Are These The 12 Best-Selling Books Of All Time?

This blog post is dedicated to 12 of the best-selling books of all time. It is with a heavy heart that I announce that none of my books made the list.

The Bible is omitted by design. After all half of the World’s Bibles have been given away for free, and are currently gathering dust in hotel room drawers. I have also ignored Mao’s Little Red Book for similar reasons.

The 12 books are:

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – 65 million copies sold – Reclusive author J.D. Salinger’s seminal work was published in 1951.  The iconic book continues to sell at a rate of approximately 250,000 copies a year.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – 70 million copies sold – Published in 1937, Think and Grow Rich remains the best selling self-help book of all time. It certainly made its author rich, though not sure the same could be said for its readers.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – 80 million copies sold – This Christian themed mystery thriller complete with conspiracy theories has become a global best seller. I am probably merely one of millions who don’t like Dan Brown, but nevertheless own a copy of The Da Vinci Code.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – 85 million copies sold – Published in 1950, this Christian themed children’s fantasy tale, which has been adapted for the stage and big screen, continues to sell well to this day, and no doubt will continue to do so.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James – 125 million copies sold – Published in 2011, this, the first instalment of the Fifty Shades erotic fiction trilogy, more than makes up for any perceived lack of literary merit with massive global sales.

She: A History of Adventure by H Rider Haggard – 100 million copies sold – Published in 1887, She is about two men who discover a lost kingdom in Africa. Perhaps I shouldn’t be admitting this, but I had never even heard of it (I mean She) prior to writing this post.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – 100 million copies sold – Prior to inspiring an unnecessary incredible three films in consecutive years, all based on different sections of the book that inspired it, The Hobbit was known as the bestselling prequel to The Lord of the Rings.

Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin – 100 million copies sold – Mao’s Little Red Book is not the only bestselling Chinese book with the word ‘red’ in its title. Written in the 18th century, Dream of the Red Chamber is a semi-autobiographical account about the author’s family and friends.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – 100 million copies sold – Best selling, prolific mystery writer Agatha Christie’s top selling book is about 10 people lured to an island and then murdered, following the pattern of the nursery rhyme Ten Little Indians.

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – 140 million copies – Voted the best book of the 20th Century in France, this novella, complete with watercolour illustrations, tells the story of a pilot stuck in the desert, who meets a little prince.  

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – 150 million copies – Another Tolkien book, another Peter Jackson directed film. The Lord of the Rings is the second best selling book ever. Tolkien’s two entries on this list add up to 0.25 billion books sold. That is more than the population of Brazil and Colombia combined (2014 estimate).

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – 200 million copies sold – A Tale of Two Cities is the best-selling book of all time. This iconic piece of historical fiction set during the French Revolution continues to grace bookshelves around the globe, including mine, though I must confess I haven’t read it yet.

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