The most popular book(s) of ALL time.

[oxymoronic]

1. The Holy Quran (644) - over 3 billion
2. The King James Bible (1611) - over 2.5 billion
3. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (1964) by Mao Zendong - 800 million
4. Don Quixote (1512) by Miguel de Cervantes - 500 million
5. Harry Potter series (1997-2007) by J.K.Rowling - 450 million
6. A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens - 200 million
7. The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien - 150 million
8. Le Petit Prince (1943) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - 140 million
9. Alice in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Caroll - 100 million
Dream of the Red Chamber (1754) by Cao Xueqin - 100 million
And Then There Were None (1939) by Agatha Christie - 100 million
The Hobbit (1937) J. R. R. Tolkien - 100 million
10. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C.S. Lewis - 85 million

http://www.stylist.co.uk/books/the-a...world-revealed



I never knew that the religious scriptures were so highly ranked. I feel blessed.

i would have thought Art of War would be up there... much better read than any of these fiction writes imo.

- - - Updated - - -

The Gideons, although I never actually have taken note of which version they place. But King James, New International, New American, etc, etc. I have little doubt that an "all versions" total of the Bible would be runaway #1 on this list.

just wondering why? there is more muslims on the planet. other than assuming they lack the ability to possess a book i dont see the logic.

[Stormdash]

just wondering why? there is more muslims on the planet. other than assuming they lack the ability to possess a book i dont see the logic.

Why I think that it would be the case, or why it likely is the case? I don't think it's up for debate that it's the case -- just one of who knows how many translations of the Bible is at 2.5 billion, and it's not even the best selling edition in present day (that's probably the NJKV, or the NIV). It doesn't include Catholic bibles that include the deuterocanonical books.

As for causes... there are several likely, you mentioned one. Another is the historic and present literacy rate between, say, North America and Europe vs. the Middle East, respective anchorpoints for either religion in the modern world. There are also just more people in question, believe it or not -- there are about 1.2 billion Catholics and like 800 millions Protestant Christians in the world, and I don't even know if those numbers include the Eastern Orthodox church. There aren't north of 2 billion Muslims in the world.

[Stelio Kontos]

Why I think that it would be the case, or why it likely is the case? I don't think it's up for debate that it's the case -- just one of who knows how many translations of the Bible is at 2.5 billion, and it's not even the best selling edition in present day (that's probably the NJKV, or the NIV). It doesn't include Catholic bibles that include the deuterocanonical books.

As for causes... there are several likely, you mentioned one. Another is the historic and present literacy rate between, say, North America and Europe vs. the Middle East, respective anchorpoints for either religion in the modern world. There are also just more people in question, believe it or not -- there are about 1.2 billion Catholics and like 800 millions Protestant Christians in the world, and I don't even know if those numbers include the Eastern Orthodox church. There aren't north of 2 billion Muslims in the world.

As of 2010:

[Silentrogue]

Bear in mind that is just one version of the Bible...I'm not sure how many versions of the Quran are published.

Those numbers are probably much, much higher for the religious texts.

After that...Holy crap I didn't realize Don Quixote had sold so many copies.

There's is only one version of The Qur'an.

[Mifuyne]

Isn't it the top 10 Fantasy books list?

[ponies]

Isn't it the top 10 Fantasy books list?

<3

well more movies were made about the bible than the hobbit so that makes sense

[Cosmic Janitor]

This means it's only a matter of time until people start worshipping Dumbledore.

Tendency is more for the main character and all that ... so we'd the whorshipping the most useless wizard of all time .. harry potter.

[Waynhim]

Books are like music and movies, the ones that get sold the most are the ones that targets and hits the general populace, (males and females). The general populace usually don't understand the subtler works, (and I'm not claiming I do), hence the most sold/viewed/Ituned products isn't a mark of quality.

[Independent voter]

Here's Time's list

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

[Deleted]

There's is only one version of The Qur'an.

Thats a false claim.

[Independent voter]

Wait, I got it wrong, here's a list of books that have sold the most copies, they think.

1. Quotations from Chairman Mao (The Little Red Book). Chinese, 1964, 800-900 million copies worldwide. A collection of quotations from Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong put together by the People’s Liberation Army. One source says 6.5 billion copies were printed and shipped, which would put the publication in competition with worldwide Bible distribution.

2. The Qur’an. Arabic. This ancient Islamic religious text has sold over 800 million copies.

3. (tie) Xinhua Dictionary (primary editor: Wei Jiangong). This Chinese dictionary, first published in 1957, has sold over 400 million copies.

3. (tie)Chairman Mao’s Poems, Mao Zedong. First published in China in 1966, 400 milion copies in print.

5. Selected Articles of Mao Zedong, first published in China in 1966, 252.5 million copies.

6. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens. English, 1859, 200 million copies.

7. (tie) Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, Robert Baden-Powell. English, 1908, 150 million copies.

7. (tie) The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. This cult classic by an Oxford professor was published in 1954-1955 and has sold 150 million copies worldwide.

7. (tie) The Book of Mormon, multiple authors, translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. Religious text published in 1830, over 150 million copies worldwide.

10. (tie) The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, Jehovah’s Witnesses/Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. Published in English in 1968, 107 million copies.

[Tokru]

Here's Time's list

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

Some good reads there, but definitely not the most popular books. Maybe "best" or "influential" but not popular.