The Top 10 Most Read Books in the World

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

That's why the list is so bogus. Because if you are counting "most read" books, then anything like "Don Quixote" which has been around since what, the 16th century or so, will have been read by a lot more people than anything written in the past decade, even if the local library hasn't updated its copy in 50 years. Ditto "The Odyssey". Books sold and books read are like apples and oranges, two totally different things. A published or sold book doesn't automatically equate to a read book; I've got a couple hundred TBR books sitting around here.

"Based on the number of books printed and sold in the past 50 years."

It isn't purporting to be the most read books of all time.

[Xanthe]

But it's labeling books "Most Read" just based upon publishing and sales, which is a misnomer. "Most Sold" might be the correct title for the list (though that also is debatable). Just because a book is sold does not mean it has been read.

My point was that there are books within that 50 year time span that probably better fall into a "Most Read" listing, which in and of itself should have nothing to do with book sales. If they are calling those books in their list the "Most Read", then it should be based upon verification that all those books sold were actually read.

[carld]

I'm surprised the "Guinness Book of Records" isn't on the list. I've always understood that it was the second most read book, behind the Bible.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by carld

I'm surprised the "Guinness Book of Records" isn't on the list. I've always understood that it was the second most read book, behind the Bible.

I'd be very surprised if that were true. It's a rather specialist reference book which I can't imagine being of interest to many people.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd be very surprised if that were true. It's a rather specialist reference book which I can't imagine being of interest to many people.

It claims to be the best selling copyrighted book.

Which is indeed not the same as being the most read book (as evidenced by, say, 'A Brief History of Time' )

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mbovenka

It claims to be the best selling copyrighted book.

Which is indeed not the same as being the most read book (as evidenced by, say, 'A Brief History of Time' )

Excluding non-copyright works such as the Bible (with an estimated 6 billion copies sold) and the Koran, the worlds all-time best-selling book is Guinness World Records (formerly The Guinness Book of Records). Since it was first published in October 1955, global sales in some 37 languages have exceeded 100 million as of October 2003.

Hmmm. Doesn't really add-up to me. "The Lord of the Rings", for example, has sales in excess of 150 million.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd be very surprised if that were true. It's a rather specialist reference book which I can't imagine being of interest to many people.

You must be joking, right?

I, and every other boy I knew, received this for Christmas every year from about 1975 onwards.

'specialist reference book' - pshaw!

[Belfaborac]

Yeah, I was certainly given a few of those up through the years. I also remember they could be found in many, if not most homes I popped in and out of as a kid. Haven't seen one for years and years though, so I guess Wikipedia has slashed their sales catastrophically just like the various print encyclopedias.

[DrNefario]

Well, I've read (from) one, maybe two, Guinness Books. I can't believe the editions have all that much in common, so why should it get to count as an aggregate? I expect quite a lot of newer editions are sold to the same people who read the old ones.

[K. Molen]

According to the Wikipedia link I posted earlier, The Guinness Book of World Records is the 4th best selling "regularly updated" series, with 115 million copies sold.

Slots 1-3 are occupied by Xinhua Dictionary, Scouting for Boys, and The McGuffey Readers.

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ng_book_series

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

Yeah, I was certainly given a few of those up through the years. I also remember they could be found in many, if not most homes I popped in and out of as a kid. Haven't seen one for years and years though, so I guess Wikipedia has slashed their sales catastrophically just like the various print encyclopedias.

I always found the GBWR fascinating as a kid and saved up to buy a new edition every year from about 1975, also. My daughters have several of the newer editions, but they are nothing like what we grew up with. Ours were dog-eared, paperback reference books. Today, they are hardback, coffee table sized editions, with slick paper, color pictures, and about 1/3rd the entries. Most of which are sensationalistic human 'accomplishments', rather than a register of facts. Anything remotely dangerous, is no longer considered for inclusion.