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This page provides lists of best-selling single-volume books, book series, authors, and children's books to date and in any language. For some books, accurate accounting has proven impossible, so the book is excluded or an educated guess by an expert is provided. "Best-selling" refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book, rather than the number of books printed or currently owned. Comics are not included in this list.

List of best-selling single-volume books

single-volume book(s) claimed to have sold at least 1 billion copies

single-volume books claimed to have sold between 100 million and 1 billion copies

single-volume books claimed to have sold between 50 million and 100 million copies

Single-volume books claimed to have sold between 30 million and 50 million copies

single-volume books claimed to have sold between 20 million and 30 million copies

single-volume books claimed to have sold between 10 million and 20 million copies

List of best-selling book series

book series claimed to have sold between 100 million and 1 billion copies

book series claimed to have sold between 50 million and 100 million copies

book series claimed to have sold between 30 million and 50 million copies

book series claimed to have sold between 20 million and 30 million copies

book series claimed to have sold between 15 million and 20 million copies

Notes

There are great differences between the number of the books published in each series. For example, although the Perry Rhodan series and the Star Wars series have each sold more books than the Harry Potter series or The Chronicles of Narnia, they also have had more individual books published in their series. The Perry Rhodan series has released over 2,350 books and the Star Wars series has released over two hundred, but the Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia series have only seven each. Thus, the Harry Potter series has over 50 million copies sold for every book, while the Perry Rhodan series has sold less than half a million per book, and the Star Wars series has sold just over three million per book. Also, some might think that the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien should be in the list, but it is not because it was written by Tolkien as a single book, not a series (see instead the list of best selling single volume books, above).

Best-selling children's books in the U.S. only (through the end of 2000)

According to Publishers Weekly, 2001

Hardcover

Paperback

Regularly updated lists of best-selling books

• Current best-selling books (New York Times)
• NovelTracker - best-selling thrillers, updated hourly. Also offers charts with historical sales data.
• Top 10 bestsellers in all categories, updated daily. Lists of main literary award winners.

See also

• Lists of books
• Literature
• Novel
• List of bestselling novels in the United States
• 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written
• List of literary works by number of languages translated into
• List of bestselling fiction authors

Notes

1. The Bible listed here refers to all versions ever printed, many of which have been given away freely, not sold (for example, during missionary work).
2. The Holy Bible is controversial regarding authorship. While many claim it to be in fact a holy book of divine inspiration, secular critics and some biblical scholars do not accept supernatural guidance or authorship. Secular Biblical scholars usually place a creation date closer to 900 B.C. for the earliest texts. Conservative Biblical scholars place the earliest date around 1400 B.C.
3. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
4. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash. Carrying a copy of Quotations from Chairman Mao at all times was mandatory for all people living in China during Mao Zedong's rule, under pain of police beating (a common occurrence).
5. 400 million copies of Chinese-character dictionary — People's Daily
6. Broadway.com on A Tale of Two Cities: "Since its inaugural publication on August 30, 1859, A Tale of Two Cities has sold over 200 million copies in several languages, making it one of the most famous books in the history of fictional literature." (24 April 2008)
7. Extrapolation for global range of other language publications, and related to the number of Scouts, make a realistic estimate of 100 to 150 million books. Details from Jeal, Tim. Baden-Powell. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-170670-X.
8. The Lord of the Rings is considered by most people to be a single book, because it was written and planned by the author to be such. Some people consider it to instead be a trilogy or series of three books, because it was originally published as a series of three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. This move by the publishing house was due largely to post-war paper shortages as well as to minimize the price of the first volume to aid sales. In subsequent printings the book has sometimes appeared as a single volume, and in at least one case was split into seven. The figure of 150 million is a 2007 estimate of copies of the full story sold, whether published as one volume, three, or some other configuration.The Toronto Star 16 April 2007
9. The Book of Mormon is controversial regarding authorship. While traditional views of the religion claim divine inspiration, secular critics or those of different faith traditions do not accept supernatural guidance to its discovery or authorship by ancient prophets, but instead credit Joseph Smith with authorship.
10. Big N.Y. firm to publish LDS text
11. amazon.com
12. BBC: Tolkien's memorabilia go on sale. March 18 2008
13. China.org: "Sun said that the book has sold over 100 million copies worldwide so far." 14 December 2005
14. The Scotsman] on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "SINCE its publication in 1943, The Little Prince has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide. " (17 March 2008)
15. Meet Dan»Bio»Official Website of Dan Brown
16. Foyles
17. amazon.co.uk
18. New Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary(2003)
19. ABC Australia on Heidi: "Johanna Spyri's story has been translated into fifty languages and sold fifty million copies, but the marketing juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down - fat from it. Heidi now has her own theme park." (5 August 2002)
20. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
21. Reuters on Anne of Green Gables: ""Anne of Green Gables" has sold more than 50 million copies and been translated into 20 languages, according to Penguin." (19 March 2008)
22. USA today (15 May 2006)
23. Worker's Press acknowledge Frederick Warne's intellectual property rights
24. Powell's Books
25. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
26. The San Francisco Chronicle on Peter Roget: "More than 40 million copies have been sold. " (25 March 2008)
27. Meredith Corporation
28. Fox News on Het Achterhuis: "Thirty million copies of her diary have been sold, and it has been translated into 65 languages. " (29 March 2007)
29. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
30. The Telegraph on the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: "Thirty million copies of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary have been sold since it was first published in 1948. " (3 June 2005)
31. The Orlando Sentinel on To Kill a Mockingbird: "Thirty million copies of To Kill a Mockingbird have been sold since that coming-of-age novel, about a Southern lawyer who believed that no man should be denied justice because of the color of his skin, was first published in 1960 to critical acclaim." (11 June 2006)
32. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
33. An early press report claimed that more than 72 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" had been sold within the first 48 hours of publication (see linked citation below). However, there has never been any evidence provided for this claim beyond the original source and it is almost certainly an error. All follow-up sales figures (for instance, those discussed on the separate entry for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") are consistent with total sales figures well below 30 million during the first month of publication. For example, according to Scholastic publishers, there are only 14 million copies of the American edition currently in print, and not all have been sold. At the same time, sales of the American edition were originally reported to be comparable to or greater than the number of copies sold of the British edition. As of September 18, 2007, fewer than 4 million copies of the British edition had been sold in the UK along with a comparable number sold in other countries (reference below). Thus the total number of copies sold as of September 2007 appears to have been approximately 20-25 million. Translations into other languages began appearing in late September 2007, substantially increasing the estimated number of copies sold worldwide. However, as of January 2008, there have been no reports to suggest that total sales figures have yet exceeded 30-35 million.
34. New 'Potter' sells 72 mil copies worldwide
35. Sprechen Sie Potter? How Harry is spreading the English language
36. The Daily Mail on Gone with the Wind: "The book has sold more than 30 million copies in the decades since the publication of Margaret Mitchell's gripping tale of the Old South gasping its last breath, as the U.S. was torn apart by Civil War and its bitter aftermath." (4 April ])
37. The Walrus December 2007 issue
38. granma.cu March6, 2007
39. ABC News on The Purpose-Driven Life: "His book, "The Purpose Driven Life," has been translated into 56 languages and has sold 30 million copies." (7 March 2007)]
40. W.W. Norton and Company
41. chapters.indigo.ca
42. The Age on The Celestine Prophecy: "it has sold in the vicinity of 23 million copies since its publication in 1993" (22 March 2008
43. THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR story and pictures by ERIC CARLE
44. The Toronto Star on Mario Puzo: "According to the Official Mario Puzo Library website, the book sold 21 million copies in hardback and paper by 1997." (21 July 2007)
45. Finding Stress, and Some Friction
46. The Financial Times on Wolf Totem: "Since it first appeared in 2004, Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem has sold as many as 20 million copies." (15 March 2008)
47. The New York Times (9 January 2005)
48. Sanseido (Japanese language)
49. The NEw Yorker on Erica Jong: "Erica Jong, the novelist, essayist, and poet, has long lamented that “Fear of Flying,” which has sold more than eighteen million copies worldwide since it was published, in 1973, has overshadowed the remainder of her sizable oeuvre." (14 April 2008, online 7 April 2008)
50. New York Times November 1, 2006
51. Nihon Keizai Shimbun morning edition, 10 January 2005.
52. Playthings (1 April 2007)
53. ^ RJM Licensing
54. Forbes on Covey: "The original title has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide" (15 May 2003
55. Time November 26, 1990.
56. OK Wave (Japanese language, 6 October 2006)
57. Golden Books : Poky Little Puppy (Little Golden Book)
58. CBS on Ken Follett: "But since it was published in 1989, "The Pillars of the Earth" has become an international sensation, selling 15 million copies worldwide." (7 October 2007)
59. The Financial Post on Dale Carnegie: "Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, the gold standard of the genre, has sold more than 15 million copies since it was first published in 1937." (5 April 2008)
60. The Patriot Ledger on Perfume: "Yet the scene, like the movie, is so daring, so challenging, you cannot help but respect Tykwer’s unerring desire to remain true to the source novel, a book that has sold 15 million copies and has been credited with inspiring Kurt Cobain to write the Nirvana classic ‘‘Scentless Apprentice.’’" (5 January 2007)
61. The Associated Press on What to Expect When You're Expecting: "it's been on the New York Times best-seller list for 355 weeks, with nearly 15 million copies in print" (14 April 2008)
62. USA Today on Tuesdays with Morrie: "The book has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide since 1997 and became an Oprah Winfrey-produced TV movie. " (8 April 2008)
63. Erskine Caldwell Biography
64. Fox News on The Outsiders: "According to Viking, a division of Penguin Group USA, "The Outsiders" has sold more than 13 million copies and still sells more than 500,000 a year." (29 September 2007)
65. Techno Craft (Japanese language, 10 February 2006)
66. The Toronto Star on Grace Metalious: "It sold 100,000 copies in its first month and went on to sell another 12 million copies, was made into a film and eventually into a prime-time television series that made the young Mia Farrow a star." (21 July 2007)
67. Britannica on Dune: "the epic Dune (1965; filmed by David Lynch in 1984), which was translated into 14 languages and sold some 12 million copies, more than any other science-fiction book in history;" (24 November 2007)
68. China View on La Peste: "Translated into 28 languages, the book has sold more than 12 million copies around the world." (9 April 2008)
69. The Sunday Herald on The Naked Ape: "Morris is still flabbergasted that the book caused such a furore, although the publicity helped it sell 12 million copies." (11 March 2008)
70. The Standard on Chinua Achebe: "That Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, would sell about 11 million copies in about 45 languages?" (14 March 2008)
71. Press Release (Japanese language, PDF file)
72. The Wall Street Journal on The Exorcist: "Back in the 1970s, those smaller, rack-sized paperbacks were the blockbusters of the business, led by such best sellers as William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (11 million copies sold); Peter Benchley's "Jaws" (more than nine million copies), and Sidney Sheldon's "The Other Side of Midnight" (six million copies plus)." (14 September 2007)
73. kofuku-no-kagaku IRH Press Archive.org (Japanese language)
74. 'Catch-22' Author Joseph Heller Dies
75. Sanseido (Japanese language)
76. Carlos Ramet in Ken Follett: The Transformation of a Writer page 44 on Ken Follett: "The first two editions alone sold over 10 million copies worldwide" (1999)
77. The Telegraph on Stephen Hawking: "Prof Hawking is the author of A Brief History of Time — which has sold 10 million copies — and is currently writing two books." (27 April 2007)
78. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on The Cat in the Hat: "There are more than 10 million copies in print today in more than a dozen languages, including the Latin, "Cattus Petasatus."" (14 April 2007)
79. TVNZ on The Lovely Bones: "Published in 2002, Lovely Bones is the second novel by Alice Sebold, and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, remaining on the New York Times hardback bestseller list for over a year." (5 May 2007)
80. The Telegraph on Wild Swans: "Selling more than 10 million copies and topping the "most borrowed historical biography" chart in British libraries year after year, it proved a publishing phenomenon" (21 July 2007)
81. Britannica on Santa Evita: "Martínez was best known as the author of two classics of Argentine and Latin American literature: La novela de Perón (1985, The Perón Novel, 1988) and Santa Evita (1995, Eng. trans., 1995); the latter was translated into 30 languages and sold more than 10 million copies." (22 November 2007)
82. (Japanese language)
83. The New York Times on Night: "Indeed, since it appeared in 1960, “Night” has sold an estimated 10 million copies — three million of them since Winfrey chose the book in January 2006 (and traveled with Wiesel to Auschwitz)." (20 January 2008)
84. The Grand Island Independent on Who Moved My Cheese: "It soon become an international bestseller, with 1 million hardcover copies in print within the first 16 months and more than 10 million copies within the next two years." (27 February 2008
85. The Times on The Kite Runner: "His first novel, The Kite Runner, sold 10 million copies." (11 April 2008)
86. Web Oficial de Carlos Ruiz Zafón on La Sombra del Viento: "Publicada por Editorial Planeta en mayo de 2001, lleva vendidos más de 10 millones de ejemplares" (2006)
87. Bookseller.com on Yun Da: "" (14 April 2008)
88. ABC News on The Total Woman: "One of the first books to address the issue was Marabel Morgan's "The Total Woman," which sold more than 10 million copies to women of all religious persuasions, making it the best-selling nonfiction book of 1974." (15 April 2008)
89. Waseda University
90. Bloomberg about Harry Potter: "Rowling, whose best-selling Potter books have sold more than 375 million copies worldwide " (15 April 2008)
91. Charles H. Spurgeon and Eschatology
92. Variety on the Berenstain Bears: "The company also is offering a new animated series based on the Berenstain Bears, the hugely popular children's brand that has sold more than 260 million books worldwide." (7 April 2002)
93. The Globe and Mail on Choose Your Own Adventure: "The Choose Your Own Adventure DVD movies are adaptations of the original books, which sold more than 250 million copies. " (22 August 2006)
94. Forbes on Sweet Valley High: "But despite 250 million copies in print, in 25 languages, Sweet Valley's sugar rush has been on the decline. " (28 October 2002)
95. Luisa Gerasimo e.a. in The Teacher's Calendar of Famous Birthdays page 8, on R. L. Stine: "The series sold more than 220 million copies, making Stine the bestselling author in the United States for three straight years." (2003)
96. Happy 50th birthday Noddy
97. USA Today on Nancy Drew: "The series is still in print and has sold over 200 million books in 17 languages." (29 May 2002)
98. Benjamin M. Compaine and Douglas Gomery, 'Who Owns the Media?: Competition and Concentration in the Mass Media Industry' page 115"
99. The Wall Street Journal on the Star Wars books: "According to a Random House spokesman, the publisher has more than 160 million copies of "Star Wars" books in print." (1 April 2005)
100. Peter Rabbit in China copyright stew
101. William Joseph Federer, America's God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations, page 439, on William Holmes McGuffey: "As of 1963,125 million copies had been sold" (1996)
102. Susan Edgerton e.a. in Imagining the Academy: Higher Education and Popular Culture page 53, on Gilbert Patten: "It is estimated that at least 125 million copies of the Frank Merriwell series (which itself ran to at least 209 books) were sold." (2004)
103. Crusader Entertainment Acquires the Rights to Clive Cussler's Best-Selling Dirk Pitt® Book Series
104. WAY OF THE SAMURAI, PATH OF THE TEDIOUS
105. The Berkshire Eagle on American Girl: "This extraordinary success has resulted in over 120 million books and 14 million dolls sold (at $90 a pop these days)" (20 March 2008)
106. Hollywood's liberal losses (November 20 2005)
107. Hult Presents: Clifford The Big Red Dog LIVE!
108. James Bond 007 - News
109. BELIEFNET.COM AND CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL® JOIN FORCES TO LAUNCH AND PUBLISH EXCLUSIVE CO-BRANDED DAILY NEWSLETTERS
110. Chorion PLC announces new Mr. Men & Little Miss characters
111. Guinness World Records - Arts & Media - Books & Magazines - Best Selling Copyright Book
112. The Top 10 of Everything 2002 by Russell Ash
113. The Hindu Business Line : Carry on, Thomas
114. Nijntje’s creator turns 80
115. The World Almanac - The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008
116. Luisa Gerasimo e.a. in The Teacher's Calendar of Famous Birthdays page 8, on R. L. Stine: "That year he also created Fear Street, the first horror series for teenagers, which sold 80 million copies." (2003)
117. Disney Video and DVD Insider
118. Left Behind: Home
119. Today's Christian
120. AFP on Terry Pratchett: "The 59-year-old author -- whose Discworld books have sold 55 million copies worldwide and have been translated into some 27 languages -- announced in December that he had been diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of the degenerative brain disease." (13 March 2008)
121. ABC7 Chicago on Mary Pope Osborne: "Since its debut in 1992, the mega-bestselling Magic Tree House series has sold nearly 53 million copies in North America, securing its coveted spot on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list as one of the top 5 bestselling series." (28 March 2008)
122. MTV on Twilight: "with more than 50 million books sold and a fast-rising ranking as one of the top 30 best-selling book series of all time" (March 11 2008)
123. 新文化 - 出版業界紙 - 過去のニュースフラッシュ
124. The Star on the Mars Venus series: " You must be from another planet if you have not heard of Gray and his Mars Venus universe. Fifty million of his books have been sold in 40 different languages." (February 24 2008)
125. A Child's First Library of Learning
126. U.S. title: Where's Waldo?
127. Walker Books
128. Sōka Gakkai (Japanese language)
129. (Japanese language)
130. The Korea Times (September 18 2007)
131. (Japanese language)
132. 徳川家康（1）出生乱離の巻
133. Map Repoat May 2004 "The Michelin Guide France 2004 Celebrates Its. 30 Millionth Copy", p.20
134. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Kiyosaki: "Mr. Kiyosaki's book series has sold more than 28 million copies worldwide since its release in 1997." (February 21 2008
135. KAISEI WEB　偕成社：キャラクターミュージアム
136. How Curious George Escaped the Nazis
137. 栗本薫の大河小説「グイン・サーガ」が100巻達成
138. Big Tent Entertainment
139. ［会いたい！］ 希望持てる作品書く 作家・赤川次郎さん
140. Junkdo Shoten (Japanese language)
141. (Japanese language)
142. (Japanese language)
143. Storybook Cove
144. ゾロリのマスクを折ってみよう。 (PDF file)
145. The Miami Herald on the South Beach Diet books: "The South Beach Diet became a No. 1 New York Times Bestseller and the six books in the series have sold 22 million copies." (January 15 2008
146. Japan Inc.
147. 「ズッコケ中年三人組age41」 那須正幹さん
148. IESB.net (4 February 2008)
149. (Japanese laguage)
150. The Japan Times (March 20 2005)
151. However further 'Foundation' books were written by Asimov from 1982, extending the direct series to seven books, however these four further novels tell two largely independent stories. Ultimately many of Asimov's works join to form a single time line encompassing 20,000 years of future-history. To further add the extent of the series, a 'Second Foundation Trilogy' of books by contemporary Sci-Fi writers also explicitly join with the series.
152. IGN June 27, 2000
153. Sekai Seiten Fukyu Kyokai (Japanese language)
154. Akane Shobo (Japanese language)
155. Shobunsha (Japanese language, 2007)
156. Fuji T.V. (Japanese language, 2004)
157. The Telegraph on Erast Fandorin: "The two authors share a quality that has seen Akunin shift 18 million copies of his Fandorin stories" (25 February 2007)
158. Sports Hochi (Japanese language, June 11 2007)
159. BBC on Alexander McCall Smith: "His books, featuring the unconventional No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, have sold 15 million copies in English, not counting the 42 languages they've been published in elsewhere." 7 March 2008
160. Poplar Publishing(archive.org) (Japanese language, March 2007)
161. The New York Times on His Dark Materials: "His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman's trilogy inspired by Paradise Lost, has sold 15 million copies worldwide, while the film version of the first volume, The Golden Compass, has earned more than $150 million." (13 January 2008)
162. All-Time Bestselling Children's Books - 12/17/2001 - Publishers Weekly

External links

• Descriptions of the bestselling books
• The Internet Public Library

• Lists of books
• Best sellers