Defining a bestseller book seems simple but it has a few complications. From the term we know that it is a book that has sold a lot compared to other works, which makes it a more popular and valuable work.
However, by following that rule, the Bible could be considered the biggest bestseller in history. It is the best-selling book and its sales do not decline considerably with each year. However, the Bible is a religious title and its popularity is expected to be proportional to that of the religion in question. So what really is a bestseller ?
In general, some books are designated a bestseller when they appear on the bestseller lists in popular newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post, or even Amazon. On the other hand, in general the term is hardly used, and in some cases it appears only to drive more sales.
The bestseller books featured on this list have appeared on lists like the ones we mentioned and have all surpassed the 40 million book-sold mark, and they are 20th century classics. Many of these you can read in less than three days.
And there were none left
Christie Agatha
With more than 100 million copies sold around the world since its publication in 1939, it is Agatha Christie ‘s most successful crime novel and her most recognized work. Titled in English as And Then There Were None (previously titled Diez Negritos), it was the novel that, according to the author, cost her the most work and follows the mystery story of 10 people who are invited to an island by a mysterious character, and they realize that they are being stalked, which prompts them to solve the riddle.
The work still serves as the basis for other similar mystery novels and even follows a narrative similar to some current television series.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Noted as one of the most important novels in Latin American literature of the 20th century, it is considered the epitome of magical realism and the best novel by Gabriel García Márquez , who tells the multigenerational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio, founded the Macondo city . The man creates the world from his perceptions by establishing a fantasy world that eventually reveals a bit of that dream and the aging of him.
A key piece for any reader.
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Controversial work that has generated two films based on its pages. Nabokov ‘s Lolita follows a man named Humbert Humbert, who after deciding to keep some quiet time and work on a novel in a village, begins to become obsessed with Lolita , a 12-year-old girl, who seems to be interested in him. The story follows the complex relationship between the two and how Humbert wants to see Lolita as the perfect woman, and for her to be the way he wants her to be, but she begins to grow and develop an independent personality.
Controversial for its themes, it remains an influential piece of literature and a 20th-century classic.
The Philosopher’s Stone
To date, the Harry Potter book series is the world’s best-selling with more than 120 million copies sold worldwide, with the number constantly increasing with new readers enjoying the adventures of the orphaned wizard who is brought to Hogwarts, a wizarding school. The Philosopher’s Stone is the first installment in the wizard’s story and introduces us to the world as well as a first encounter with the biggest threat that follows the rest of the books.
Of course, the books fueled the film series, also being a global success.
Cosmos
Carl Sagan
One of the few science books on bestseller lists . Carl Sagan was known for being one of the greatest popularizers of science in the media with a style that managed to simplify complex concepts to promote understanding of the Universe and the phenomena that surround us. Cosmos , through several chapters, tells us the history of the Universe, its behavior, the role of humans in it and the possibilities for the future, all in a language accessible to absolutely everyone.
1984
George Orwell
Published in 1949, George Orwell ‘s dystopian novel is possibly one of the most relevant pieces of literature to better understand the conditions of the contemporary world. The story takes place in the year 1984 in which the world is in a constant war, the government watches each one of the movements of the citizens, history is denied and everything is guided through propaganda supporting the state, creating a vision of the world closed and imposed on the citizens. Sounds familiar?
More than dystopian, Orwell’s novel seems to have accurately predicted the future and shows the dangers of this type of society.
Have you read them all?