Published by deborah.woehr on 05 Apr 2006 at 07:35 am
The Top 10 Most Popular Books in the US
10. In His Steps: “What Would Jesus Do?”, by Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon
This book about Christianity has been on the shelves for over 100 years and has sold 28.5 million copies. I never heard of it until now, but am very impressed with its longevity.
9. Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
This book has sold over 30 million copies since its debut in 1966. I never read the book, but watched the movie, which starred Sharon Tate.
8. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, by Dr. Spock
This instruction manual has been popular since 1946 and spawned other books like it. The sale count is around 40 million copies. I bought a copy of it after I had my oldest, but decided to use my own common sense in child rearing.
7. World Almanac, by unknown author
This was first published in 1886 and has a sales record of 40 million+ copies.
6. A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard
This started out as magazine material and wound up being a motivational tool for employees. A Message to Garcia has sold between 40 and 50 million copies. I’ve seen this distributed as a free ebook on several Internet Marketer’s sites. Another interesting fact: Elbert is L. Ron Hubbard’s father.
5. The McGuffey Readers, by William Holmes McGuffey
The McGuffey readers were orginally published in 1879 and were supposed to teach kids about how to read. Instead, six volumes contained McGuffey’s own views on middle class values and social order. Sale count: 60 million copies.
4. The Guinness Book of Records, by unknown author
Everybody knows what this book is about. In the 70’s, people were doing all kinds of crazy things to get in the world record book. Today, that’s pretty much died out. Or, the media hasn’t deemed the latest fetes as newsworthy. Sales count: 81 million copies
3. American Spelling Book, by Noah Webster
This book has been around since 1803 and has since spawned the Webster’s Dictionary. Sales count: 100 million copies.
2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung
Formerly known as “The Red Book” and is the foundation of China’s communist society. Sales count: 800 million copies
1. The Bible
Some tout this book as the world’s best page-turner. Who knows how many copies it has sold, but the guestimate is in the billions.
Melly on 05 Apr 2006 at 1:46 pm #
The Bible is of no surprise, but The Red Book in #2?
As for Valley of the Dolls, I can’t believe it, even though even I read it.
fredcq on 05 Apr 2006 at 2:41 pm #
I’ve never read any of these books except for portions of the bible (not by choice) when I was in school.
Since these books have sold so many copies, I don’t feel any pressing need to run out to the book store and buy any of them.
deborah.woehr on 05 Apr 2006 at 3:33 pm #
Melly: Considering China’s population (which is between 1-4 billion, I think), I’m not surprised.
The movie of Valley of the Dolls was rather tragic and depressing, especially when Jennifer (played by Sharon Tate) offs herself. That’s the only real thing I remember about it. I didn’t rush out to buy the book.
deborah.woehr on 05 Apr 2006 at 3:34 pm #
Fred: I never read the Bible by choice, either. My parents bought me one, and I tried to read it. But it was written the old way, which (at 11) went right over my head.
None of these books sound very appealing to me, entertainment-wise.
Karen Lee Field on 05 Apr 2006 at 11:47 pm #
Geez, what a boring list. I have to admit that I was surprised by it (except for the bible, that is, although I’ve never read it either).
Now, how do we get our manuscripts into that list? That’s the question.
deborah.woehr on 06 Apr 2006 at 9:12 am #
I agree, Karen. It is somewhat disappointing. I expected to see Harry Potter on the list. Maybe next year.