What are the top 20 best-selling books in history? To be a “Bestseller,” a book or novel must deal with a large budget as well as various literary people, reviewers, retailers, publishers, editors, and marketing efforts to increase selling copies. Similarly, the main reason for fluctuations in the bestseller list over time is the sales rate.
However, in this article, we have listed the twenty best-selling books that are still in high demand and are selling well. So, if you’re looking for a new book to read, here’s a list of the top 20 best-selling books of all time.
Simply read through and enjoy your new selection! Based on the total number of copies sold worldwide, the books included in the list are from various genres (fictional, non-fictional, mystery, classic, ancients, academic).
Quick View
| Name Of The Book | Author | Copies Sold | Genre |
| 1. Don Quixote | Miguel de Cervantes | 500 million | Novel |
| 2. Xinhua Zidian | First Publisher: Commercial Press | 400 million | Non-fiction |
| 3. A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens | 200 million | Historical Fiction |
| 4. The Lord of the Rings | J.R.R Tolkien | 150 million | Fantasy |
| 5. The Little prince | Antoine de Saint-Exupery | 140 million | Novel |
| 6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | J.K. Rowling | 120 million | Fantasy |
| 7. And Then There Were None | Agatha Christie | 100 million | Mystery |
| 8. Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | 100 million | Family- saga |
| 9. The Hobbit | J.R.R Tolkien | 100 million | Fantasy |
| 10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | 95 million | Fantasy |
| 11. She: A History of Adventure | H. Rider Haggard | 83 million | Adventure |
| 12. The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | 8o million | Mystery thriller |
| 13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | J.K. Rowling | 77 million | Fantasy |
| 14. Think and Grow Rich | Napoleon Hill | 70 million | Non-fiction |
| 15. The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | 65 million | Fantasy |
| 16. The Catcher of the Rye | J.D. Salinger | 65 million | Novel, Coming-of-age story |
| 17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | J.K. Rowling | 65 million | Fantasy |
| 18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | J.K. Rowling | 65 million | Fantasy |
| 19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | J.K. Rowling | 65 million | Fantasy |
| 20. Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Azkaban | J.K. Rowling | 65 million | Fantasy |
Best-Selling Books of All Time
20. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 1999
This is the third book in the Harry Potter series, and it describes Harry and his friends’ adventures at Hogwarts, including fictional events involving werewolves and time travel. However, there is some information about Harry’s parents, James and Lily, who died protecting him.
Furthermore, this fictional book appeals to the concepts of morality, the value of time, and friendship, and it ranks among the top twenty best sellers of all time.
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J.K. Rowling
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 2003
Similarly, the fifth book in the Harry Potter series is one of the top nineteen best-selling books of all time, introducing a secret society dedicated to opposing Voldemort’s growing power.
Furthermore, the book is based on the theme of education as empowerment, the value of unity, and the relationship between knowledge and time.
18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
by J.K. Rowling
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 2000
Similarly, in the number eighteen bestsellers is the book from the series of Harry Potter which was published in two countries simultaneously, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Further, the author provides an adolescent time of the characters, their friendship, network connectedness, and the trouble of enslavement.
17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
by J.K Rowling
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 2005
It is the sixth book in the series of Harry Potter to clarify Harry’s preparations for a final battle against Lord Voldemort.
Meanwhile, this book has various plots to describe the essence of friendship, trust, the power of self-sacrifice, and overcoming one’s past as a key theme.
16. The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 1951
The Catcher in the Rye is a controversial novel popular among adolescents’ readers for its theme based on struggles against perks of growing up, searching, and connecting to people.
In other words, the book portrays the teenager’s problems like loneliness and frustration to face adulthood.
15. The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
Copies sold: 65 million
Released year: 1986- 1993
Meanwhile, in the fifteenth bestsellers, we have The Alchemist, the book representing a story of a young shepherd boy’s journey in quest of treasure to realize his legend.
In addition, it is an ideal book for readers with the motive to pursue those dreams that heart desires.
14. Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill
Copies sold: 70 million
Released year: 1937
In the same way, we have Think and Grow Rich, a self-motivating book by Napoleon Hill, who studied rich and successful people to create a formula for achieving personal success.
The book is about building those 13 habits to power up the mind and consequently be a better person.
13. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J.K Rowling
Copies sold: 77 million
Released year: 1998
It is the second book in the series Harry Potter praised and awarded by the critics.
To clarify, it uncovers the mysteries of the wizard school Hogwarts and a powerful villain Lord Voldemort to the readers.
Moreover, the novel points out the idea of tolerance within the community through a plot where Salazar Slytherin intends to wipe out “Mudbloods” or wizards from Hogwarts with non-magical forebears.
12. The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Copies sold: 80 million
Released year: 2003
Another mystery/ thriller book on the list which became a bestseller with approximately 80 million copies sold worldwide and translated into different languages.
Above all, this book is based on the historical secrets of the Catholic Church and Christianity religion.
11. She: A History of Adventure
by H. Rider Haggard
Copies sold: 83 million
Released year: 1887
This romantic novel is inspired by Rider Haggard’s experiences in South Africa and British exploitation.
Besides a first-person narrative novel, it is also about two adventurers who search for a supernatural white queen, Ayesha, a ruler of a lost African city called Kor.
Therefore, it is known for exploring female authority and manners, praised and criticized for representing womanhood.
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
by C.S. Lewis
Copies sold: 95 million
Released year: 1950
This fantasy novel is a top ten bestseller of all time. Written by a children novelist, a magical doorway that connects the normal world to the magical world certainly makes the story more interesting.
This book explains the conflicts between good and evil that occurred in the kingdom of Narnia.
9. The Hobbit
by J.R.R Tolkien
Copies sold: 100 million
Released year: 1937
In the ninth row is a top-rated book, The Hobbit, nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize for best juvenile fiction.
This novel addressed Tolkien’s richly imagined world of Middle Earth in its Third Age and served as a prologue to his next bestseller novel, The Lord of the Rings.
It tells a story of a seeker for warmth and comforts to a fighter for a good reason.
8. Dream of the Red Chamber
by Cao Xueqin
Copies sold: 100 million
Released year: 1791
Next in the eighth best sellers is Dream of the Red Chamber, with over 100 million in sales volume.
It is considered one of the four great classic novels in China having the work of Chinese literature.
The book written in the 18th century during the Qing dynasty combines realism and romance, daily life and supernatural occurrences, psychological motivation, and fate.
7. And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
Copies sold: 100 million
Released year: 1939
In the same way, this is the seventh bestselling book which crossed 100 million in estimated sales.
Above all, the book details a seemingly impossible set of murders on an island with seven people.
However, each murder connects to a line from an old nursery rhyme explained in Christie’s skillful epilogue.
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J. K Rowling
Copies sold: 120 million
Released year: 1997
This is the First Volume of a fantasy novel among J.K. Rowling’s series of blockbusters.
Whereas, it is about young wizards living in a magical modern world that portrays a theme about the attitudes towards death and, most importantly, how to face reality and philosophy of it.
5. The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Copies sold: 140 million
Released year: 1943
The Little Prince is the fifth best-seller of all time.
Similarly, it is the author’s popular and most translated work so far. The book presents the theme of loneliness, love, friendship, and loss through a boy who lives in a tiny asteroid.
The book gained popularity in France; afterward, the astronomers even named an actual asteroid like the one prince lives on in the story.
4. The Lord of The Rings
by J.R.R Tolkien
Copies sold: 150 million
Released year: 1954
The Lord of The Rings is undoubtedly a high-intensity fantasy novel published in three parts: Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
In short, the book explains the chronicle of great heroes who set forth to save their world from a powerful evil.
In 2003, they all were named Britain’s best novel of all time in the BBC’s The Big Read.
3. A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
Copies sold: 200 million.
Released year: 1859
On the third, we have a historical fictitious book set in London and Paris before and after the French Rebellion.
Hence, the book is provided to clarify, eighteen-year imprisonment of French Doctor Manette, who stands up for his belief in the possibility of restoring life and revolution, both personally and socially.
2. Xinhua Zidian
Copies sold: 400 million.
Released year: 1953
This book is the second bestseller of all time which is a Chinese Dictionary popular among every student in china and printed by the commercial press.
Therefore, the book comprises 3,300 compounds and over 13,000 logograms with traditional Chinese characters.
As a result, it was confirmed the “most popular dictionary” and the “best-selling book at that time” in 2016, Guinness World Records.
1. Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes
Copies sold: 500 million
Released year: 1612
Firstly, it is a fictional book in the top bestsellers of this list.
Originally, Miguel de Cervantes wrote this book in Spanish, also known as “the first modern novel,” published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615.
However, it contains the influential work of literature with the touch of the Spanish age and literary norm.
In addition, it is the novel about a wanna-be knight, Alonso Quixano, who goes on a series of adventures to rebuild the idea of chivalry back to its previous glory.
As of December 2022, this is a list of the 20 best-selling books of all time that may appeal to millions of people until the latest time.
Above all, this list of best sellers can vary in the month or year around unless an estimated sales rate and popularity among readers is observed.
Also, don’t forget to comment below your favorite read from the list.
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