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Writer AndyKim Hit 1,542 Hit Date 25-01-17 12:49
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top 50 most widely read books in history, ranked by their estimated sales:

| Rank | Title | Author | Language | Year Published | Estimated Sales |
|------|-------|--------|----------|----------------|-----------------|
| 1 | **The Bible** | Various | Various | Various | Billions |
| 2 | **Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung** | Mao Zedong | Chinese | 1964 | 800 million–6.5 billion |
| 3 | **The Quran** | Various | Arabic | 7th century | 800 million |
| 4 | **Don Quixote** | Miguel de Cervantes | Spanish | 1605 | 500 million |
| 5 | **Harry Potter Series** | J.K. Rowling | English | 1997–2007 | 500 million |
| 6 | **A Tale of Two Cities** | Charles Dickens | English | 1859 | 200 million |
| 7 | **The Lord of the Rings** | J.R.R. Tolkien | English | 1954–1955 | 150 million |
| 8 | **The Little Prince** | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | French | 1943 | 200 million |
| 9 | **The Hobbit** | J.R.R. Tolkien | English | 1937 | 140.6 million |
| 10 | **And Then There Were None** | Agatha Christie | English | 1939 | 100 million |
| 11 | **Dream of the Red Chamber** | Cao Xueqin | Chinese | 18th century | 100 million |
| 12 | **The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe** | C.S. Lewis | English | 1950 | 85 million |
| 13 | **She: A History of Adventure** | H. Rider Haggard | English | 1887 | 83 million |
| 14 | **The Da Vinci Code** | Dan Brown | English | 2003 | 80 million |
| 15 | **Think and Grow Rich** | Napoleon Hill | English | 1937 | 70 million |
| 16 | **The Catcher in the Rye** | J.D. Salinger | English | 1951 | 65 million |
| 17 | **The Alchemist** | Paulo Coelho | Portuguese | 1988 | 65 million |
| 18 | **Steps to Christ** | Ellen G. White | English | 1892 | 60 million |
| 19 | **Lolita** | Vladimir Nabokov | English | 1955 | 50 million |
| 20 | **Heidi** | Johanna Spyri | German | 1880 | 50 million |
| 21 | **The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care** | Dr. Benjamin Spock | English | 1946 | 50 million |
| 22 | **Anne of Green Gables** | Lucy Maud Montgomery | English | 1908 | 50 million |
| 23 | **Black Beauty** | Anna Sewell | English | 1877 | 50 million |
| 24 | **The Name of the Rose** | Umberto Eco | Italian | 1980 | 50 million |
| 25 | **Charlotte's Web** | E.B. White | English | 1952 | 50 million |
| 26 | **The Ginger Man** | J.P. Donleavy | English | 1955 | 45 million |
| 27 | **Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ** | Lew Wallace | English | 1880 | 50 million |
| 28 | **One Hundred Years of Solitude** | Gabriel García Márquez | Spanish | 1967 | 47 million |
| 29 | **The Adventures of Pinocchio** | Carlo Collodi | Italian | 1883 | 35 million |
| 30 | **The Diary of a Young Girl** | Anne Frank | Dutch | 1947 | 35 million |
| 31 | **The Revolt of Mamie Stover** | William Bradford Huie | English | 1951 | 30 million |
| 32 | **In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?** | Charles Monroe Sheldon | English | 1896 | 30 million |
| 33 | **To Kill a Mockingbird** | Harper Lee | English | 1960 | 30 million |
| 34 | **Valley of the Dolls** | Jacqueline Susann | English | 1966 | 31 million |
| 35 | **Gone with the Wind** | Margaret Mitchell | English | 1936 | 30 million |
| 36 | **Nineteen Eighty-Four** | George Orwell | English | 1949 | 30 million |
| 37 | **The Purpose Driven Life** | Rick Warren | English | 2002 | 30 million |
| 38 | **The Thorn Birds** | Colleen McCullough | English | 1977 | 33 million |
| 39 | **The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo** | Stieg Larsson | Swedish | 2005 | 30 million |
| 40 | **The Very Hungry Caterpillar** | Eric Carle | English | 1969 | 30 million |
| 41 | **The Shack** | William P. Young | English | 2007 | 20 million |
| 42 | **The Kite Runner** | Khaled Hosseini | English | 2003 | 31.5 million |
| 43 | **The Hunger Games** | Suzanne Collins | English | 2008 | 29 million |
| 44 | **The Fault in Our Stars** | John Green | English | 2012 | 23 million |
| 45 | **The Twilight Saga** | Stephenie Meyer | English | 2005–2008 | 120 million |
| 46 | **The Book Thief** | Markus Zusak | English | 2005 | 16 million |
| 47 | **The Help** | Kathryn Stockett | English | 2009 | 10 million |
| 48 | **Life of Pi** | Yann Martel | English | 2001 | 10 million |
| 49 | **The Secret** | Rhonda Byrne | English | 2006 | 30 million |
| 50 | **The Lovely Bones** | Alice Sebold | English | 2002 | 10 million |

*Note: Sales figures are approximate and can vary based on different sources.*

Here is a detailed list of some of the most widely read books in history, ranked based on their estimated readership or influence:

---

### **1. The Bible**
- **Estimated Readership:** Billions
- **Details:** The Bible is the holy scripture of Christianity, containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. It has been translated into thousands of languages and distributed globally for centuries. Its teachings have profoundly shaped Western civilization and beyond.

---

### **2. The Qur'an**
- **Estimated Readership:** Billions
- **Details:** The Qur'an is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the word of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad. It has been widely read and memorized across the Muslim world.

---

### **3. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (The Little Red Book)**
- **Estimated Readership:** Over 1 billion
- **Details:** A collection of speeches and writings by Mao Zedong, this book was widely distributed in China during the Cultural Revolution and became a symbol of Maoist ideology.

---

### **4. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes**
- **Estimated Readership:** Hundreds of millions
- **Details:** Published in 1605, this Spanish novel is one of the most influential works of literature and a cornerstone of modern Western storytelling.

---

### **5. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling**
- **Estimated Readership:** Over 500 million copies sold
- **Details:** This seven-book series about a young wizard has become a global phenomenon, inspiring films, merchandise, and a dedicated fanbase.

---

### **6. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien**
- **Estimated Readership:** Over 150 million copies sold
- **Details:** A cornerstone of modern fantasy literature, this epic tale of Middle-earth has captivated readers and inspired countless adaptations.

---

### **7. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho**
- **Estimated Readership:** Over 150 million copies sold
- **Details:** A philosophical novel about following one’s dreams and discovering one’s destiny, it has been translated into dozens of languages.

---

### **8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank**
- **Estimated Readership:** Tens of millions
- **Details:** This poignant diary of a Jewish girl hiding during the Holocaust has educated and moved readers worldwide since its publication.

---

### **9. The Book of Mormon**
- **Estimated Readership:** Tens of millions
- **Details:** Another significant religious text, considered sacred scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

---

### **10. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins**
- **Estimated Readership:** Over 100 million copies sold
- **Details:** This dystopian trilogy captured the imagination of young readers and was turned into a highly successful film series.

---

### **Honorable Mentions:**
- **The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger** 
- **To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee** 
- **Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen** 
- **The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald** 
- **The Art of War by Sun Tzu** 
- **The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels** 

---

These rankings consider various factors like sales, influence, and cultural impact. Note that some books, particularly religious texts, have an immeasurable influence due to oral traditions and non-commercial distribution.

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