If people are buying a book, it must be good, right? Or when it comes to modern ones, they might have a good marketing campaign, in which case we should reward the ones who came up with it anyway. Let’s take a look at the ten most popular books and rank them based on the number of copies sold:

1. The Lord of the Rings

• Author: JRR Tolkien
• # of copies sold: 150 million
• First edition: 1954

Although this series has become even more famous after being filmed, it is fair to say that the history of Middle-earth is an ingenious work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. It reaches deep inside of us and plays with our imagination, desires and inspiration.

The story of a little hobbit named Frodo Baggins who succeeded where immortal elves or noble kings failed gives us a very truthful message that literally nothing is impossible. Tolkien did a wonderful job of creating a living world and it will be a long time before his legacy is forgotten, if he ever comes to that.

2. Dream of the Red Chamber

• Author: Cao Xueqin
• # of copies sold: 100 million
• First edition: 1759

Let’s not forget that China is a big country and therefore being successful in the Chinese market has its charms. Although I personally had never heard of this particular book before, the numbers don’t lie and over a hundred million copies sold came second on our list.

The Dream of the Red Room is one of the Four Great Classical Novels, as they are called in China. It represents traditional Chinese cuisine, mythology, proverbs, etc. It is based on the author’s own experience with the Chinese aristocracy in the 18th century.

3. And then there were none left

• Author: Agatha Christie
• # of copies sold: 100 million
• First edition: 1939

It’s no surprise that Agatha Christie, as one of the best crime novel authors, made it to our top ten best books list. She is well known for her excellent plots and amazing endings. She created a bit of a ruckus by originally calling this book “Ten Little Niggers”; the name was changed to the current And Then There Were None so that it would not be offensive to African-Americans.

And what is happening in this book? In a nutshell, ten people from different walks of life are invited to an island where they are framed for murder and begin to die, one by one, but you’ll have to read it yourself, we all know it’s a bad idea to talk about plots. too much when it comes to detective stories.

4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

• Author: CS Lewis
• # of copies sold: 85 million
• First edition: 1950

CS Lewis has provided us with another great story of unusual heroes. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is just one part of a gigantic masterpiece depicting a strange world filled with magic and strange creatures that somehow co-exist with our own.

4 siblings named Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy enter the world of Narnia through a wardrobe, only to discover that they are both persona non grata and expected saviors. In case you thought Chronicles of Narnia and LOTR are a bit similar at times, keep in mind that Lewis and Tolkien were very close friends, in fact Lewis helped Tolkien with some passages in LOTR.

5. The Da Vinci Code

• Author: Dan Brown
• # of copies sold: 80 million
• First edition: 2003

Having a successful book launch in the 21st century no longer depends simply on writing a good book, but also on marketing and distribution channels. Dan Brown and his team obviously did that, because selling 80 million copies over 7 years is just amazing.

The Da Vinci Code is a mysterious story that describes a cohesion between Catholic religious beliefs and the modern world. You should fasten your seat belt before you start reading it, because the pace is fast and you could easily get sidetracked!

6. The Alchemist

• Author: Paulo Coelho
• # of copies sold: 65 million
• First edition: 1988

“When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you get it.” I don’t know how the original sounds in Portuguese, so the translation will have to suffice. The point is that Paulo Coelho tells us that if you really want something, you will have it.

The Alchemist tells the story of a young shepherd who overcomes love and danger in his search for a treasure. Apparently, the story is so good that it had to be translated into 67 languages, breaking a Guinness World Record for translations by a living author.

What might be especially appealing to young people is that Paulo Coelho encourages people to use peer-to-peer networks, because he fully understands that people are honest and will pay for a good job, eventually.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

• Author: JK Rowling
• # of copies sold: 44 million
• First edition: 2007

Another fairy tale made it to our list, I’m starting to think that people may like fairy tales after all… anyway, many children around the world grew up with the stories of Harry, He-Who -must- Nameless and Hogwarts. As expected, the final piece of the Harry Potter puzzle with its original name Deathly Hallows was a complete success.

Only time will tell if the Harry Potter series has the qualities of The Lord of the Rings or will fade away with the next few seasons. On the other hand, no one can deny that Miss Rowling has a huge impact on both her children and her parents, that has to count for something…

8. War and Peace

• Author: Leo Tolstoy
• # of copies sold: 36 million (in the USSR)
• First edition: 1869

Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer, decided to demonstrate his belief that there is a greater power shaping our history. Besides the fact that he didn’t like popular history and being a war veteran, he wrote one of the greatest and most popular novels in world literature, War and Peace.

This gem among books is divided into four volumes, each one a continuation of the last. War and Peace has many characters, both fictional and real historical. The plot takes place in the early 19th century when Napoleon invades Russia.

An interesting fact is that although War and Peace is clearly a Russian literature by a Russian author, parts of the book are written in French, probably because most of the story focuses on 5 noble families and the nobility in Russia used to speak French. in that particular. it was.

9. Think and get rich

• Author: Napoleon Hill
• # of copies sold: 30 million
• First edition: 1937

There are tons of motivational books these days. Some are better, some are worse and it is up to you to choose the one that can really help you. Think and Grow Rich is probably a safe bet, because it takes a bit of ingenuity to write something that everyone knows these days, only 70 years from now.

The best way to be successful is to find out what other people did before success came to them, and that’s exactly what Napoleon Hill did. Following the advice of his mentor (A. Carnegie), he studied the life paths of 16 wealthy people and pointed out his steps to victory.

If you are looking for personal development tools, Think and Grow Rich should be one of your top priorities.

10. nineteen eighty-four

• Author: George Orwell
• # of copies sold: 25 million
• First edition: 1949

History has shown us that humanity is capable of terrible things as well as good and it is a matter of conscience which side prevails. George Orwell took the liberty of telling us what the world would be like if despotic and oppressive regimes took the lead.

In the imaginary year of 1984, the Earth is divided between three great nations that constantly wage war against each other. The main character named Winston Smith lives in Oceania ruled by a party, called The Party. Everything is lacking, basic human rights and emotions are constantly twisted, and above all, Big Brother is always watching.

Although 1984 is bleak and desperate enough, we have to recognize that it is still within our power to create such a scenario. You had to say it out loud to realize how absurd and sick these totalitarian practices are.

conclusion

Reading good books improves our lives, because it gives us new perspectives and knowledge. The wise man knows that he never knows enough, and reading several of the most popular books is almost a cultural necessity.