Este anexo provee una lista de los libros más vendidos en cualquier idioma. El concepto de «más vendido» (que generalmente se expresa mediante los términos superventas o best-seller) se refiere al número de copias (o a una estimación del mismo) que se han vendido de cada libro, y no a las que fueron impresas o distribuidas gratuitamente. No se incluyen en esta lista ni cómics, ni libros de texto. Tampoco aparecen obras políticas, como las de Mao Zedong, ni religiosas, como la Biblia (la obra más vendida de la historia, pero con ventas e impresiones muy inexactas) el Corán, el Libro de Mormón o ¿Qué enseña realmente la Biblia?, que se han distribuido gratuitamente, indicadas en el anexo correspondiente a las obras más distribuidas. Los libros se listan según las ventas máximas estimadas y reportadas por fuentes independientes y fidedignas.
Hay varios casos, significativamente el de El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha ―de Miguel de Cervantes (1605-1615), en español― para los que se suele reclamar un gran número de ejemplares vendidos a lo largo de la historia, presumiblemente el dato más alto de la lista,[1][2] pero para los que ninguna fuente fiable da una cifra concreta. Para los casos más modernos de las series de Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling, en inglés, 1997-2007) y Crepúsculo (Stephenie Meyer, en inglés, 2005-2008), el problema es que no se hallan cifras de ventas de cada libro por separado, tan solo las del total de la colección, lo que obviamente no es comparable. Un cálculo aritmético elemental lleva a la conclusión que, si las cifras totales de las series son correctas, al menos un título de cada una debiera entrar en el rango de esta lista.
Historia del tiempo o Breve historia del tiempo o Historia del tiempo: del Big Bang a los agujeros negros (A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes)
↑Kingsbury, Paul (otoño de 2005). «Lost in La Mancha». Vanderbilt Magazine(en inglés). Consultado el 3 de abril de 2015.
↑«A propósito del Día del Idioma». America News. Consultado el 17 de agosto de 2012. «Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra fue el más destacado dramaturgo, poeta y novelista español, y el autor de la novela El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, considerada como la primera novela moderna de la literatura universal y el libro más vendido y más traducido después de La Biblia en todo el mundo».
↑se suele considerar un libro único, pues eso fue lo planeado y escrito por el autor. Sin embargo, hay quien habla de él como una trilogía porque fue publicado originalmente en tres volúmenes: La Comunidad del Anillo, Las dos torres y El retorno del Rey. La decisión fue tomada por la editorial, por la escasez de papel en la posguerra y para facilitar la venta del primer volumen con un precio menor. En reimpresiones posteriores el libro ha aparecido en un único volumen, y, al menos en un caso, dividido en siete. La cifra de 150 millones es una estimación de 2007 de copias vendidas de la historia completa, publicada en un volumen, tres u otra configuración.
↑Adamson, Thomas (3 de mayo de 2012). «'Little Prince' discovery offers new insight into classic book»(en inglés). Associated Press; TimesTribune.com. Consultado el 10 de abril de 2013. «In 1943, the text turned from a scribbled manuscript by a relatively unknown author, into a literary phenomenon that has since sold 140 million copies, in about 260 languages.»
↑«Betting on The Red Mansions». China.org. 14 de diciembre de 2005. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2011. «Sun said that the book has sold over 100 millones copies worldwide so far».
↑«How Much Did Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin Get Paid for Their Publications?». Chinascope Magazine. Septiembre de 2005. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2011. «For Jiang Zemin, according to research, his book On the Three Representations “sold” more than 100 million copies. Each member of the 68 million Communist Party members has at least one copy. All the government employees, including teachers and doctors also have the book».
↑Davies, Helen; Fons, Mary; Hawkins, Deborah; Hintz, Martin; Lundgren, Linnea; Priess, David; Robinson, Julia Clark; Seaburn, Paul; Stevens, Heidi; Theunissen, Steve (14 de septiembre de 2007). «21 Best-Selling Books of All Time». Editors of Publications International, Ltd. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2011.|autor1= y |last= redundantes (ayuda)
↑«The 20 greatest children's books ever». The Telegraph. 3 de abril de 2010. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2011. «This classic story has sold more than 85 millones copies in 29 different idiomas since its publication in 1950».
↑«Cinema: Waiting for Leo». Time. 17 de septiembre de 1965. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2011. «Since then it has sold 83 millones copies in 44 idiomas».
↑«Brown's next book due in fall». San José Mercury News. 7 de junio de 2009. «That earlier book has sold more than 80 millions copies worldwide, was adapted into a movie and made hits out of Brown's previous novels, including Angels & Demons, whose film version is now in theaters».
↑«Film to be made of Coelho's 'The Alchemist'». AFP. 19 de mayo de 2008. Archivado desde el original el 12 de febrero de 2009. Consultado el 4 de enero de 2011. «Film mogul Harvey Weinstein on Sunday announced the screen adaptation of the novel, written 20 years ago and translated into 56 idiomas, with more than 65 millones copies sold».
↑«Switzerland - Heidi». Foreign Correspondent. ABC Australia. 5 de agosto de 2002. Consultado el 4 de enero de 2011. «Johanna Spyri's story has been translated into fifty idiomas and sold fifty millones copies, but the marketing juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down - fat from it. Heidi now has her own theme park».
↑ abcdAsh, Russell (2002). The Top 10 of Everything.
↑Mollins, Julie (19 de marzo de 2008). «New Anne of Green Gables book stirs debate». Reuters. Consultado el 4 de enero de 2011. «Anne of Green Gables has sold more than 50 millones copies and been translated into 20 idiomas, according to Penguin».
↑Rosoff, Meg (29 de febrero de 2008). «Meg Rosoff introduces Black Beauty by Anne Sewell». The Times. Consultado el 4 de enero de 2011. «Fifty millones copies of Black Beauty have been sold in the years since Anna Sewell's publisher paid her £20 for the story».
↑Repubblica Italiana sobre Le Avventure di pinocchio: traducido a más de 260 idiomas." (1 de julio de 2001)
↑The New York Times sobre You Can Heal Your Life: "“You Can Heal Your Life” immediately landed on the New York Times best-seller list. More than 35 millones copies are now in print around the world." (4 May 2008)
↑The Guardian on Kane and Abel: "Kane and Abel, first published in 1979, is Archer's bestselling novel – Pan says it has sold around 34m copies worldwide." (15 Junio 2009)
↑Fox News sobre Het Achterhuis: "Thirty millones copies of her diary have been sold, and it has been translated into 65 idiomas. " (29 March 2007)
↑The Orlando Sentinel on To Kill a Mockingbird: "Thirty millones copies of To Kill a Mockingbird have been sold since that coming-of-age novel, about a Southern lawyer who believed that no man should be denied justice because of the color of his skin, was first published in 1960 to critical acclaim." (11 June 2006)
↑The Daily Mail on Gone with the Wind: "The book has sold more than 30 millones copies in the decades since the publication of Margaret Mitchell's gripping tale of the Old South gasping its last breath, as the U.S. was torn apart by Civil War and its bitter aftermath." (4 Abril 2008)
↑ABC News on The Purpose-Driven Life: "His book, "The Purpose Driven Life," has been translated into 56 idiomas and has sold 30 millones copies." (7 Marzo 2007)
↑Wales Online on The Thorn Birds: "Her original novel, published in 1977 following a battle between two publishing houses that both wanted the manuscript, has sold around 30 millones copies worldwide." (11 Abril 2009)]
↑Greenville Online on Think and Grow Rich: "One of his books, "Think and Grow Rich," which he penned in 1937, sold 30 millones copies and continues to serve readers today." (1 Abril 2009)
↑Winnipeg Free Press on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: "The first book sold 30 millones copies and is available in 44 idiomas." (15 Abril 2010)
↑The Telegraph on The Very Hungry Caterpillar: "It has been translated into more than 50 idiomas and its sales have now surpassed the 30 millones mark." (3 Abril 2010)
↑The Global Times on Who Moved My Cheese: "Who Moved My Cheese has sold over 26 millones copies, staying on the New York Times bestseller list since its release in 1998." (23 Nov. 2009)
↑The Columbus Dispatch on The Wind in the Willows: "More than 25 millones copies of the book have been sold in 70 countries since 1908, according to the Copyrights Group, which is presently promoting a new edition." (4 Mayo 2008)
↑The Philadelphia Inquirer on Nineteen Eighty-Four: "Nineteen Eighty-Four has sold 25 millones copies, is still read in high school and college, and remains the best-known example of anti-utopian literature." (22 Junio 2009)
↑The Age on The Celestine Prophecy: "it has sold in the vicinity of 23 millones copies since its publication in 1993" (22 Marzo 2008)
↑The Toronto Star on Mario Puzo: "According to the Official Mario Puzo Library website, the book sold 21 millones copies in hardback and paper by 1997." (21 de julio de 2007)
↑Playbill on Love Story: "Erich Segal's best-selling novel, which has sold 21 millones copies worldwide in 33 idiomas[...]" (23 de julio de 2010)
↑The Financial Times on Wolf Totem: "Since it first appeared in 2004, Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem has sold as many as 20 millones copies." (15 Marzo 2008)
↑The Philadelphia Inquirer on The Happy Hooker: "He said he found it fascinating that her book, which has sold 20 millones copies to date, is still being picked up today." (26 Junio 2008)
↑The Times on Jaws: "Jaws stayed for 40 weeks in the bestseller charts of The New York Times, eventually selling 20 millones copies [...]" (13 Feb. 2006)
↑The Huntsville Forester on Love You Forever: "The children’s classic Love You Forever has sold over 20 millones copies worldwide and is in its 65th printing." (29 Oct. 2008)
↑Bookseller.com on Sophie's World: "W&N is already planning to reissue the 1995 classic Sophie’s World which has sold 20 millones copies and has been translated into 50 idiomas. " (9 April 2009)
↑CBC on The Women's Room: "It sold 20 millones copies and was widely translated, despite poor reviews." (5 Mayo 2009)
↑The Australian on What to Expect When You're Expecting: "What to Expect When You're Expecting, in its fourth edition, was first published in 1984 and has sold more than 20 millones copies." (27 Oct. 2010)
↑Jeff Kinney (2010). «El libro de las 21 millones».Falta la |url= (ayuda); |fechaacceso= requiere |url= (ayuda)
↑The Irish Independent on Where the Wild Things are: "Although consisting of just 10 lines of text in total, the book has endured (with some 19 millones copies sold) as a -- if not the -- definitive story about the power of a child's imagination." (4 Diciembre 2009)
↑The Hindustan Times on The Secret: "The book became an international best-seller, with a reported 19 millones copies in print and translations in 46 idiomas, and continued to hold spots on best-seller lists through 2009." (16 de julio de 2010)
↑The New Yorker on Erica Jong: "Erica Jong, the novelist, essayist, and poet, has long lamented that “Fear of Flying,” which has sold more than eighteen millones copies worldwide since it was published, in 1973, has overshadowed the remainder of her sizable oeuvre." (14 Abril 2008, online 7 Abril 2008)
↑CBS on Ken Follett: "But since it was published in 1989, "The Pillars of the Earth" has become an international sensation, selling 15 millones copies worldwide." (7 Oct. 2007)
↑The Financial Post on Dale Carnegie: "Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, the gold standard of the genre, has sold more than 15 millones copies since it was first published in 1937." (5 Abril 2008)
↑The Patriot Ledger on Perfume: "Yet the scene, like the movie, is so daring, so challenging, you cannot help but respect Tykwer’s unerring desire to remain true to the source novel, a book that has sold 15 millones copies and has been credited with inspiring Kurt Cobain to write the Nirvana classic ‘‘Scentless Apprentice.’’" (5 enero 2007)
↑The Forres Gazette on The Horse Whisperer: "Mr Evans is the author of "The Horse Whisperer", which sold 15 millones copies worldwide and was made into a Hollywood film in 1998 directed by and starring Robert Redford." (10 Sept. 2008)
↑Irish Times on The Shadow of the Wind: "[...]his novel The Shadow of the Wind has sold more than 15 millones copies worldwide, writes Arminta Wallace" (13 Junio 2009)
↑The Toledo Blade on The Shack: "The Shack, originally self-published, has sold 12 millones to 15 millones copies since Mr. Young and two friends started a compa-ny, borrowed money, and printed 10,000 copies in May, 2007." (17 Abril 2010)
↑USA Today on Tuesdays with Morrie: "The book has sold more than 14 millones copies worldwide since 1997 and became an Oprah Winfrey-produced TV movie. " (8 Abril 2008)
↑The International Herald Tribune on Follow Your Heart: "But Susanna Tamaro's "Follow Your Heart," the biggest selling Italian postwar novel, with more than 14 millones copies sold, according to its publisher, Baldini Castoldi, as it was known then, sold barely 25,000 copies in the United States." (3 de Agosto 2008)
↑Fox News sobre The Outsiders: "According to Viking, a division of Penguin Group USA, "The Outsiders" has sold more than 13 millones copies and still sells more than 500,000 a year." (29 September 2007)
↑Associated Press on Norwegian Wood: "More than 10 millones copies of the book have been sold in Japan alone, with 2.6 millones more sold in another 33 idiomas." (2 Sept. 2010)
↑The Toronto Star on Grace Metalious: "It sold 100,000 copies in its first month and went on to sell another 12 millones copies, was made into a film and eventually into a prime-time television series that made the young Mia Farrow a star." (21 de julio de 2007)
↑Britannica on Dune: "the epic Dune (1965; filmed by David Lynch in 1984), which was translated into 14 idiomas and sold some 12 millones copies, more than any other science-fiction book in history;" (24 November 2007)
↑China View on La Peste: "Translated into 28 idiomas, the book has sold more than 12 millones copies around the world." (9 April 2008)
↑The Sunday Herald on The Naked Ape: "Morris is still flabbergasted that the book caused such a furore, although the publicity helped it sell 12 millones copies." (11 March 2008)
↑«The Novel». Madisoncounty.com. 30 de abril de 1998. Archivado desde el original el 12 de julio de 2008. Consultado el 31 de agosto de 2009.
↑The Standard on Chinua Achebe: "That Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, would sell about 11 millones copies in about 45 idiomas?" (14 March 2008)
↑The Wall Street Journal on The Exorcist: "Back in the 1970s, those smaller, rack-sized paperbacks were the blockbusters of the business, led by such best sellers as William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist" (11 millones copies sold); Peter Benchley's "Jaws" (more than nine millones copies), and Sidney Sheldon's "The Other Side of Midnight" (six millones copies plus)." (14 September 2007)
↑The Telegraph on The Gruffalo: "The Gruffalo has sold more than 10.5 millones copies, been adapted for stage in both the West End and Broadway, and in 2009 was made into a 30-minute animated film" (3April 2010)
↑The Telegraph on Stephen Hawking: "Prof Hawking is the author of A Brief History of Time — which has sold 10 millones copies — and is currently writing two books." (27 April 2007)
↑The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on The Cat in the Hat: "There are more than 10 millones copies in print today in more than a dozen idiomas, including the Latin, "Cattus Petasatus."" (14 April 2007)
↑TVNZ on The Lovely Bones: "Published in 2002, Lovely Bones is the second novel by Alice Sebold, and has sold over 10 millones copies worldwide, remaining on the New York Times hardback bestseller list for over a year." (5 May 2007)
↑The Telegraph on Wild Swans: "Selling more than 10 millones copies and topping the "most borrowed historical biography" chart in British libraries year after year, it proved a publishing phenomenon" (21 de julio de 2007)
↑Britannica on Santa Evita: "Martínez was best known as the author of two classics of Argentine and Latin American literature: La novela de Perón (1985, The Perón Novel, 1988) and Santa Evita (1995, Eng. trans., 1995); the latter was translated into 30 idiomas and sold more than 10 millones copies." (22 November 2007)
↑The New York Times on Night: "Indeed, since it appeared in 1960, “Night” has sold an estimated 10 millones copies — three millones of them since Winfrey chose the book in January 2006 (and traveled with Wiesel to Auschwitz)." (20 January 2008)
↑The Times on The Kite Runner: "His first novel, The Kite Runner, sold 10 millones copies." (11 April 2008)
↑ABC News on The Total Woman: "One of the first books to address the issue was Marabel Morgan's "The Total Woman," which sold more than 10 millones copies to women of all religious persuasions, making it the best-selling nonfiction book of 1974." (15 April 2008)
↑U.S. News and World Report on What Color is Your Parachute: "Today, Parachute is one of the all-time bestselling careers books, with more than 10 millones copies of 37 editions snapped up since 1970. " (1 October 2008)
Datos: Q1076527