10.The da vinci code 9.The lion,the witch and the wardrobe 8.Dream of the red chamber 7.And then there were none 6.The hobbit 5.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 4.The little prince 3.The alchemist 2.A tale of two cities 1.Don Quixote
A very interesting point. There must be countless novels out there that, with the right backing, might have become classics. One can always wonder what masterpieces have been overlooked, for any of a number of reasons. Think only of "A Confederacy of Dunces," a book whose consistent rejections led author John Kennedy Toole to kill himself, and only his mother's indefatigability led to its publication and ultimate winning of the Pulitzer Prize. What other "Harry Potters" are lost in shadow out there?
@@geokaplan59 I picked up that particular book for a voluntary contribution in a Petersfield second-hand Book shop. Nearly didn't read it. Could not put it down when I did.
Agatha Christie left the royalties of “The Mousetrap “ to her least-favorite nephew, thinking it would be a tremendous failure. That guy (or his heirs) are STILL laughing all the way to the bank.
I suspect that's part of the reason for the "popularity" of A Tale of Two Cities. I've tried to read it and couldn't get through it. Bored me to tears.
Dream of the Red Chamber is the only one on the list that I don't own and have not read. I'm rather ashamed to say that I'd not heard of it before watching this video. Thanks, TopTenz!
He mentions 'historical and religious inaccuracies'. That's what I have against that book, because so many people seem to think it portrays history accurately.
I was expecting Gone with the wind, The three musketeers, or even Peace and War and Les Misérables. Dan Brown and Paolo Coelho are there just because global marketing has made enormous progress in this century. The other are true masterpiece with lasting success.
Yes the grapes of wrath is great try reading what i think think is the English equivalent the ragged trousered philanthropists by Robert tressel which i think is a great read
A perfect example is Hitler’s Mein Kampf. A bestseller at the time because is was mandatory for all Germans to own a copy but the book was a piece of junk, both in content and writing style.
That’s your taste, that has nothing to do with how many times they have been sold. I can’t stand Russians for example, I love British literature and some German and French, also I love ancient Greek/Roman mythology, but since I am Spanish, Don Quijote is part of our culture in a very deep way. As well as other books like El Lazarillo de Tormes or authors like Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca or Gustavo Adolfo Becquer to say a few. Cervantes described really well how society was at the time, and also was the precursor of the adventures book, that nowadays is so common but at the time was a genre treated as an oddity. It’s like Picasso in art, or a lot of other Spanish authors an artists through time.
The only adult books on the list to compare would be the Dickens and Don Quixote (Have not read the Chinese one so I don't know). The Harry Potter books are great if you are a kid - if I'd found them when I was ten or twelve I would have probably read them multiple times, and as a kid I loved the Tolkien and the CS Lewis (he wrote one called 'Till We Have Faces' that used to tear me up every time). The Alchemist and Da Vinci Code are so bad they are kind of funny, actually. The Alchemist is just an idiot plot, though the writing itself isn't terrible. Not to sound mean (though it's gonna sound mean), I doubt I could have a conversation with any adult who liked the Da Vinci Code, though I could maybe see somebody really young liking it without being potentially 'special'. War and Peace really is great, and once you get the names sorted out about chapter three it's a page-turner, but Anna Karenina is, in my opinion, better.
Hm...about the only classical literature book that I did enjoy was Bram Stoker's Dracula...most others are torture to me :( (stuff like 'Wuthering Heights') ps: Ok, there is something else: JULES VERNE :) loved his books as a teenager (yeah, surprising...a teenger who really red books! I still do and I could fill a - small - library with all the books I own!)
Very interesting, as usual. I have one tiny quibble: 'Magdalen' College, because of the tremendously logical way English works, is pronounced 'Maudlin'. Yes, really.
brianartillery Picking even more nits: It's Magdalen College, not Magdalene. There is a Magdalene College in Cambridge, and it's pronounced Magdalene. And of course, Caius College is pronounced "keys". How else?
Peter Marksteiner - Duly corrected. Furthermore: Happisborough; Stiffkey; Trottiscliffe. Or Hazebro, Stewkey, or Troseley, as they are pronounced by locals.
this upcoming novel is the 6th installment of "a song of ice and fire" series, and the popular tv show Game of Thronnes is adapted from this book series
There is a major problem with this list, as four of the top ten spots should be Tolkien's, with The Fellowship of the Ring - 155+ million copies, The Two Towers - 150+ million copies, The Return of the King - 140+ million copies and The Hobbit, which you incorrectly said was 100 million but is actually 140+ million.
As well as Dream of the Red Chamber, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Da Vinci Code not even being in the top ten, being 11th, 13th and 15th respectively.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to point out my mistake. My only regret is I do not know you irl, as I am positive you're great at parties! Also, I am not going to fix it.
AsapNicky Bars Cultured? Every country has it's own culture. Like it or not, America does have a culture. Hell, your state probably has its own culture.
I am not American and I didn’t knew about it until I was older. It’s not that famous. In Europe at least we read a lot of Spanish, English, Russian, Italian, French, German literature because there are thousands of authors since the Roman Empire. Too many to count, in all sorts of kinds of texts as well, poems, novel, theater, and so on.
OKAY then. I have three of the books on this list and have read six. My grandson's loved me reading The Hobbit to them. They thought it was a grand adventure! And it is!
Think of the great writers whose books aren't represented: Twain, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Shelley, Faulkner, Vonnegut, King, Marquez, Morrison... Not even Danielle Steel or Nicholas Sparks made the list! I presume Shakespeare is properly considered a playwright rather than novelist; otherwise, surely "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet," at least, would have cracked that list. And what about Jules Verne, who must have a novel or two close to that rarefied level? And George R.R. Martin? Then again, consider some of the writers who HAVE had immense selling success, but who are anything but literary darlings. Jacqueline Susann, Harold Robbins, Stephenie Meyer, E.L. James, even the aforementioned Steel and Sparks (sounds like a blacksmith shop). All mostly reviled and dismissed as stylists. And not to be snarky, but there are those who would consider one other book to be the bestselling work of fiction of all time: the Bible.
I really enjoyed DaVinci Code, it was like a roller coaster, but I wouldn't ride it again. It was a one-time fling. LOTR and To Kill a Mockingbird my favorite books. The Hobbit was meh for me.
That's Dan Brown for ya. All of his books are the same, once you've read one, you've read them all. Don't really know how I managed to sit through 4 of his books before quitting midway though the fifth.
Never been able finish the Hobbit, started in Jr. High and I'm 61, not really gripping for me. I've never seen the movies (ducking from things thrown at me for that! Lol)
Lisa Mieth Hi if you find the time and the courage you should give it a try. I was just like you until my son forced me to watch the movies together and big surprise I loved it! One of the best series I've ever seen! Sometimes a bit cruel but overall great movies.
It's a shame that "Journey to the West" is not better known internationally. In native Chinese-speaking areas, it's probably the most popular novel ever written; and it's the only novel I've ever thought was better than "Don Quixote." BTW, I've read the English translation of "Don Quixote" twice, and I'm now reading it in the original Spanish.
I remember reading in the book "Guys Write for Guys Read" about Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The section was of his time being a crashed pilot trying to survive. Honestly, the book is amazing and I learned so much from all the personal stories told in it.
Pretty much, I Researched it and found out its because it 's historical text that was once believed in as a religion dtus it cant be regaraded as fiction, so it cant be a novel
I think some numbers are accounted for by the fact that some of these books are on required reading lists at most schools. Doesn't mean they were all enjoyed or bought for personal pleasure.
I think the real reason that so many take umbrage at all the innacuracies and absurdities in the Da Vinci Code is because the movie was promoted shamelessly, as represending reality or at least being "based on a true story". In fact it is a work of pure fiction, with just a smidgeon of actual history thrown in to make it seem like an actual Historical Novel. In short, a lot of people were so outraged at being duped by the way the book and the movie were promoted, that they fought back.
"People criticize 'The Da Vinci Code' for its historical and religious inaccuracies." And the concept of "historical fiction" completely soared over their heads, didn't it? On another note, "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho looks interesting. I'll have to check that out.
I think what particularly annoyed critics is that both the text itself in a preface and the author publicly as part of marketing the book claimed that all the locations, archaeology, and artistic features in the text are accurately described. Thus, when it first came to the public's attention, many readers were fooled into believing that the story was in some since not fictional, and this idea that the book was in some way true contributed to the book becoming a popular reading fad. In fact, many people to this day do not realize that Dan Brown was swindling them and almost all the architecture and artworks in the book are falsely described.
TheaterRaven, The reason why the inaccuracies are so offensive is that Dan Brown CLAIMS that the representations of history, places, etc etc are accurate.
I refuse to believe that “The DaVinci Code” outsold “Huckleberry Finn,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Pride and Prejudice,” or “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
GREAT LIST ! ( with the exception of the #10 spot ) - , but in this day , there are works by many great authors now out of print , James Hilton's ' knight without armour ' to name one - so I think a list of the greatest books ever written , but now out of print , should be written !
You should do top ten hardest books to read (based on complexity) just for fun I bet a lot of 19th century and some of Shakespeare to be up there. I did two whole years of English working on 19th century short stories it wasn’t easy! Edit: also Stephen Hawking.
I didn't know "The Hobbit" was that old, I haven't made my way around to that fandom yet... Hey TopTenz, do a video of top 10 classic books and one of top 10 religious books!
Perfect pronunciation on Don Quijote de la Mancha :) Thanks for the list, I have read Don Quijote, The Little Prince, The Hobbit and The Da Vinci Code only.
1/10 in Rowlings case would be enough to set you up for life! (especially if you take 10% of her pre-charity fortune!)....seriously, with that money I could so easily set up a snowball revenue chain that would keep my family-line (note: Don't have kids and don't want any, but this is a what-if-scenario) fed etc. forever (or my corpsicle, because I want to be frozen if I die - so that maybe being revived is possible later on!))
Interested! I read most of that books, except for "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Dickens. I agree that the DaVinci Code is a really bad book, also the main idea is stolen from amazing Italian author Uberto Eco.
Sorry that Simon didn't like The DaVinci Code. It was one of those books you actually couldn't down. My wife and I read it at the same time, switching back and forth from reading a chapter to researching the info on the Internet. A wonderful fun experience for us we remember fondly.
Best sellers are not necessarily the best books.... I have read many many books, but the little known Pather Panchali (written in Bengali) was the best book I ever read.... I can't speak enough of how beautifully this book is written....
Pather panchali is truly beautiful. It's shame it doesn't get much recognition in the west. I also love a lot of Tagore's works and even Sharad Chattopadhyay's works. Bengali literature is rich and beautiful and I am saying this as a non-bengali.
Your list is wrong: Fellowship of the Ring sold 155 million, Two Towers sold 150 million, and Return of the King sold 140 million. Why pick Tolkien's 4th selling book, and exclude his top three? Or the trilogy as a whole at 140 million. Another issue I have with this video is the Davinci Code bashing. It's not the greatest written book, but it IS better written than a lot of other popular books such as the early works of Isaac Asimov including i, Robot, Foundation; GRR Martin's fantasy series, including a Game of Thrones; at least one other book on your list: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Criticizing a work of fiction on historic accuracy is silly, not ONE other book on this list is accurate, along with the vast majority of historical fiction and science fiction are not accurate. One thing the Davinci Code did a lot better than the majority of books is that it told an entertaining story, and had near perfect pacing and suspense elements; that obviously counted for something considering how many readers loved it. Why do some things attract heavy criticism while others with the same or worse flaws do not? The case with the Davinci Code is that it angered a lot of conservatives who think this topic is sacred. It's also why other books by Dan Brown weren't criticised like this, even though they weren't as good as the Davinci Code.
While listening to the list i jotted down the books I have read and think it reflects my age and my birthplace. They are:Lion, witch and the wardrobe, And then there were none, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, A tale of two cities and Don Quixote
I've actually read all of them. I hated The Alchemist and my favourite author on the list is Agatha Christie. I loved her books as a teen. The Little Prince is for pretentious people. Don Quixote is ok, but very overrated.None of my favourite books are on this list.
Neethu siva Well before that, there was Don Quijote. I am Turkish and I remember reading at primary school. But again, Don Quijote is an very old book, from 16 century. Maybe who knows in about 200 years from now on, Harry Potter could be number one.
@@joaojeronimo5693 really? like potterhead is a massive fandom they will pass the stories in their kids and all the 8 movies are out their HP is a cultural thing and has an impact to the popular culture till this day!
@frank hargreaves - Why would the dog be on the menu? Was the menu on the ground or on the table? Did you let the dog remain on the menu? I would have shooed the dog off the menu so I could read it.
How can any country change its spelling system, start words with X and really expect their words to be easier to pronounce? Cow Zuken is what it looks like to me.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is actually the second book in the series - the first is The Magician's Nephew which is the 'Adam and Eve' part of the story.
No. Actually, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was written and published first. Only in later editions, were the books re-sorted to where The Magician’s nephew was placed first. Originally, it was 6th.
Oh, please. PBS says one of the best selling (and certainly most popular books of all time) is J. D. Salinger"s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. And what happened to GONE WITH THE WIND, still read today. And poor Ernest Hemingway, who apparently never wrote a best seller. Were there any inquiries about any of these?
What kind of video is this, no spoiler alert and you spoiled the book at number 10. I stopped the video that very moment. I am not ever going to watch a video from this channel again. The video creator should respect the choices of other people. If you don't like a book you can criticize it but no you had to go and spoil the book for every one. I was watching the video to get a suggestion which book to read next but I am very much disappointed and disgusted with the creator.
The only one I didn't read is the dream of the red chamber here, i will have to rectify that. The DaVinci Code is a damn fine book. Of course it's fictional and has some exaggerated details to it, but the knowledge and certain facts about DaVinci's life and work are 100% spot on and incredibly interesting in this book. Also, the story is fantastic. Dan Brown's best is Deception Point imo though.
"DID NOTHING WRONG. Well he did pretend that one of sources was valid even though he had to know that it was fraud. Not even mistaken, just blatant fraud. Fiction. I am OK with a writer using fictional sources. I would rather he had not pretended it was real. I am equally annoyed with the Cohen Bros for pretending that Fargo was based on a true event. They lied. I still like their movies but I cannot trust them after that.
Don Quixote also got a boost on the sales list because it was on most US high schools reading lists for a very long time. So most students had to own a copy.
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan also Jazz by Toni Morrison. These are amongst my Top 10 and yes! I love the Novel The Da Vinci Code!
Rowling will pay 10% capital gains tax in the UK unless she moves her money to Jersey, isle of man etc for free then she'll pay no tax at all. The USA is 15% and 20% in the EU, to call the UK tax expensive is wrong
someone doesn't know how to do math if Agatha Christie wrote ~80 books and sold 200 billion total copies where the best selling one sold 100 million. the average from the first data set would be 2.5 billion or 25 times the 100 million figure.
Well I Have read over 100 thousand pages of Books and tbh then there were none is The best book i Have ever read. So What im trying to say that These Brooks are just amazing
10.The da vinci code
9.The lion,the witch and the wardrobe
8.Dream of the red chamber
7.And then there were none
6.The hobbit
5.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
4.The little prince
3.The alchemist
2.A tale of two cities
1.Don Quixote
Thank you
Took a while to find it.
Thank you
Thank you
All these books of such fame and success have some things in common: principles, dreams, idealism, morality, spirituality, and simplicity.
I was surprised that Sir Arthur Canon D/Sherlock Holmes didn't make the list
There's competition
The most famous sherlock stories were written for a newspaper i. e not as a novel
Stories not novels for the most part
Sherlock Holmes is not even best selling detective novel
Aaron Kuffel: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And the author was duped into believing in faries.
Don Quixote: the perfect blend of brilliance and popularity. Nice.
Rowling got really lucky with that publisher letting his daughter read it. I'm sure there are dozens out there who are not so lucky.
idk harry potter is quite exceptional imo
Lucky?! I wouldn't call everythink she had been put through up to that point luck.
A very interesting point. There must be countless novels out there that, with the right backing, might have become classics. One can always wonder what masterpieces have been overlooked, for any of a number of reasons. Think only of "A Confederacy of Dunces," a book whose consistent rejections led author John Kennedy Toole to kill himself, and only his mother's indefatigability led to its publication and ultimate winning of the Pulitzer Prize. What other "Harry Potters" are lost in shadow out there?
EarlFaulk Dozens? Many, many, many dozens.
@@geokaplan59 I picked up that particular book for a voluntary contribution in a Petersfield second-hand Book shop. Nearly didn't read it. Could not put it down when I did.
Don't know how many copies, but my favorite all time book is the Count of Monte Christo. I has everything you would want in a novel.
YAAAASSSSS!!!!!
Have to agree, absolutely loved it.
Best book I've ever read!
Don Quixote was Einstein's favorite book.
Agatha Christie left the royalties of “The Mousetrap “ to her least-favorite nephew, thinking it would be a tremendous failure.
That guy (or his heirs) are STILL laughing all the way to the bank.
It doesn't hurt that Le Petit Prince is used as a text book in every second year French class in the entire universe.
I suspect that's part of the reason for the "popularity" of A Tale of Two Cities. I've tried to read it and couldn't get through it. Bored me to tears.
@@minuteman4199 I feel your pain 🤣🤣
Dream of the Red Chamber is the only one on the list that I don't own and have not read. I'm rather ashamed to say that I'd not heard of it before watching this video. Thanks, TopTenz!
It's one of the top five Chinese novels, but I highly recommend the Anthony C. Wu translation of "Journey to the West."
kausmo tumynski thanks for saving my time....
You might want to check out the sequel, 'The Dream of the Red Porch' by Carmine Veranda.
It's called The Story of the Stone translated by David Hawkes.
Oh yes quite
Hard to fathom that The DaVinci Code beat out Gone With the Wind. 🤷🏻♀️
Gee, what did the DaVinci's Code and Dan Brown ever do to you?
Waste time that could've been spent on something better; I think the reason it sold so well was probably infamy in religious circles.
I remember all the hype when it came out. Never gave it a read though.
He mentions 'historical and religious inaccuracies'. That's what I have against that book, because so many people seem to think it portrays history accurately.
Sybille Stahl I just don't like the way he writes; it must be even worse if you pay attention to the history.
But neither does that fkn. bible...
I was expecting Gone with the wind, The three musketeers, or even Peace and War and Les Misérables.
Dan Brown and Paolo Coelho are there just because global marketing has made enormous progress in this century. The other are true masterpiece with lasting success.
Grapes of Wrath is the best novel I've read. The Kite Runner and Tess of the Dubervilles are great too
Yes the grapes of wrath is great try reading what i think think is the English equivalent the ragged trousered philanthropists by Robert tressel which i think is a great read
I absolutely love The Grapes of Wrath. I've read it multiple times
Let’s not confuse “best selling” with “best”, or assume that, once sold, these books actually were read in part or in full.
Whar. I don’t really understand what you meant
I was just thinking the same thing.
Thats true..what people like is subjective
And I take critics' opinions with a grain of salt
Would you include the Bible?
A perfect example is Hitler’s Mein Kampf. A bestseller at the time because is was mandatory for all Germans to own a copy but the book was a piece of junk, both in content and writing style.
Regardless the sales, I would read War And Peace and The Brothers Karamazov before the first 8 books given here.
That’s your taste, that has nothing to do with how many times they have been sold. I can’t stand Russians for example, I love British literature and some German and French, also I love ancient Greek/Roman mythology, but since I am Spanish, Don Quijote is part of our culture in a very deep way. As well as other books like El Lazarillo de Tormes or authors like Lope de Vega, Calderon de la Barca or Gustavo Adolfo Becquer to say a few. Cervantes described really well how society was at the time, and also was the precursor of the adventures book, that nowadays is so common but at the time was a genre treated as an oddity. It’s like Picasso in art, or a lot of other Spanish authors an artists through time.
The Brothers Karamazov is my favourite book in the world. It is an experience!
Well I’m sorry for you because these books are horrible
The only adult books on the list to compare would be the Dickens and Don Quixote (Have not read the Chinese one so I don't know). The Harry Potter books are great if you are a kid - if I'd found them when I was ten or twelve I would have probably read them multiple times, and as a kid I loved the Tolkien and the CS Lewis (he wrote one called 'Till We Have Faces' that used to tear me up every time). The Alchemist and Da Vinci Code are so bad they are kind of funny, actually. The Alchemist is just an idiot plot, though the writing itself isn't terrible. Not to sound mean (though it's gonna sound mean), I doubt I could have a conversation with any adult who liked the Da Vinci Code, though I could maybe see somebody really young liking it without being potentially 'special'. War and Peace really is great, and once you get the names sorted out about chapter three it's a page-turner, but Anna Karenina is, in my opinion, better.
Hm...about the only classical literature book that I did enjoy was Bram Stoker's Dracula...most others are torture to me :( (stuff like 'Wuthering Heights')
ps: Ok, there is something else: JULES VERNE :) loved his books as a teenager (yeah, surprising...a teenger who really red books! I still do and I could fill a - small - library with all the books I own!)
Very interesting, as usual. I have one tiny quibble: 'Magdalen' College, because of the tremendously logical way English works, is pronounced 'Maudlin'. Yes, really.
brianartillery I was checking the comments to see if anyone else noticed :)
brianartillery Picking even more nits: It's Magdalen College, not Magdalene. There is a Magdalene College in Cambridge, and it's pronounced Magdalene. And of course, Caius College is pronounced "keys". How else?
Peter Marksteiner - Duly corrected. Furthermore: Happisborough; Stiffkey; Trottiscliffe. Or Hazebro, Stewkey, or Troseley, as they are pronounced by locals.
I would give $1 (US) to hear this guy pronounce something in Welsh.
I loved The Little Prince! My mom used to read it to me in French when I was little ^_^
Am I the only one who is waiting for The Winds of Winter?
this upcoming novel is the 6th installment of "a song of ice and fire" series, and the popular tv show Game of Thronnes is adapted from this book series
may as well stop waiting, the guy is going to drop dead anytime now and meet his maker. Yes, Lucifer.
I am Tarun Hell No!!
I cannot wait
I am Tarun Nah you are not alone, one of my fears is that GRRM will die before completing the series.
I am Tarun g
There is a major problem with this list, as four of the top ten spots should be Tolkien's, with The Fellowship of the Ring - 155+ million copies, The Two Towers - 150+ million copies, The Return of the King - 140+ million copies and The Hobbit, which you incorrectly said was 100 million but is actually 140+ million.
As well as Dream of the Red Chamber, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Da Vinci Code not even being in the top ten, being 11th, 13th and 15th respectively.
The Lord of the Rings is considered one book in three volumes.
and it's the best selling book of all time that's not the bible
Don Quixote's numbers cannot be confirmed and are only estimated meanwhile lord of the rings has confirmed sales numbers
While I'm all for accuracy it would have made the list much more boring and less informative.
Hey TopTenz, Just want to say thanks for making me feel more a little more cultured everyday.
'more a little more' .... More cultured 'every day'. It's an 'everyday' thing. Keep working at it, you'll get there.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to point out my mistake. My only regret is I do not know you irl, as I am positive you're great at parties! Also, I am not going to fix it.
AsapNicky Bars Cultured? Every country has it's own culture. Like it or not, America does have a culture. Hell, your state probably has its own culture.
Words have multiple meanings, sorry if I just blew your mind.
Apart from Dan Brown that wasn't nearly as depressing as I expected. It's interesting that it is dominated by children's and young adult texts.
Evan Hadkins h
Decades ago, I saw The Little Prince on television (USA) as a child. It both frightened and delighted me.
Surprised not to see Catcher in the Rye. Thanks for all your many great vids!
Over rated and not a best seller so why be surprised? Could think of dozens of other quality titles (non American) which are not big sellers.
I am not American and I didn’t knew about it until I was older. It’s not that famous. In Europe at least we read a lot of Spanish, English, Russian, Italian, French, German literature because there are thousands of authors since the Roman Empire. Too many to count, in all sorts of kinds of texts as well, poems, novel, theater, and so on.
read catcher, it's trash. don't waste your time thinking about it
That would be really ironic, since it would mean that one of the worst popular novels of all time would be a top ten bestseller.
OKAY then. I have three of the books on this list and have read six. My grandson's loved me reading The Hobbit to them. They thought it was a grand adventure! And it is!
Don Quixote is my all time favorite.
I loved him so much I could not read the last pages.
Interesting, I thought Jane austen would make it.
Think of the great writers whose books aren't represented: Twain, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Shelley, Faulkner, Vonnegut, King, Marquez, Morrison... Not even Danielle Steel or Nicholas Sparks made the list! I presume Shakespeare is properly considered a playwright rather than novelist; otherwise, surely "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet," at least, would have cracked that list. And what about Jules Verne, who must have a novel or two close to that rarefied level? And George R.R. Martin? Then again, consider some of the writers who HAVE had immense selling success, but who are anything but literary darlings. Jacqueline Susann, Harold Robbins, Stephenie Meyer, E.L. James, even the aforementioned Steel and Sparks (sounds like a blacksmith shop). All mostly reviled and dismissed as stylists. And not to be snarky, but there are those who would consider one other book to be the bestselling work of fiction of all time: the Bible.
I thought a Jane Austen admirer would have enough respect to capitalize her surname.
Yes, Pride and Prejudice is supposed to be the most read book in the English language.
@@ingriddubbel8468
Ok karen
I actually like The DaVinci Code quite a lot but cheap treasure hunt books are my guilty pleasure hahaha
I really enjoyed DaVinci Code, it was like a roller coaster, but I wouldn't ride it again. It was a one-time fling. LOTR and To Kill a Mockingbird my favorite books. The Hobbit was meh for me.
I love To Kill A Mockingbird, I have that Novel, I also have Go Set A Watchman and Alex Haley's Roots! Awesome, awesome Novels!
That's Dan Brown for ya. All of his books are the same, once you've read one, you've read them all. Don't really know how I managed to sit through 4 of his books before quitting midway though the fifth.
Never been able finish the Hobbit, started in Jr. High and I'm 61, not really gripping for me. I've never seen the movies (ducking from things thrown at me for that! Lol)
Lisa Mieth Hi if you find the time and the courage you should give it a try. I was just like you until my son forced me to watch the movies together and big surprise I loved it! One of the best series I've ever seen! Sometimes a bit cruel but overall great movies.
The Davinci Code sucked massive sweaty goat balls. There is no redeeming that "novel".
It's a shame that "Journey to the West" is not better known internationally. In native Chinese-speaking areas, it's probably the most popular novel ever written; and it's the only novel I've ever thought was better than "Don Quixote." BTW, I've read the English translation of "Don Quixote" twice, and I'm now reading it in the original Spanish.
the lion the witch and the wardrobe isn't actually the first book in that series, it's the magician's nephew. I read the entire series and loved it.
The Magician's Nephew takes place before The LW and W but it was written afterwards.
I love Dan Brown’s work! My favorite author is Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead.
Very cool vid, have to look into some of these books. Probably not the DaVinci Code though.
No...don't bother with it. It's unbelievably bad. I got through about a fourth of it and put it down.
It's actually pretty interesting. Just don't even think about bothering with another Dan Brown book after you've read it, they're all the same.
Bro read it.... Its one of the best crime suspense novel you'll ever read
@@ЕмилЕфендулов At least not another one with Robert Langdon. Digital Fortress and Deception Point read a little differently
@@ЕмилЕфендулов I think the first one, Angles and demons, was a lot better than the da Vinci code so that ones worth reading.
I remember reading in the book "Guys Write for Guys Read" about Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The section was of his time being a crashed pilot trying to survive.
Honestly, the book is amazing and I learned so much from all the personal stories told in it.
I found this whole list FASCINATING!!!!!
Telling me that Oprah loved The Alchemist makes me far less likely to read it.
Why do you hate oprah
Didn't know she recommended it. I read it because it looked interesting, and I'm very glad I did. It was incredible.
Put aside your lame attitude, read the book.
@Funk O'Matic Probably both?
Well that's stupid considering some of her book club picks include some of the best regarded works of literature of the 21st century.
I must read some of these. The older ones can be downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg - a great place for classic novels and out of print books.
That’s where I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Age Of Innocence. When I as a kid, I had to hoof it to the library. What an amazing time to be alive...
Love this! I was WAITING for Charles Dickens! Thank heaven he showed up!
What about The Iliad and the Odyssey? Been selling for millennia and still today
Was hoping someone else would mention that... im curious too
Elaine Kruger-haye it’s not a novel. It’s considered myth
Pretty much, I Researched it and found out its because it 's historical text that was once believed in as a religion dtus it cant be regaraded as fiction, so it cant be a novel
I believe that they are epic poems, not novels.
It's hard to imagine that the rhymes and repetitive tropes helped Homer (and an oral cultural art form) to memorize and recite these epic poems.
I am quite surprized that Alex Haley's Roots or Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club wasn't up there! Those Novels are deep and really make for awesome Reading.
I think some numbers are accounted for by the fact that some of these books are on required reading lists at most schools. Doesn't mean they were all enjoyed or bought for personal pleasure.
I think the real reason that so many take umbrage at all the innacuracies and absurdities in the Da Vinci Code is because the movie was promoted shamelessly, as represending reality or at least being "based on a true story". In fact it is a work of pure fiction, with just a smidgeon of actual history thrown in to make it seem like an actual Historical Novel. In short, a lot of people were so outraged at being duped by the way the book and the movie were promoted, that they fought back.
I’m surprised that I’ve read all of them, including that awful “Da Vinci Code!”
I couldn’t get through the first 10 pages of that.
"People criticize 'The Da Vinci Code' for its historical and religious inaccuracies."
And the concept of "historical fiction" completely soared over their heads, didn't it?
On another note, "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho looks interesting. I'll have to check that out.
Tis a nice tale
The point of historical fiction is to provide an engaging story WHILE being as historically accurate as possible.
I think what particularly annoyed critics is that both the text itself in a preface and the author publicly as part of marketing the book claimed that all the locations, archaeology, and artistic features in the text are accurately described. Thus, when it first came to the public's attention, many readers were fooled into believing that the story was in some since not fictional, and this idea that the book was in some way true contributed to the book becoming a popular reading fad. In fact, many people to this day do not realize that Dan Brown was swindling them and almost all the architecture and artworks in the book are falsely described.
TheaterRaven,
The reason why the inaccuracies are so offensive is that Dan Brown CLAIMS that the representations of history, places, etc etc are accurate.
I refuse to believe that “The DaVinci Code” outsold “Huckleberry Finn,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Pride and Prejudice,” or “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
GREAT LIST ! ( with the exception of the #10 spot ) - , but in this day , there are works by many great authors now out of print , James Hilton's ' knight without armour ' to name one - so I think a list of the greatest books ever written , but now out of print , should be written !
One day soon my book will be amount the Top 10 books sold of all time..
What can I say. I want to be able to read all of these books. I've read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone though. It deserves to be a classic
This is the first time I've ever heard the name pronounced "Da Vinsee" ... I mean ever, man.
Yeah, some literary critic this guy is, am I right? :-D
Yeah, you can imagine what he’s done with Cao Xue Qin...
@@jeffreycomer1365 It's pronounced, 'Tu Kan Chu'...
That's because American always pronounce everything incorrectly 🤦♀️
I had to read A Tale of Two Cities my freshman year of high school, and I liked it.
We've just made a video with the top 10 most sold books in 2005, who can guess number 1?
You should do top ten hardest books to read (based on complexity) just for fun I bet a lot of 19th century and some of Shakespeare to be up there. I did two whole years of English working on 19th century short stories it wasn’t easy!
Edit: also Stephen Hawking.
I reckon Ulysses would have to top that list.
Waiting for the Hogwarts Express.
I didn't know "The Hobbit" was that old, I haven't made my way around to that fandom yet...
Hey TopTenz, do a video of top 10 classic books and one of top 10 religious books!
this reminds me of a movie that i like called "Matilda" about an unusual girl that likes to read .
Loved that Movie.
Perfect pronunciation on Don Quijote de la Mancha :)
Thanks for the list, I have read Don Quijote, The Little Prince, The Hobbit and The Da Vinci Code only.
Thank you Simon. As an author this is fascinating..oh for just a quarter of their success lol
1/10 in Rowlings case would be enough to set you up for life! (especially if you take 10% of her pre-charity fortune!)....seriously, with that money I could so easily set up a snowball revenue chain that would keep my family-line (note: Don't have kids and don't want any, but this is a what-if-scenario) fed etc. forever (or my corpsicle, because I want to be frozen if I die - so that maybe being revived is possible later on!))
Interesting list haven't heard of some of them love The Lion The witch And The Wardrobe.
Interested! I read most of that books, except for "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Dickens. I agree that the DaVinci Code is a really bad book, also the main idea is stolen from amazing Italian author Uberto Eco.
I worked in bookstores for years and remember selling many of these. I’m surprised Dianetics is not on this list.
Sorry that Simon didn't like The DaVinci Code. It was one of those books you actually couldn't down. My wife and I read it at the same time, switching back and forth from reading a chapter to researching the info on the Internet. A wonderful fun experience for us we remember fondly.
That is a great list, Don Quixote surprised in its placement. I did not realize that it sold so well.
It has been around a lot longer than most novels.
@@absue is literally the first
I would've put the entire Potter series into one.
Best sellers are not necessarily the best books.... I have read many many books, but the little known Pather Panchali (written in Bengali) was the best book I ever read.... I can't speak enough of how beautifully this book is written....
Pather panchali is truly beautiful. It's shame it doesn't get much recognition in the west. I also love a lot of Tagore's works and even Sharad Chattopadhyay's works. Bengali literature is rich and beautiful and I am saying this as a non-bengali.
Exactly..
Pother panchali and aparajito both are literally MASTERPIECES.
Magdalene is pronounced Maudlin when talking of the UNI
This is a very interesting video! Thanks. Too bad The DaVinci Code had to make it onto the list. Maybe some other novel will edge it out over time.
Your list is wrong: Fellowship of the Ring sold 155 million, Two Towers sold 150 million, and Return of the King sold 140 million. Why pick Tolkien's 4th selling book, and exclude his top three? Or the trilogy as a whole at 140 million.
Another issue I have with this video is the Davinci Code bashing. It's not the greatest written book, but it IS better written than a lot of other popular books such as the early works of Isaac Asimov including i, Robot, Foundation; GRR Martin's fantasy series, including a Game of Thrones; at least one other book on your list: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Criticizing a work of fiction on historic accuracy is silly, not ONE other book on this list is accurate, along with the vast majority of historical fiction and science fiction are not accurate.
One thing the Davinci Code did a lot better than the majority of books is that it told an entertaining story, and had near perfect pacing and suspense elements; that obviously counted for something considering how many readers loved it.
Why do some things attract heavy criticism while others with the same or worse flaws do not? The case with the Davinci Code is that it angered a lot of conservatives who think this topic is sacred. It's also why other books by Dan Brown weren't criticised like this, even though they weren't as good as the Davinci Code.
jcstatto so what? How does that change his argument? The fact remains that LOTR has sold over 150 million copies
While listening to the list i jotted down the books I have read and think it reflects my age and my birthplace. They are:Lion, witch and the wardrobe, And then there were none, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, A tale of two cities and Don Quixote
I'm curious where you're getting your numbers from. I cant find any evidence to suggest the alchemist sold that many copies
I’ve read don quijote, the alchemist, Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone, the little prince, the hobbit and the da Vinci code.
I've actually read all of them. I hated The Alchemist and my favourite author on the list is Agatha Christie. I loved her books as a teen. The Little Prince is for pretentious people. Don Quixote is ok, but very overrated.None of my favourite books are on this list.
Was expecting Harry Potter to be ranked higher, considering that it has also been translated in many languages and is a worldwide bestseller.
Neethu siva Well before that, there was Don Quijote. I am Turkish and I remember reading at primary school. But again, Don Quijote is an very old book, from 16 century. Maybe who knows in about 200 years from now on, Harry Potter could be number one.
MysticMavi harry Potter will never be a classic, its not a masterpiece that will last centuries like many in this list
@@joaojeronimo5693 really? like potterhead is a massive fandom they will pass the stories in their kids and all the 8 movies are out their HP is a cultural thing and has an impact to the popular culture till this day!
I knew I wanted to read some agatha christie haha but this just verifies it
Tolkien and Lewis were life long friends.
Please don't try to pronounce Chinese names again without help. You made a dog's dinner of Cao Xueqin. It's Tsao Shwaychin
@frank hargreaves - Why would the dog be on the menu? Was the menu on the ground or on the table? Did you let the dog remain on the menu? I would have shooed the dog off the menu so I could read it.
How can any country change its spelling system, start words with X and really expect their words to be easier to pronounce? Cow Zuken is what it looks like to me.
Gone with the Wind? Roots? To Kill a Mockingbird? For Whom the Bell Tolls? Jurassic Park? The Color Purple? And so many others....
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is actually the second book in the series - the first is The Magician's Nephew which is the 'Adam and Eve' part of the story.
No. Actually, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was written and published first. Only in later editions, were the books re-sorted to where The Magician’s nephew was placed first. Originally, it was 6th.
Oh, please. PBS says one of the best selling (and certainly most popular books of all time) is J. D. Salinger"s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. And what happened to GONE WITH THE WIND, still read today.
And poor Ernest Hemingway, who apparently never wrote a best seller. Were there any inquiries about any of these?
Should be the most read not most sold. I doubt very few people actually read some of these.
How exactaly do you expect that to be measured?
Herman Hess Sidhartha. And Norman mailer Ancient Evenings. Great books too.
What kind of video is this, no spoiler alert and you spoiled the book at number 10. I stopped the video that very moment. I am not ever going to watch a video from this channel again.
The video creator should respect the choices of other people. If you don't like a book you can criticize it but no you had to go and spoil the book for every one.
I was watching the video to get a suggestion which book to read next but I am very much disappointed and disgusted with the creator.
Great video. Sorry for being pedantic: Magdalene College, Oxford is pronounced Maud-lin and Cao Xueqin is pronounced Chow Shwear Chin
That was interesting -- I've read and enjoyed most of them. I agree that it's too bad The Davinci Code made the list.
The only one I didn't read is the dream of the red chamber here, i will have to rectify that.
The DaVinci Code is a damn fine book. Of course it's fictional and has some exaggerated details to it, but the knowledge and certain facts about DaVinci's life and work are 100% spot on and incredibly interesting in this book. Also, the story is fantastic.
Dan Brown's best is Deception Point imo though.
I loved "The Divinci Code" and the movie as well. It was fun and made me look at my own beliefs.
You realize it’s fiction, right?
Wait just a minute. The Davinci's Code turned into a trilogy? I wasn't aware of the third. That's astonishing. Why, Ron Howard, why?
Thank you very much, can you make a list of your personal favorites?
Excellent info! Thank you
DAN BROWN DID NOTHING WRONG.
Archie Andrews Griffith*
Nocturno E-Moll I disagree xd
Agreed
Well it's not a crime to write a novel or enjoy one.
"DID NOTHING WRONG.
Well he did pretend that one of sources was valid even though he had to know that it was fraud. Not even mistaken, just blatant fraud. Fiction.
I am OK with a writer using fictional sources. I would rather he had not pretended it was real.
I am equally annoyed with the Cohen Bros for pretending that Fargo was based on a true event. They lied.
I still like their movies but I cannot trust them after that.
Don Quixote also got a boost on the sales list because it was on most US high schools reading lists for a very long time. So most students had to own a copy.
It is also on the high school reading list of every high school in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America!
Spanish is more speaken natively than English dude, is not a surprise i think it has nothing to be with what u are saying
Next to join the list is Dangerous by Milo
Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan also Jazz by Toni Morrison. These are amongst my Top 10 and yes! I love the Novel The Da Vinci Code!
Rowling will pay 10% capital gains tax in the UK unless she moves her money to Jersey, isle of man etc for free then she'll pay no tax at all. The USA is 15% and 20% in the EU, to call the UK tax expensive is wrong
Off to Isle of Man then.
It's not a 'capital gains tax' issue.
someone doesn't know how to do math if Agatha Christie wrote ~80 books and sold 200 billion total copies where the best selling one sold 100 million. the average from the first data set would be 2.5 billion or 25 times the 100 million figure.
Simon, really, Magdalen? It's pronounced Maudlin.....
this almost pure fangirling for me. Hadn't read don quioxte, but it a must in my life!
What did these writers do right? I want to know that.
Well I Have read over 100 thousand pages of Books and tbh then there were none is The best book i Have ever read. So What im trying to say that These Brooks are just amazing
Wow your comment displays a very high level of literacy
That's a really odd request
Thank you very much for the information.
"da vin-see" lmao they criticize it and can't even pronounce it properly.
Pretentious dripping sarcasm is no way to review a book