Mar 19, 2025
Everyone has a book they like, which is also a bestseller. And this makes people assume that it is probably one of the most-read books in the world. It could be ‘Harry Potter’, or ‘Ikigai’ or even Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. But what if the most read book was none of these?
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Back in 2012, writer and researcher James Chapman curated a list of the most-read books in the world, based on how many copies were published and sold globally. And here are the 10 most read and circulated books according to the list.
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Not many would have guessed this right but the Bible holds the title for the most read book in the world! According to the list, there were over 3.9 billion copies sold of the Bible, making it leaps and bounds ahead of any other books.
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Second on the list with over 820 million copies (and counting) is the ‘Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung’. It is a book compilation about the thoughts, quotes, and statements of Mao Tse-tung, founder and leader of the Chinese communist party.
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A beloved book that people would have been dejected if it was not on the list is the Harry Potter series. According to the 2012 analysis, there were over 400 million copies of the book sold worldwide.
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The fourth book on the list was ‘The Lord of the Rings’ with over 103 million copies sold worldwide. A masterpiece by J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘Lord of the Rings’ is an epic fantasy set in Middle-Earth.
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One of the most famous self-help books in the world is ‘The Alchemist’, written by Paulo Coelho. According to the list it had sold over 65 million copies worldwide, a figure that would now have increased by leaps, making the journey of Santiago timeless.
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Another extremely popular and well-read novel is ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown and until 2012 it had sold over 57 million copies worldwide. It is one of the most iconic thrillers with themes of art, history, and religion.
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A teenage favourite, not just as a book but also in the movie adaptation, ‘The Twilight Saga’ is a beloved series. And when the list was first curated it had over 43 million copies worldwide, and the charm of Edward, Bella, and Jacob, has only increased since that time.
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Another iconic novel, ‘Gone with the Wind’ by Margaret Mitchell had sold over 33 million copies worldwide a decade ago. It is the story of Scarlett O’Hara, the days of the American Civil War, and her motto of ‘tomorrow will be a new, better day’.
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Another self-help to make the list was ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill. Also one of the oldest books to be featured, by 2012 it had sold over 30 million copies around the world.
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An emotional and heartfelt book from the Holocaust period is ‘Diary of Anne Frank’, and it had sold over 27 million copies about a decade ago. The diary was Anne’s life as a Jew during the Holocaust and was a raw and personal account.
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Thanks For Reading!
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