Wikipedia list article This page provides lists of best-selling individual books and book series to date and in any language. Instead of counting the books currently printed or owned, “best-selling”, refers to how many copies have been sold. This list does not include comics books. According to reliable and impartial sources, the books listed are based on their highest estimates of sales. The complete list of the books is not available because many other books are missing, including The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes The King of the Rings, which was published as a trilogy of books called The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers Return of the King and as a single publication) by J. R. R. Tolkien. This lacks comprehensive sales numbers. Guinness World Records claims that the Bible has been the top-selling book since 1995. An estimated 5 billion copies have been sold. According to sales estimates, other religious printed texts sold approximately 800 million copies of Qur’an and 190,000,000 for Book of Mormon. Among non religious texts, Quotations of Chair Mao Tsetung, commonly known as Little Red Book. It has been able to produce a diverse range of figures and have had a large number of copies distributed. There were estimates of 800 million volumes being printed and distribution estimates ranging from 6.5 billion to over 6.5 million. Others claim that the volume distribution reached “billions”, while others cite over a billion official volumes printed between 1966-1969. This book and many others could have print statistics that are not accurate or reliable. These books were produced by many unrelated publishers. In some cases, they may even be spread over multiple centuries. This is why books with a political or religious theme have been left out of the list of top-selling books. Harry Potter J. K. Rowling has sold more than 500,000,000 copies around the world, making it one of history’s most successful book series. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the first of the Harry Potter novels. This makes it one of the top-selling books in history. Harry Potter was amongst the most-translated literary works of all time, with 80 languages having been added to it as of June 2017. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fourth and final installments of the series to set record sales. It sold approximately fifteen million copies in the first twenty-four hour after its publication. With twelve million books printed in the first US run, it also holds the record for the highest initial print run for any book in history.

Culture Books Book Books, with their ability to educate and entertain, have proved almost indispensable since Gutenberg perfected the printing press in 1440.


Google Book estimates that around 130 million books have been written in the past century, proving the importance of the written word.


This means that only the best books are being read at record levels.


There is not a single reliable source that tracks the book sales through the centuries. Book religious titles such as Quran and Bible are omitted as they can be easily lost.


Wavebreakmedia/Getty Images – These bestsellers should be on every person’s reading list.

Tokyo’s Yaesu book center employee stacks “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” books in a corner of the store. This was 12 July 2001, when the Japanese translation of the Harry Potter series was released in Japan. Japanese publisher prepared 800,000 copies for the first print YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images The third in the Harry Potter series follows the young wizard in his third year at Hogwarts.


An escaped mass-murderer is on the prowl, creating a mood of tension at the school.

USA TODAY’s Top-Selling Books List lists 150 bestsellers each week. This list is calculated using data from U.S.-based booksellers. The contributors represent many outlets, including bookstore chains and independent bookstores as well as mass merchandisers.


Learn more about our list.


Download the list


Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

This page has a list both of the 25 greatest-selling books all time and the 25 best book series all time. My personal ratings are not used for ranking the most-sold books.


It’s worth noting, too, that some political and religious books, like The Bible, Quran, or Quotations by Chairman Mao, have over a billion copies. The sales statistics for these books is almost impossible to track since many are given away as gifts by churches and governments. This book has been published by many different publishers throughout the centuries. Many of these publications are unreported. For these reasons, major religious and political texts are not listed here, but we can all agree that they are among the top selling books of all-time.

Here are some of the top fiction books, sorted by genre.


Browse all Book Recommendations for Best Fantasy Books and Best Mystery Books


Sales data for the best-selling books can be found on this page Don Quixote was published in 1605, so it is very old and sales figures are hard to track. Although the exact number of copies sold is unknown, it is thought to be over 500 million and certainly more than any other non-political or non-religious book on the list.


Register for the email course today to get your first lesson. You’ll receive one email per three days, and that is it. At any moment, you can opt out.

This is No. 1! Lee Bartlett Best Seller.


While there are many books that say they know all the answers, not enough examples to show you how. It is a great example of professional selling through the eyes and experience of a high-ranking salesperson. Lee Bartlett is a former salesman in financial technology, and has been able to share the strategies and mindset that have allowed him the highest number of mandates.


Frank Bettger


If you think you got all the bad cards when the game started, this classic autobiography offers a ray of hope. Frank Bettger had a difficult time selling insurance and thought about quitting after 10 years of miserable failure.


However, he made major changes to his mindset and behaviour that transformed his life and helped him become Fidelity Mutual’s number one salesman over the next 20 years.


He is often cited as the case study that inspires salespeople and business professionals alike to excel at their jobs.


Bob Burg John David Mann