwell | English | 1949 | 25 million | Dystopian |
| The Celestine Prophecy | James Redfield | English | 1993 | 23 million | Religious Fiction |
| The Godfather | Mario Puzo | English | 1969 | 21 million | Crime |
| 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai kokugo jiten) | Tadao Yamada | Japanese | 1972 | 20.4 million | Dictionary |
| 狼图腾 (Wolf Totem) | Jiang Rong | Chinese | 2004 | 20 million | Fiction |
| English Grammar | Lindley Murray | English | 1795 | 20 million | General Reference |
| The Happy Hooker: Her Own Story | Xaviera Hollander | English | 1971 | 20 million | Autobiography |
| Jaws | Peter Benchley | English | 1974 | 20 million | Thriller |
| Love You Forever | Robert Munsch | English | 1986 | 20 million | Children's literature |
| Sophie's World | Jostein Gaarder | Norwegian | 1991 | 20 million | Philosophical novel |
| The Women's Room | Marilyn French | English | 1977 | 20 million | Feminist fiction |
Claims between 10 million and 20 million copies
| Book | Author(s) | Original language | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fear of Flying | Erica Jong | English | 1973 | 18 million |
| The Joy of Cooking | various authors | English | 1936 | 18 million |
| 英語基本単語集 (Eigo Kihon Tangoshu) | Yoshio Akao | Japanese, English | 1942 | 17.2 million |
| Goodnight Moon | Margaret Wise Brown | English | 1947 | 16 million |
| Guess How Much I Love You | Sam McBratney | English | 1994 | 15 million |
| The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Stephen R. Covey | English | 1989 | 15 million |
| Shōgun | James Clavell | English | 1975 | 15 million |
| 試験に出る英単語 (Siken Ni Deru Eitango) | Ichiro Mori | Japanese, English | 1967 | 15 million |
| The Poky Little Puppy | Janette Sebring Lowrey | English | 1942 | 15 million |
| The Pillars of the Earth | Ken Follett | English | 1989 | 15 million |
| How to Win Friends and Influence People | Dale Carnegie | English | 1936 | 15 million |
| Das Parfum (Perfume) | Patrick Süskind | German | 1985 | 15 million |
| What to Expect When You're Expecting | Arlene Eisenberg and Heidi Murkoff | English | 1984 | 15 million |
| The Horse Whisperer | Nicholas Evans | English | 1995 | 15 million |
| La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind) | Carlos Ruiz Zafón | Spanish | 2001 | 15 million |
| Tuesdays with Morrie | Mitch Albom | English | 1997 | 14 million |
| God's Little Acre | Erskine Caldwell | English | 1933 | 14 million |
| Follow Your Heart | Susanna Tamaro | Italian | 1994 | 14 million |
| The Outsiders | S. E. Hinton | English | 1967 | 13 million |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Roald Dahl | English | 1964 | 13 million |
| 新英和中辞典 (Shin Eiwa Chu Jiten) | Shigeru Takebayashi | Japanese, English | 1967 | 12 million |
| Peyton Place | Grace Metalious | English | 1956 | 12 million |
| Dune | Frank Herbert | English | 1965 | 12 million |
| La Peste (The Plague) | Albert Camus | French | 1947 | 12 million |
| The Naked Ape | Desmond Morris | English | 1968 | 12 million |
| The Bridges of Madison County | Robert James Waller | English | 1992 | 12 million |
| 旺文社古語辞典 (Obunsha Kogo Jiten) | Akira Matsumura | Japanese | 1960 | 11 million |
| Things Fall Apart | Chinua Achebe | English | 1958 | 11 million |
| 広辞苑 (Kōjien) | Izuru Shinmura | Japanese | 1955 | 11 million |
| The Exorcist | William Peter Blatty | English | 1971 | 11 million |
| Catch-22 | Joseph Heller | English | 1961 | 10 million |
| 三省堂国語辞典 (Sanseido Kokugo Jiten) | Kenbō Hidetoshi | Japanese | 1960 | 10 million |
| Eye of the Needle | Ken Follett | English | 1978 | 10 million |
| A Brief History of Time | Stephen Hawking | English | 1988 | 10 million |
| The Cat in the Hat | Dr. Seuss | English | 1957 | 10 million |
| The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold | English | 2002 | 10 million |
| Wild Swans | Jung Chang | English | 1992 | 10 million |
| Santa Evita | Tomás Eloy Martínez | Spanish | 1995 | 10 million |
| 家庭に於ける實際的看護の秘訣 (Katei Ni Okeru Jissaiteki Kango No Hiketsu) | Takichi Tsukuda | Japanese | 1925 | 10 million |
| Night | Elie Wiesel | Yiddish | 1958 | 10 million |
| Who Moved My Cheese? | Spencer Johnson | English | 1998 | 10 million |
| The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | English | 2003 | 10 million |
| 于丹《论语》心得 (Yu Dan's gain from the Analects) | Yu Dan | Chinese | 2006 | 10 million |
| The Total Woman | Marabel Morgan | English | 1974 | 10 million |
| 知価革命 (Knowledge-value Revolution) | Taichi Sakaiya | Japanese | 1985 | 10 million |
| Mein Kampf | Adolf Hitler | German | 1925–1926 | 10 million |
| Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (The Communist Manifesto) | Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels | German | 1848 | 10 million |
| 中国社会主义经济问题研究 (Problems in China's Socialist Economy) | Xue Muqiao | Chinese | 1979 | 10 million |
| What Color is Your Parachute? | Richard Nelson Bolles | English | 1970 | 10 million |
List of best-selling book series
Claims of at least 100 million copies
| Book series | Author | Original language | No. of installments | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Potter | J. K. Rowling | English | 7 | 1997 — 2007 | more than 400 million, also including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages and Tales of Beedle the Bard |
| 毛泽东选集 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Selections of Mao Zedong's Works) | Mao Zedong | Chinese | 4 | 1966 | |
| The New Park Street Pulpit and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Penny Sermons | Charles Haddon Spurgeon | English | 3,561 | 1854 — 1917 | more than 300 million |
| Goosebumps | R. L. Stine | English | 62 | 1992 — 1998 | 300 million |
| Berenstain Bears | Stan and Jan Berenstain | English | over 300 | 1962 — present | 260 million |
| Choose Your Own Adventure | various authors | English | 185 | 1979 — 1998 | 250 million |
| Sweet Valley High | Francine Pascal and ghostwriters | English | 400 | 1983 - | 250 million |
| Noddy | Enid Blyton | English | 24 | 1949–present | 200 million |
| Nancy Drew | various authors as Carolyn Keene | English | 175 | 1930 — present | 200 million |
| The Baby-sitters Club | Ann Martin | English | 335 | 1986 — present | 172 million |
| Star Wars | various authors | English | over 200 | 1977 — present | 160 million |
| Peter Rabbit | Beatrix Potter | English | 6 | 1902–1930 | 150 million |
| Chicken Soup for the Soul | Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen | English | 105 | 1997 — present | 130 million |
| The McGuffey Readers | William Holmes McGuffey | English | 1853 | 125 million | |
| Frank Merriwell | Gilbert Patten | English | 209 | 1896 - | 125 million |
| Dirk Pitt | Clive Cussler | English | 19 | 1973 — present | 120 million |
| 宮本武蔵 (Musashi) | Eiji Yoshikawa | Japanese | 7 | 1935–1939 | 120 million |
| American Girl | various authors | English | 1986 — present | 120 million | |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | C. S. Lewis | English | 7 | 1949–1954 | 120 million |
| Clifford the Big Red Dog | Norman Bridwell | English | 1963 — present | 110 million | |
| James Bond | Ian Fleming | English | 14 | 1953–1966 | more than 100 million |
| Mr. Men | Roger Hargreaves, Adam Hargreaves | English | 43 | 1971 — present | 100 million |
| Guinness World Records (published every year) | various authors | English | 53 | 1955 — present | 100 million |
| American Spelling Book (Webster's Dictionary) | Noah Webster | English | 1783 | 100 million |
Claims between 50 million and 100 million copies
| Book series | Author | Original language | No. of installments | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Railway Series (Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) | W.V. Awdry, Christopher Awdry | English | 1945–1996 | 90 million | |
| Nijntje (Miffy) | Dick Bruna | Dutch | 119 | 1955 — present | 85 million |
| World Almanac (published every year) | various authors | English | 121 | 1868 — 1876; 1886–present | 80 million |
| Fear Street | R. L. Stine | English | 1989 — present | 80 million | |
| OSS 117 | Jean Bruce | French | 265 | 1949–1992 | 75 million |
| Winnie-the-Pooh | A. A. Milne; illustrated by E. H. Shepard | English | 4 | 1926–1928 | 70 million |
| Left Behind | Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins | English | 16 | 1996 — present | 65 million |
| Arch Books (Lantern Books) | various authors | English | 1958 — present | 58 million | |
| Discworld | Terry Pratchett | English | 36 | 1983–present | 55 million |
| Twilight | Stephenie Meyer | English | 4 | 2005–present | 53 million |
| Magic Tree House series | Mary Pope Osborne | English | 39 | 1992–present | 53 million |
| Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus | John Gray | English | 15 | 1992–present | 50 million |
| The Hardy Boys | various authors as Franklin W. Dixon | English | 58 | 1927-79 | 50 million |
| The Bobbsey Twins | various authors as Laura Lee Hope | English | 72 | 1904-79 | 50 million |
| アンパンマン (Anpanman) | Takashi Yanase | Japanese | more than 678 | 1970 — present | 50 million |
| Tarzan | Edgar Rice Burroughs | English | 26 | 1914–1995 | 50 million |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | Lemony Snicket aka Daniel Handler | English | 13 | 1999–2006 | 50 million |
Claims between 30 million and 50 million copies
| Book series | Author | Original language | No. of installments | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where's Wally? | Martin Handford | English | 13 | 1987–present | 46 million |
| A Child's First Library Of Learning | various authors | English | 1980 - | 45 million | |
| Junie B. Jones | Barbara Park | English | 1992 - | 44 million | |
| The Wheel of Time | Robert Jordan | English | Currently 11. 14 planned | 1990 - | 44 million |
| 连环画 铁道游击队 (Picture-and-story book Railway Guerrillas) | original author: Liu Zhixia | Chinese | 10 | 1955–1962 | 36.52 million |
| Paddington Bear | Michael Bond | English | 70 | 1958–present | 35 million |
| 徳川家康 (Tokugawa Ieyasu) | Sohachi Yamaoka | Japanese | 26 | 1950–1967 | 30 million |
| Le guide Michelin France (The Michelin Guide France) (published every year) | various authors | French | 109 | 1900–present | 30 million |
Claims between 20 million and 30 million copies
| Book series | Author | Original language | No. of installments | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ノンタン (Nontan) | Sachiko Kiyono | Japanese | 25 | 1976–present | 28 million |
| Curious George | Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey | English | 58 | 1941–present | 27 million |
| グイン・サーガ (Guin Saga) | Kaoru Kurimoto | Japanese | 118 | 1979–present | 26 million |
| Captain Underpants | Dav Pilkey | English | 1997–present | 26 million | |
| 三毛猫ホームズシリーズ (Mike-neko Holmes series) | Jirō Akagawa | Japanese | 43 | 1978–present | 26 million |
| Rich Dad, Poor Dad | Robert Kiyosaki Sharon Lechter | English | 18 | 1997- | 26 million |
| 超図解シリーズ (Cho-Zukai series) | X media | Japanese | 1996–2007 | 25 million | |
| Kurt Wallander | Henning Mankell | Swedish | 10 | 1991–2002 | 25 million |
| 鬼平犯科帳 (Onihei Hankachō) | Shōtarō Ikenami | Japanese | 24 | 1968–1990 | 24.4 million, only bunkobon |
| 自由自在 (Jiyu Jizai) | various authors | Japanese | 1953–present | 24 million | |
| Brain Quest series | various authors | English | 1992–present | 23.7 million | |
| かいけつゾロリ (Kaiketsu Zorori) | Yutaka Hara | Japanese | 41 | 1987–present | 23 million |
| South Beach Diet | Arthur Agatston | English | 6 | 2003–present | 22 million |
| 竜馬がゆく (Ryoma ga Yuku) | Ryōtarō Shiba | Japanese | 5 | 1963–1966 | 21.5 million |
| ズッコケ三人組 (Zukkoke Sanningumi) | Masamoto Nasu | Japanese | 50 | 1978–2004 | 21 million |
| Shannara | Terry Brooks | English | 20 | 1977-present | 21 million |
| Maisy | Lucy Cousins | English | 23 | 1990–present | 20 million |
| Dragonlance | various authors | English | more than 150 | 1984 — present | 20 million |
| 幻魔大戦 (Genma Taisen) | Kazumasa Hirai | Japanese | 20 | 1979–1983 | 20 million |
| 青春の門 (The Gate of Youth) | Hiroyuki Itsuki | Japanese | 1970–present | 20 million | |
| The Foundation Trilogy | Isaac Asimov | English | 3 | 1950–1953 | 20 million |
| Horrible Histories | Terry Deary | English | 24 | 1993–present | 20 million |
[edit] Claims between 15 million and 20 million copies
| Book series | Author | Original language | No. of installments | First published | Approximate sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 科学のアルバム (Kagaku no album) | various authors | Japanese | 1970–present | 19 million | |
| スーパーマップル (Super Mapple) | various authors | Japanese | 1991–present | 18 million | |
| 剣客商売 (Kenkaku Shobai) | Shotaro Ikenami | Japanese | 18 | 1972–1989 | 18 million |
| Erast Fandorin | Boris Akunin | Russian | 12 | 1998–present | 18 million |
| Artemis Fowl | Eoin Colfer | English | 6 | 2001–present | 18 million |
| チャート式 (Chart Shiki) | various authors | Japanese | 1927–present | 17.44 million, only for the first grade of high-school | |
| 吸血鬼ハンターD (Vampire Hunter D) | Hideyuki Kikuchi | Japanese | 17 | 1983–present | 17 million |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | English | 5 | 1979–present | 16 million |
| The Riftwar Cycle | Raymond E. Feist | English | 25 | 1982-present | 15 million |
| The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency | Alexander McCall Smith | English | 9 | 1999–present | 15 million |
| ぼくらシリーズ(Bokura series) | Osamu Soda | Japanese | 36 | 1985–present | 15 million |
| His Dark Materials | Philip Pullman | English | 3 | 1995–2000 | 15 million |
| 銀河英雄伝説 (Legend of the Galactic Heroes) | Yoshiki Tanaka | Japanese | 14 | 1982–1989 | 15 million |
| Der Regenbogenfisch (Rainbow Fish) | Marcus Pfister | German | 1992–present | 15 million | |
| Inheritance Cycle | Christopher Paolini | English | 3 | 2002–present | 15 million |
Notes
The Perry Rhodan series has sold more than 1 billion copies, but is not listed because that figure includes magazine sales, not novels alone.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is included in the list as a single entry because it was written by Tolkien as a single book.
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