Book Name: And Then There Were None Author(s): Agatha Christie Genre: Mystery Original Language: English First published: 1939 Approximate sales: 100 million
In Brief: The World's Bestselling Mystery
"Ten . . ."
Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U.N. Owen."
"Nine . . ."
At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead.
"Eight . . ."
Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . one by one they begin to die.
"Seven . . ."
Who among them is the killer and will any of them survive?
Book Name: Hong lou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) Author(s): Cao Xueqin Genre: Family saga Original Language: Chinese First published: 1759-1791 Approximate sales: 100 million
In Brief: "A Dream of Red Mansions" is a story focusing on a high spiritual love story that happened in a noble family, but what it wants to speak is much far beyond a love story theme. The author's attempt is to depict a macro-viewed picture which leads us to the very deep insight of life itself in complexity and profoundity, and not another Chinese classic writer have been more successful at doing this than him. From innocent to sophisticated, from prosperous to desolate, from enthusiastic to disillusioned; a dream losing at some moment of life course could have been anyone of us' experience, even though we are not nobles.
Book Name: The Hobbit Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien Genre: Juvenile fantasy Original Language: English First published: 1937 Approximate sales: 100 million
In Brief: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
The hobbit-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a "little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves." He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, "looking for someone to share in an adventure," Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves have arrived on the hobbit's doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.
Book Name: The Lord of the Rings Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien Genre: High fantasy Original Language: English First published: 1954–1955 Approximate sales: 150 million
In Brief: One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
This new edition includes the fiftieth-anniversary fully corrected text setting and, for the first time, an extensive new index.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but while he studied classic works of the past, he was creating a set of his own.
In Brief: ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY (1900-1944) was born in Lyons, France. He took his first flight at the age of eleven, and became a pilot at twenty-six. He was a pioneer of international commercial aviation and flew in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. His writings include The Little Prince; Wind, Sand and Stars; and Southern Mail. In 1944, while serving with his French air squadron, he disappeared during a reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean.
Book Name: A Tale of Two Cities Author(s): Charles Dickens Genre: Historical fiction Original Language: English First published: 1859 Approximate sales: 200 million
In Brief: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!' Set before and during the French Revolution in the cities of Paris and London, A Tale of Two Cities tells the story of Dr Manette's release from imprisonment in the Bastille and his reunion with daughter, Lucie. A French aristocrat Darnay and English lawyer Carton compete in their love for Lucie and the ensuing tale plays out against the menacing backdrop of the French Revolution and the shadow of the guillotine.
This page provides lists of best-selling single-volume books and book series to date and in any language. "Best-selling" refers to the estimated number of copies sold of each book, rather than the number of books printed or currently owned. This list is based on the list given in Wikipedia.
Religious books, especially the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and the Qur'an, are probably the most-printed books, but it is nearly impossible to find reliable sales figures for them. Print figures are missing or unreliable since these books are produced by many different and unrelated publishers. Furthermore, many copies of the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible and the Qur'an are printed and given away free, instead of being sold. The same goes for some political books, such as the works of Mao Zedong or Adolf Hitler. Thus it is impossible to determine either the number printed, or the proportion of those printed that are sold. All such books have been excluded from this list for those reasons.
List of best-selling single-volume books:
All the below listed books were sold more than 100 million copies.
Book Name: A Tale of Two Cities Author(s): Charles Dickens Genre: Historical fiction Original Language: English First published: 1859 Approximate sales: 200 million
Book Name: The Lord of the Rings Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien Genre: High fantasy Original Language: English First published: 1954–1955 Approximate sales: 150 million
Book Name: The Hobbit Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien Genre: Juvenile fantasy Original Language: English First published: 1937 Approximate sales: 100 million
Book Name: Hong lou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) Author(s): Cao Xueqin Genre: Family saga Original Language: Chinese First published: 1759-1791 Approximate sales: 100 million
Book Name: And Then There Were None Author(s): Agatha Christie Genre: Mystery Original Language: English First published: 1939 Approximate sales: 100 million
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