Excluding the bible, business insider did a great chart on this as of 2012 thats unfortunately not quite right, but well get to that in a moment. This page includes a list of the 25 best selling books of alltime as well as the 25 best selling book series of alltime. The third highest selling print is quotations from chairman mao tse. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds best selling and most widely distributed book.
It is also the most widely and given some of the liberties taken, wildly translated book of all time, too. The new york times best sellers may 10, 2020 authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre. For students, pastors, and teachers, check out the list of s top 50 bestselling commentaries. Jul 09, 2017 most people will guess that book of revelation is the least read book in the bible. Caucasians pick gone with the wind, while blacks pick moby dick. Considered by guinness world records as both most popular dictionary and bestselling book regularly updated, the xinhua dictionary has been one of chinas bestselling books since. The book of psalms easily wins, probably because it is both the longest book in the bible 150 chapters and it covers every human. Here are the 10 best selling books of all time with their estimated sales figures. Together, the harry potter book series is the best selling book series in history with the sales of over 500 million copies. The bible isnt the only religious book to spend hours pouring over. While finding precise sales numbers for any given author is nearly impossible, the list is based on approximate numbers provided or repeated by reliable sources.
While its true that many neglect reading this book, and its probably because they dont want to hear the message of coming judgment, revelation is not the least read book. Lifeway publishes bible studies, christian books, and ministry resources by many of the most sought after voices in christian ministry and church leadership. The 12 most influential spiritual books of the past 50 years. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and quotations from chairman mao are believed to. After 6 months of selling books on amazon, this is how. The 10 least popular books of the bible infographic.
The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. The imitation of christ by thomas a kempis 1418 sales unknown, but widely regarded as the bestselling christian title after the bible. Usa todays bestselling books list ranks the 150 topselling titles each week based on an analysis of sales from u. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin. All books of a religious, ideological, philosophical or political nature have thus been excluded from the below lists of best selling books for these reasons. Theres no doubt about it the bible is one of the worlds best selling books. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Read about the most popular books in history at howstuffworks. The eternal state has been the most ignored area of bible prophecy, probably because the bible says so little about it. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. I recently wrote about why obadiah is the least popular book of the bible, but you guys deserve more than that. Stockbyte getty images scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor.
Bestselling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. Best selling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. The christian bible consists of 66 different books39 books in the old testament and 27 books in the new testament. For the purposes of this post, least popular leastread book of the bible on. The harry potter series, which has enjoyed high volume sales in recent years, is a good example. Oct 17, 2012 one group claimed the bible as the worlds bestselling book. Weve discussed the top rated tv shows, most popular video games, bestselling albums, and the albums that topped the charts the longest. Best selling books of all time 100 books goodreads. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down.
Thousands of books are written, published and distributed every day. The quotations from chairman mao tsetung, also known as the little red book, has produced a wide array of sales and distribution figures with estimates ranging from 800 million to over 6. In answering the question, what is the most popular, and the least popular, books in the bible, we will measure popularity by determining which book is most read and which is least read. This is a list of bestselling fiction authors to date, in any language. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years.
From iconic novels to poetry about god and religion to coloring books featuring your favorite bible verses, weve rounded up. Rowling is the best selling book series in history. Not only is the bible the best seller of all time it continues to be the best seller every year even when compared to the astounding sales figures. The best selling and fastest growing version of the bible in the united states is the niv. The huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the best selling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.
Oct 10, 2016 sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. Turns out that some books of the bible get a lot more attention than others. Since it was written and, later on, published and translated in almost every language on earth, it was sold in nearly as many quantities as the bible. Nov 15, 20 chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years.
During the survey, 31 percent of the respondents stated they most often read. Many devout christians are quick to assert that the holy bible is the worlds bestselling book, for all time. Another group upheld it as the worlds mostread books. Apr 09, 2007 as far as i know the number two best selling book was don quixote by m. Jun 28, 2016 other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, harry potter by j. Kjv holy bible, large print compact bible, tan faux leather bible wribbon marker, red letter edition, king james version. Jul 05, 2019 considered by guinness world records as both most popular dictionary and bestselling book regularly updated, the xinhua dictionary has been one of chinas bestselling books since. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible.
In 1999 and 2000, the new york times listed this book with the bestselling fiction books. One group claimed the bible as the worlds bestselling book. The bible is the best selling book of all time from many different ranking sources. Wikepidia seem to have mostly modern contemporary writers on the most popular list except for bible and koran. Weve all wondered at some pointout of 66 different books, there have to be a few that resonate with more people than others, right yep. Other books featured multiple times on the list are the gutenberg bible, the first folio of shakespeare s plays and the north american indian with four separate copies. Many devout christians are quick to assert that the holy bible is.
Youd see some books that have helped us better understand who god is and books that have instructed us. Fourth on our list of the most popular best selling bible translations in 2018 is christian standard bible or csb. He found that the bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3. These popular authors, teachers, and preachers address a wide variety of meaningful and important biblical topics in the resources they write and create. Additionally, it is also the most compelling account available to us of all creation, from the beginning of time through the end of the ages. According to the new yorker even books with harry potter stature dont compete well with the bible. The best book on the topic one that covers death, resurrection and eternity is the future life by the frenchman, rene pache, translated into english by. List of most expensive books and manuscripts wikipedia. Jul 20, 2016 excluding the bible, business insider did a great chart on this as of 2012 thats unfortunately not quite right, but well get to that in a moment. Jun 02, 2014 the best selling books of all time are hard to list, as reliable sales figures are hard to find, especially for the bible and the quran, the most printed books of all time. Today, lets talk about the alltime bestselling books.
Aug 25, 2018 which are the best selling books in the world. I sold my first book on 12717 and the most recent book on 61018. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin, with nearly 4 billion copies printed and sold globally in the last five decades. A tale of two cities charles dickens over 200 million copies sold. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. Valentines chunky liftaflap board book holly berrybyrd. As far as i know the number two bestselling book was don quixote by m. For example, the most popular or top selling bible translations in 2016, according to the rose publishing, were the new international version and the king james version. We made a little comparison with the best selling bible translations in 2017, and, trust us, the results dont differ much. Jun 24, 2012 the harry potter series, which has enjoyed high volume sales in recent years, is a good example. American bible society is pleased to offer licensing rights to a variety of bible texts, artworkillustrations, scholarly editions, bible atlasmaps, and videoaudio in the following bible translations, reinavalera 1960. This is a list of best selling fiction authors to date, in any language.
As more people seek education, the demand for knowledge increases and authors are striving to fulfill the demand. Youve seen the 10 most popular books of the bible, now lets look at the 10 least popular books of the bible. May 25, 2018 in 1999 and 2000, the new york times listed this book with the best selling fiction books. The third group considered it as the mostprinted and mostdistributed book. The third best selling book is a tale of two cities having sold over 200 million copies. Oct 05, 2015 well, it is easy to claim that if you package a thousand different versions and then claim the sale of each one counts as a sale. Given the online behemoths scale, the list also serves as an interesting albeit unofficial peek at what books people are reading most.
Christian books still dominate alltime bestsellers lists. Sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. The familiar observation that the bible is the bestselling book of all time obscures a more startling fact. The guinness book of world records estimates that more than 5 billion copies of the bible have. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed. Other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Together, the harry potter book series is the bestselling book series in history with the sales of over 500 million copies. If you were to scan the lists of the best selling christian books of all time youd see some truly amazing books there. Are you including all the versions rejected by the council of nicea. It also proves that gods word is a moneymaker for todays christian publishers.
Top christian authors your trusted source for bible. All races love the bible equally well, but theres a troubling difference in the number 2 slot. The bible is easily one of the best selling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years he found. The graph presents data on the popularity of the versions of the bible read in the united states as of january 2017. A womans battle plan to serious, specific and strategic prayer. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. The second bestselling book of all time crisis magazine. In any case, our list goes from the least popular best seller to. The holy quran came out on top with over 3 billion prints, followed by the king james bible with over 2. Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most. The kind folks at shared their stats with me on the top 10 most accessed books of the bible.
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