What are the top 5 books sold in the world?

The top 5 best-selling books of all time, excluding religious texts and political works, generally include Don Quixote, A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, The Little Prince, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with sales often exceeding hundreds of millions, though precise figures vary, highlighting classics like Cervantes's novel as the top fiction seller.

What are the top 5 most sold books?

Best-selling individual books

• The Bible (5 billion)
• The Quran (3 billion)
• The Little Red Book: Quotations from Chairman Mao (900 million)
• Don Quixote (500 million)
• Selected Articles of Chairman Mao (450 million)
• A Tale of Two Cities (200 million)
• The Lord of the Rings (150 million)

What is the #1 book in the world?

The #1 book in the world by far, in terms of copies sold and distributed, is the Holy Bible, with estimates ranging from 5 to 7 billion copies printed, according to Guinness World Records and other sources, making it the best-selling and most-read book ever. Other top contenders include religious texts like the Qur'an and Book of Mormon, and political texts such as Chairman Mao's Little Red Book, while popular novels like Don Quixote, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Little Prince also rank high.
 

What is the top 10 book in the world?

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

• Anna Karenina. Anna KareninaGreta Garbo in Anna Karenina (1935), directed by Clarence Brown. ...
• To Kill a Mockingbird. ...
• The Great Gatsby. ...
• One Hundred Years of Solitude. ...
• A Passage to India. ...
• Invisible Man. ...
• Don Quixote. ...
• Beloved.

What is the #1 most read book in the world?

The most read book in the world is the Bible, and its influence and impact on history and culture are unparalleled. The Bible is a collection of sacred texts that are central to the religious beliefs of Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

Best Selling Books in History – Ranked by Copies Sold (2025)

What is the best-selling book right now?

Right now, top bestsellers include John Grisham's The Widow, Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets, and Dav Pilkey's Dog Man: Big Jim Believes, dominating different charts from Publishers Weekly to USA Today, with classics like Atomic Habits by James Clear still selling strong, but specific #1s shift weekly across various lists (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Kids). 

Why do books have 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1?

That sequence of numbers (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 or similar) on a book's copyright page is a "printer's key," showing its print run; the lowest number indicates the printing (e.g., '1' for first, '4' for fourth), with publishers removing the lowest number with each new run to avoid re-typesetting, letting readers and collectors know which version it is.
 

What is the most loved book ever?

The most popular book of all time, by far, is The Bible, with estimated sales and distribution in the billions, followed by other religious texts like the Qur'an and Quotations from Chairman Mao (Little Red Book). For secular books, Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote is often cited as the best-selling novel, with over 500 million copies, while J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a top seller, and the Harry Potter series leads as the best-selling series.
 

What books is everyone reading right now?

There isn't one single book everyone's reading, but popular titles currently include James Clear's Atomic Habits Workbook for self-help, Sophie Kinsella's The Burnout in romance, and viral sensations like Ali Hazelwood's Bride or Nita Prose's The Mystery Guest on platforms like TikTok, alongside ongoing hits like Rebecca Yarros's Iron Flame and classics being revisited. Trends shift, but major retailers and book communities highlight these and others like Charlie Mackesy's Always Remember or Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
 

Is 1/3,5/7,9/10,8,6/4,2 a first edition book?

For a period of several years, they indicated a first printing with a number line that began with “2”. Anness Publishing uses a number line that reads 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. The 1 indicates that this is a first printing. This same number line in a third print run would look like this: 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4.

What is the 3rd most sold book in the world?

25 Best-Selling Books of All-Time

• #1 – Don Quixote (500 million copies sold) ...
• #2 – A Tale of Two Cities (200 million copies sold) ...
• #3 – The Lord of the Rings (150 million copies sold) ...
• #4 – The Little Prince (142 million copies sold) ...
• #5 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (107 million copies sold)

What is considered the greatest book of all time?

There's no single "greatest book," as it's subjective, but Don Quixote, Ulysses, The Great Gatsby, Anna Karenina, and One Hundred Years of Solitude frequently appear on critics' lists, while The Bible is the best-selling book ever. Lists vary widely, but classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and The Lord of the Rings are consistently popular choices, showcasing diverse literary styles and themes. 

What are the top 10 books on the New York Times bestseller list?

The New York Times Best Sellers list changes weekly, but recent top fiction includes John Grisham's The Widow, Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets, Freida McFadden's The Intruder, and James Patterson's Return of the Spider, alongside popular series like Dungeon Crawler Carl and titles such as Sally Rooney's Intermezzo and Mitch Albom's Twice, reflecting popular new releases and consistent sellers like The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.
 

What are the best 5 books?

• The Carpet People. by Terry Pratchett.
• The Book of Lost Tales. by J R R Tolkien.
• Out of the Silent Planet. by C S Lewis.
• The Hunting of the Snark. by Lewis Carroll.
• Deep Secret. by Diana Wynne Jones.

What is the best-selling book in all of history?

The book around which Christianity is based, the Bible, takes the title as the most-sold book ever, with an astonishing 5-7 billion copies sold across the globe.

What is the New York Times best book of the year 2025?

Here is a shoppable list of the 2025's top fiction and nonfiction, as selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

• Angel Down: A Novel. ...
• The Director: A Novel. ...
• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: A Novel. ...
• The Sisters: A Novel. ...
• Stone Yard Devotional: A Novel.

What are the current top 10 books?

Right now, popular books include thrillers like The Widow by John Grisham and The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, sci-fi like Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, popular romance/fantasy such as Iron Flame, literary fiction like Prophet Song, and trending BookTok reads like The Love Hypothesis, with overall favorites shifting between bestseller lists, reader reviews, and social media buzz. 

What book has 5 stars on Goodreads?

All Time 5 Stars

• The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins. ...
• The Kite Runner. by Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author) ...
• 1984. by George Orwell. ...
• Divergent (Divergent, #1) ...
• Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad (Austin Kleon) ...
• My Sister's Keeper. ...
• The Alchemist. ...
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

What's the longest book ever written?

The longest novel ever written, recognized by Guinness World Records, is Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past), a multi-volume work with nearly 1.3 million words and over 9.6 million characters, though some epic poems and non-published works are longer. 

What is a must-read book?

Must-read books often include timeless classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby, alongside impactful modern works such as The Secret History, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Alchemist, with popular recommendations spanning genres from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment to contemporary favorites like A Little Life. The best choice depends on your taste, but classics exploring justice, society, and human nature, plus hugely popular fantasy and philosophical reads, consistently top "must-read" lists. 

What is America's favorite book?

America's favorite book is the Bible. A new Harris Poll asked more than 2,000 adults in the U.S. to name their favorite book, and the Bible came in number one across all different demographics. Number two overall is “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, followed by the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

What is the rarest book of all time?

The rarest books aren't just old; they're unique or few in number, including handwritten manuscripts like the indecipherable Voynich Manuscript, unique scientific records like Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester, early printed masterpieces like Gutenberg Bibles (only ~48 left), and Shakespeare's First Folio (around 230 copies). Also highly prized are first printings of modern classics, such as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter or Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and historically significant documents like Audubon's Birds of America, making them invaluable to collectors and libraries.
 

What is the 5 finger rule for books?

The number of fingers they're holding up by the end of the page tells them if the book is the right level: 0-1 fingers: It's too easy. 2-3 fingers: It's just right. 4-5 fingers: It's too hard for independent reading (best read aloud with a buddy).

How much does an author make on a $20 book?

For traditionally published authors, royalties range between 10% and 15% of the retail price of the book. If a book sells for $20 and the royalty rate is 10%, the author would make $2 per book sold. But remember, publishers don't pay royalties out until the author has earned back their advance.

Is selling 5000 copies of a book good?

Most Books Don't Sell Many Copies

Just 2% of books sold more than 5,000 copies. So, publishing companies are like venture capital investors: their profits come from just a relatively few hugely successful books, while most books lose them money.