Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Most Read Books in the World with Guest Blogger: Berengaria Brown




The Most Read Books in the World...Did Yours Make the List?




James Chapman at A Passion for Writing has compiled this list of the 10 Most Read Books In The World.

He begins by saying it took a lot of research to establish exactly which are the most read books in the world because just selling the most books doesn’t actually mean they have been read.

Some of the books on his list were pretty easy to guess. Others came right out of left field—or at least to me they did.

His list?

#10. The Diary of Anne Frank (27 million copies). Yes, I guessed that one.

#9. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (30 million copies).

#8. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (33 million). I guessed that one too.

#7. Twilight - The Saga by Stephenie Meyer (43 Million). Pretty easy to guess.

#6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (57 million). Foregone conclusion.

#5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (65 million). No, wasn’t expecting that.

#4. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (103 million). Oh yes, I was waiting for that one.

#3. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (400 million). The only surprise here is that it wasn’t #2.

#2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung by Mao Tse-tung (820 million) Caught me by surprise, but given the population of China, it probably shouldn’t have.

#1. The Bible (3.9. billion). I knew this one. But the differences in number of copies sold between #1, #2 and #3 says a lot, I think.

Some of the books I thought might have made it into the top #10 and didn’t were:

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Personally, I don’t have favorite books, I have favorite authors. And because I like to read pretty much anything and everything, the list changes depending on what sort of reading phase I am in at the time.

My all-time favorite author is Georgette Heyer, who gave me an enduring love for historical fiction, but I have to thank Jaid Black for introducing me to erotic romance.

What about you? Which books would you have expected to see on that list? And what is your favorite book or author?


Note from The Book Boost: Thanks to Berengaria for joining us today and giving us food for thought. I have to say that the list surprised me as well. Can't believe some of the ones that beat out Anne Frank! Gasp! Shudder!

Now, let's take a moment to check out Berengaria's book...





Now available from Siren BookStrand! Just click the cover above to pick up your copy today!

Blurb:


Amos, Wesley and Keziah have been bed partners for a while. Amos and Wesley want Keziah to move in with them and become a permanent partner but she has refused, wanting to be independent. Then she stands up for her friend and loses her job.

Amos and Wesley convince her to move in with them and plan to fuck her insensible to make her want to stay. To that end they have sex on the kitchen table using food for titillation, in Amos's office, and in the gymnasium hot tub as well as in bed.

But chaos erupts at the company Board meeting as Amos's incompetent father tries to use the ménage as a weapon to take control of the company from Amos, so Keziah decides the only solution is for her to leave.

And the ghost has his own agenda…


Want more Berengaria?

Enjoy a FREE read at her blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/


13 comments:

Berengaria Brown said...

Thank you for having me on your blog today
Berengaria

Anny Cook said...

The Bible was nooooo surprise. At one time in our country's history, the Bible might be the only book a family would own.

Some of the others were kind of strange. Dairy of Anne Frank was a good one. Like you, I thought maybe To Kill a Mockingbird. And there's no Shakespeare on that list.

I also love Georgette Heyer and have at least one copy of every one of her books!

Anonymous said...

It has been years since I've read Jane Eyre but really need to go back and re-read.

Love Bridget Jones's Diary. Cannot tell you how many times I've read it!

Nominated you for an award, Kerri! http://nicole-hadaway.blogspot.com/2010/05/writers-wednesday-blogging-award-to.html

Berengaria Brown said...

Hi Anny
I hadn't noticed Shakespeare wasn't mentioned. I wonder what his top seller is? Maybe "Romeo and Juliet"?
Hi Nicole. Thank you for dropping in.
Berengaria

Unknown said...

Yep - big Georgette Heyer fan here...

Berengaria Brown said...

Hi Amarinda
I think Georgette Heyer must be one of the most widely loved historical romance writers of all time. Likely she is not on the list because she has so many books and readers have different favorites. Maybe that was Shakespeare's problem too.
Berengaria

paulab said...

Great list--thanks, Berengaria. Maybe someone should do a "Most Read Authors" list! That would be interesting, too.

Berengaria Brown said...

Great idea Paula ☺
Berengaria

Unknown said...

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!
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Culture Dissertation

Berengaria Brown said...

Thank you, Marry.
Berengaria

Sandra Cox said...

Hey Berengaria,
Great blog. I enjoyed the list of books.

Sandra Cox said...

I like Georgette too but my all time Regency favorite it Marion Devon.

Berengaria Brown said...

Thanks, Sandra
Good suggestion. Marion has a lot of great books too.
Berengaria