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The Hite Report – 50 million
Source: Seven Stories, Image: Wikipedia
Shere Hite revolutionized the lives of women when she published her most famous book in 1976. “The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality” was by far the best-selling book in history relating to the often taboo subject of female sexuality and pleasure. A feminist and sex educator, Hite interviewed 100,000 women from 14 to 78 years old about their views on sex, what orgasm truly feels like, and the greatest pleasures and frustrations in their sexual lives. Published during the free love revolution, “The Hite Report” was an open, honest, and direct book for women about their sexuality.
14
The Name of the Rose – 50 million
Image: Wikipedia
The Italian bestseller on our list (Pinocchio has only sold 35 million copies), “Il Nome della Rosa” (English: “The Name of the Rose”) was written by novelist Umberto Eco in 1980. Showing our love for murder mysteries (#5 is another), the novel follows William of Baskerville, a Franciscan friar who must find the killer of multiple murders at a Northern Italian monastery. The novel is intriguing for its involvement of semiotics – the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation – throughout the story.
13
The Bridges of Madison County – 50 million
Image: Wikipedia
Better known by many for its film version, this 1992 novel is one of the 20th century’s best-sellers despite being on the market for less than a decade. Written by Robert James Waller, “The Bridges of Madison County” depicts the affair between a lonely, married woman in Iowa and a photographer who visits Madison County to take photographs of the area’s covered bridges. At over 50 million copies already sold, this book is one of the most rapidly selling books of all time and was even adapted into a musical in 2013.
12
The Catcher in the Rye – 65 million
Source: Costello, Donald P., and Harold Bloom. "The Language of "The Catcher in the Rye.", Image: samhsloan@gmail.com via Flickr
A fictional coming-of-age tale, J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” was one of the most controversial books of the 20th century. An archetype for teenage angst, rebellion, and the search for identity, this novel continues to sell over a quarter-of-a-million copies annually, many to high school English classes some of which have made the book required reading.
11
The Alchemist – 65 million
Image: evanblaser via Flickr
Having sold over 65 million copies, “O Alquimista” (English: “The Alchemist”) is the best selling Brazilian book (and Portuguese-language book) in history. Published in 1988 by Paolo Coelho, the book follows Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago on his journey to Egypt to find the abstract concept of what he has always wanted to achieve – the book’s primary theme.
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