The social media website Squidoo has produced an info-graph about the most read books in the past fifty years. Who knows whether it’s better that more copies of Dan Brown were sold than copies of the Twilight Saga, but it’s encouraging to know that the Bible beat out the rest by over 3 billion copies:

 

Comments (16)

16 Comments

David Nickol
May 4th, 2012 | 3:12 pm

There is no guarantee that just because a copy of the Bible is printed and sold, it is actually read. I’d estimate that over the last 50 years, I have bought at least 20 copies of the complete Bible (KJV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NAB, NIV, CEB, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, etc.) and at least 5 copies of the New Testament. I think many people would have at least two different translations. Also, think of all those Bibles in hotel rooms!

And, of course, how many people who own a Bible have read it all the way through? I am guessing more people have read, say, Gone With the Wind from cover to cover than have read the whole Bible.

andrew
May 4th, 2012 | 4:39 pm

anyone know an example of what chairman mao said?

Top 10 Most Read Books in the World – Justin Taylor
May 4th, 2012 | 5:18 pm

[...] HT: First Things [...]

Sydney
May 4th, 2012 | 5:35 pm

I read the bible through cover to cover when I was 13 during a particularly boring summer.

Dave Eden
May 4th, 2012 | 6:04 pm

I suppose the copies of Mao were a centrally planned, widespread act of devotion?

Jack Perry
May 4th, 2012 | 11:59 pm

Pretty much all the problems in the world can be explained by the fact that “The Lord of the Rings” is lower than Mao. Most of the rest are explained by “The Alchemist” being on that list at all. Sorry, but someone has to say it.

I’m reasonably sure Mao isn’t much read anymore. That was the Red Book of Cultural Revolution days, was it not?

The Bible in America: A Graphic « I Love You but You're Going to Hell
May 5th, 2012 | 6:50 am

[...] to Jared Fanning and Mark Misulia of First Things, we have a new graphic to consider.  As we’ve argued before, the Bible sells.  Though we [...]

Patrick
May 5th, 2012 | 7:02 am

Harry Potter on this list…believable..but Mao? Really? There were other better written books, correct?

peg
May 5th, 2012 | 12:58 pm

Here is one of the high points of The Little Red Book:

“The mass line represents the creative and productive energies of the masses of the Chinese population, which are potentially inexhaustible. Party members should take their cue from the masses, and reinterpret policy with respect to the benefit of the masses.”

As I understand it, the PRC’s goal was to put the book into the hands of 99 percent of the Chinese
population. I suspect that is why it ranks so highly in the Biggest Hits list. Who among the masses would say, “No, thanks, I am not interested in having a copy”?

Craig Payne
May 5th, 2012 | 2:00 pm

“anyone know an example of what chairman mao said?”

“Let them eat dog.”

Oops, sorry; that was Chairman Meow.

I do not apologize.

Nell
May 5th, 2012 | 7:46 pm

Well, some folks must still read Mao — like Anita Dunn, the former communications director in the Obama administration, who said that Mao was one of her favorite political philosophers.

Hakeem
May 7th, 2012 | 7:03 am

What’s so special about Bible being compared to other fictional works, except for The Diary and the Quotations?

Combing the Net – 5/7/2012 « Honey and Locusts
May 7th, 2012 | 9:10 am

[...] Top 10 Most Read Books in the World — Actually, the title of this infographic is a little misleading, as it is really based on the number of books printed and sold in the last 50 years. Something tells me all those copies of Bibles (and, for that matter, the Quotations from Chairman Mao) are not being read as much as much as they are sitting on shelves. Even those of us who do read our Bibles regularly probably have multiple copies of God’s Word that are padding the stats. Still, I’ve read 70% of this list. [...]

David Nickol
May 7th, 2012 | 9:24 am

Anita Dunn . . . said that Mao was one of her favorite political philosophers.

She said Mao Mao Tse-tung and Mother Teresa were two of her favorite policital philosophers . . . which got a (clearly intended) laugh from the audience.

Two of my favorite political philosophers—Mao Tse Tung and Mother Teresa—not often coupled with each other but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is you’re going to make choices.

What a frightening and disturbing message: “You’re going to make your own choices.”

pentamom
May 7th, 2012 | 11:55 am

Yes, I think it’s a reasonable assumption that possession of Quotations from Chairman Mao is not wholly voluntary in the sense that most Americans think of “voluntary.” You can sell a lot of books if you require every member of a population of one billion-plus to own one, or at least hold up ownership as a test of loyalty. And though Maoism is not precisely the driving force of the PRC anymore, he is still the icon of the People’s Republic.

Peter DeHaan
May 9th, 2012 | 11:43 am

Over the years I’ve bought several hundred copies of the Bible and given them away. I suspect others who’ve done the same thing have pushed up Bible sales, but still it’s likely that people are reading all these gifted copies.