Top read books: rating of the best, description and reviews

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

Reading books for any person is a special process. It allows not only to relax, cheer up, but also prompts reflection, providing an opportunity to learn something new for yourself. All books are unique in their own way. Each of them belongs to a particular genre, tells about unusual situations and characters, and certainly evokes a wide variety of emotions.

The process of reading is of great help in learning, the development of a person's personality and stimulates his imagination. Today, books are regaining their former popularity. People of any age get real pleasure from interesting stories composed not only by legendary classics, but also by modern writers. Which of the works are the most popular today? Consider the top most read books on our planet, as well as in Russia.

World ranking

Top 10 readable books on our planet was compiled by the writer James Chapman. For a simpler visual acquaintance with it, the designerJared Fanning developed a special form of infographics. In it you can see the top 10 read books in the world, each of which takes its place based on the number of published and sold copies over the past five decades. Let's get acquainted with these works in more detail.

The Diary of Anne Frank

This book is ranked 10th. Its author is Anne Frank herself. The plot of the book is based on the notes of a Jewish girl. During the occupation of the Netherlands by the Nazis, Anna wrote letters every day. They were addressed to a fictitious friend named Kitty. In her messages, the girl talked about everything that happened to her, as well as to other people who lived in the same shelter, hiding from the Nazis. But in 1944 someone denounced them. All the people who were in the shelter were arrested by the Nazis and placed in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Seven months later, in the spring of 1945, the girl and her sister died there of typhus. Of the entire family, only Otto Frank, Anna's father, survived. In 1947, he published an abridged printed version of his daughter's diary.

Judging by the feedback from readers, this book makes a big impression on them. In addition to the horrific events associated with the war, Anna's character also attracts their attention. Being in forced isolation, the girl quickly matured. From a fast and noisy child, she turned into a strong and thoughtful girl. During this difficult period, she manages to educate herself, fall in love and experience disappointment, as well as break away from her parents, choosing her own path.

1942-20-06 in her diary, Anna expressed the idea that in the future her notes would hardly be of interest to anyone. Little did this 13-year-old girl know that her notes would be used to create a book that would be translated into 67 languages and sold 27 million copies.

Think and Grow Rich

The ninth place in the top 10 most read books in the world is the work of Napoleon Hill. As a student, he worked as a journalist. He needed a job to pay for his studies at the university. And even then Hill was able to show his brilliant abilities. Amazing articles came out from under his pen, attracting the attention of many famous writers.

The young journalist even received an order from Robert L. Taylor. He was asked to write a series of publications about the careers of famous and successful people in America. The young writer met his first interlocutor in 1908. It was Andrew Carnegie. A conversation with this man became fateful for the young man.

After 20 years, fame came to Napoleon Hill. And this happened thanks to the original version of the book he wrote, revealing the formula for success. The idea of writing it in a joking manner was presented to Carnegie during that long-standing conversation. And Napoleon took it. For 20 years, he has been painstaking work, presenting at the end of it a book describing 13 steps to success that can be applied in any of the areas of human activity. Judging by the feedback from readers, this work managed to change their stereotypesthinking and become part of everyday life. The popularity of the book is confirmed by the number of copies sold. It amounted to 30 million.

Gone with the Wind

On the eighth place of the top 10 most read books in the world is the work of Margaret Mitchell. This romantic drama became the only work of the author. Unfortunately, the writer died in a car accident.

Even as a child, Margaret loved to listen to her parents' stories about their memories of the Civil War. Later, these stories, along with other events from the girl's life, became the basis of the book Gone with the Wind. The novel was published in the summer of 1936, and a year later received the Pulitzer Prize. Readers note the attractive plot of the work and its easy language. Of great interest is the described era and the philosophy of the author.

The novel was made into a feature film in 1939 that won eight Oscars. As for the book, it sold 33 million copies.

Twilight

Stephanie Meyer's novel about vampires is in seventh place in the top read books in the world. His idea was once dreamed of by a 29-year-old woman - the mother of three sons and a housewife. Three months later, a novel written in the fantasy genre, intended for a young audience of readers, was ready.

Bella - the main character of the work, falls in love with the vampire Edward, whose food was the blood of animals. But this girl becomes known later. Bella is nextmeeting with other vampires. Some of them prefer human blood rather than animal blood. They start hunting for the girl.

And although this novel was repeatedly criticized rather harshly, it brought a resounding success to the author. Readers noted the interesting plot of the book and the ease of reading it. The work was translated into 37 languages of the world and sold in the amount of 43 million copies. Based on the plot of the novel, a film was made, the box office of which amounted to more than 384 million dollars.

The Da Vinci Code

We continue to get acquainted with the top of the most read books. In sixth place is Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code. The hero of this work, Robert Langdon, will have to solve a difficult task. It consists in solving the murder of Jacques Saunière. This Louvre curator was found dead. The body was in the form of a Vitruvian man. To unravel the mystery, Robert will have to study a number of works by Leonardo da Vinci himself. In the course of the story, our hero meets Sophie Neve, the granddaughter of the murdered man. They investigate the crime together.

The readers got acquainted with the book "The Da Vinci Code" in April 2003. Judging by their reviews, the plot captivates with its riddles and mysteries. Subsequently, the novel was translated into forty-four languages of the peoples of the world and released with a circulation of 57 million copies. Based on his motives, a film of the same name was shot.

Alchemist

At the fifth place of the top 10 readable books on our planet is the novel of the writer Paulo Coelho. He tells readers about the wanderings of the shepherd Santiago from Andalusia, who decided to findtreasures kept in the Egyptian pyramids. But the path to the dream was not so easy for the hero. He has to overcome a lot of obstacles. However, the young man steadfastly endures them and becomes wiser. Santiago begins to realize what the meaning of life is. Life experience becomes his main treasure. The plot of the novel ends with the return of the hero to Portugal. Here the young man finds the treasures he was hunting for.

Paulo Coelho wrote his novel in 1988. Subsequently, this work, which, according to readers, is deep, vital and useful for every person, was translated into 67 languages. The circulation of the book amounted to 65 million.

The Lord of the Rings

In fourth place on the top most read books in the world is a novel by writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was conceived by the author as a continuation of the story "The Hobbit", in which Bilbo Baggins first appeared.

Based on the original intention of the author, this hobbit was supposed to become the main character of his novel. However, later Tolkien decided to tell the reader about the magical powerful ring of Omnipotence, as well as the struggle for the subjugation of the world, which was fought in the Mediterranean. This led to Bilbo being replaced by a more serious hero. They became the nephew of the first hobbit - Frodo Baggins.

As a result of his work, the author wrote such a voluminous book that publishers refused to accept it, recommending Tolkien to break the plot into several parts. At first he refused, but after, unable to sign with anyonethe contract yielded to the demands made. He divided his book into three parts, which were published in 1954. Among them are The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The circulation of the novel was 103 million copies. Thanks to its interesting plot, which was appreciated by readers, The Lord of the Rings entered the top of the most read books in the world.

Harry Potter

In third place in the top read books is the novel by Joan Rowling, which first saw the light of day in 1997. It was then that its first part, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published. The author of this work was a previously unknown writer, who soon managed to gain worldwide fame and become richer even than the Queen of England herself.

After the release of this book, Joan continued to please not only young readers, but also adult audiences. She created a whole series in which she talked about an orphan boy who has magical abilities from his birth. At the age of 11, Harry Potter became a student at Hogwarts, entering the Gryffindor faculty. Within the walls of this educational institution, many adventures happened to him, which aroused considerable interest among a huge army of fans of this novel.

Circulation of a series of books about the magical world and its rules has reached 400 million copies. Its author, Joanne Rowling, was awarded the Order of the British Empire. The writer also received many different literary awards.

Mao Zedong quotes

This one is in the top 10 most read bookscollection, the title of which speaks for itself. It consists of 427 quotes from the speeches of the leader of the People's Republic of China - Mao Zedong. Each of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom during his reign should be reading this book. Moreover, the Chinese had to memorize some of the quotes. In the statements of Mao, the people of the PRC had to find answers to all the tasks facing them and the problems that arose.

The book was released with a total circulation of 820 million copies. And only after the death of the leader, the mass study of his quotes was stopped.

Bible

This book, which is in the top read books, does not need advertising. It was written by a group of authors who lived in different periods of human history. Holy Scripture is almost 4,000 years old.

It is produced in 2 thousand languages of the world and has a total circulation of 3.9 billion sold copies.

The Curious Case of Billy Milligan

Let's move on to the top 10 books read in Russia. The rating begins with the work of Daniel Keyes, based on real events. In his book, the author tells the reader about one of the most popular people in the United States who lived in the last century. This is Billy Milligan, who had a rare diagnosis. Its name sounded like "multiple personality disorder." What were the symptoms of this pathology? Experts have counted more than 20 different personalities in this person.

The author describes Billy's life in detail, analyzes the causes of the disease and talks about its manifestations. The main feature of the bookis that its plot is based on an interview that was conducted with Milligan himself.

In the main character of the work, each personality has its own appearance, character and behavior. In addition, she is responsible for a specific area. Different personalities appear depending on the situation.

According to the feedback from readers, this real story aroused great interest among them.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Continues the top 10 readable books in Russia, a work that aroused great reader interest. It is a joint work of three authors - Hansen M. W., Canfield D. and Newmark E.

This amazing book includes 101 heart-rending little stories. All these stories are able to prompt the reader to interesting thoughts, heal existing life wounds and believe in his dream. After all, stories that are told by a variety of people prove that absolutely everything is possible. From them we learn about the love of the most beautiful girl in the city for a hunchback, about the fulfillment of all her desires by a single mother who used a special book for this, about a little girl who decided to fulfill her mother's dream by selling many boxes of cookies for this.

Love this work not only in Russia. It is in the top 100 most read books in the world. Its circulation is 500 million copies.

It

The top read books in Russia also include the life story of seven friends from the small town of Derry, masterfully described by Stephen King. At the beginning of the plot, the heroes have to face an ominous horror. Butafter a while they gather again where they experienced fear.

The book is full of a series of mysterious circumstances, the constant disappearance of people, unsolved murders. All this makes friends face their fears.

Judging by the feedback from readers, the author touches on quite serious topics. They concern the impact that childhood traumas have on adults. The problem of the power of memory is also considered in the work.

Reading the top 100 best books around the world, you can understand that this novel by S. King is the best-selling not only in Russia.

Origin

The continuation of the popular novel by Dan Brown "The Da Vinci Code" is also in the top of the books read. It tells of a new investigation led by Professor Robert Langdon.

The action of the plot begins at a social reception in Bilbao. It is here that billionaire Edmond Kirsch is to make a sensational announcement that touches on the major issues facing humanity. Namely: "What awaits us?" and "Where are we from?" However, an unexpected situation arises. She makes the professor and all the guests run.

To get the answer to this riddle, the hero of the novel will need to decipher the code. After that, he will be able to learn an amazing secret. However, the matter is complicated by the fact that Robert Langdon is trying with all his might to stop.

Readers leave a lot of positive feedback about this novel. They liked the new adventures of the hero they loved in the previous work.

1984

From the top 10 best books to reada younger audience prefers George Orwell's famous dystopia. It presents a completely different world, in which there are no feelings, reason and freedom. Instead, there is only fanaticism. It manifests itself in relation to the Party, which puts forward the slogans: "Freedom is slavery", "War is peace." Real human feelings replace imposed desires, thoughts and goals. In this world, marriages are made only for the sake of procreation, and children are considered only as future members of the party. There are no ordinary people here. Instead of them - "dead souls" who are capable of any crime for the sake of the Party.

This work got into the top of the books read due to the similarity of its plot with the reality of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. And this is despite the fact that the author created his work long before their occurrence. The protagonist of the book falls in love with party member Julia. Together they begin to fight the system. However, their struggle is not easy.

Shantaram

Those who prefer to read the top best books in order to choose a product to review will certainly meet one of the top sellers in it, authored by Gregory David Roberts. This novel, since its publication in Russian, that is, since 2010, has been very popular with our compatriots. The book is the story of a man who was in prison for many years. Moreover, the situations that happened to him actually took place.

Having escaped from prison, the hero of the work ended up in Bombay - in the center of India. But here he does not have to live a normal life for people. He tries to hide from the law, becomes a counterfeiter and starts selling smuggling. Throughout the story, the reader is introduced to the realities of life in the slums.

According to critics, this work can be compared with the fairy tale "A Thousand and One Nights", which describes the present. Readers leave excellent reviews about the book. They enjoy the immersion in the realities of Indian life and the romantic story described by the author.

No goodbye

In early 2018, many readers were introduced to the end of their favorite twenty-year-old story. The book "I do not say goodbye" was the last in a series of 16 works that tell about detective Erast Fandorin and about the situations he has to get into. It was sold out in huge circulation and became one of the most popular domestic publications.

The events described in the book take place in 1914. There are many references to other works in the series in the text. This moment is welcomed by the fans of Boris Akunin.

The novel is literally imbued with notes of nostalgia for the past and immerses us in the wonderful world in which Erast Fandorin lives. Here everything comes to an end, ending correctly and logically.

Judging by the feedback from readers, getting acquainted with the work, they experienced indescribable emotions, while admiring the unique style of the author.

The Master and Margarita

This truly legendary book is also one of the first places in the ranking of the most popular works. It is difficult to find a person who would not be familiar withthis famous work of Bulakov. At one time, in the literary world of the 20th century, the book became a real sensation. The novel was translated into many languages of the world and had a strong influence on the development of domestic and foreign prose.

And today the book "The Master and Margarita" continues to be at the peak of popularity. In it, the author managed to combine seemingly incompatible things. This is love and evil, mysticism and justice. The story that readers of the novel get acquainted with is so unique and mysterious that it continues to attract people to itself, leaving none of them indifferent.

The book plunges us into a mystical world in which the famous Behemoth Cat and other characters live. Based on its plot, films are made and performances are staged.

See you soon

This novel, written by George Moyes, is one of the most read in Russia. He tells an incredible love story that can overcome the most difficult obstacles.

The main character of the book, Lou Clark, believes that she lives happily. She has a fiancé and a favorite job. However, suddenly the girl is fired, and she comes for an interview in one of the richest mansions in her city. Here she was hired as a nurse for a young man, Will Traynor, who was recently at the top of his life, and is now confined to a wheelchair.

The book describes Lou's acquaintance with his client, their quarrels and the girl's attempts to find a common language with him, which turned out to be quite difficult. Somewhat later in the novelbegins the development of the story of two people whose meeting under normal circumstances would be impossible.

The book is popular with readers all over the world, being in the ranking of the best sellers in Russia as well.

In the top 10 best works loved by our compatriots, you can also find the story of a shepherd written by Paulo Coelho. This is the Alchemist novel described above.

By the way, the federal network "Chitay-Gorod" also makes its rating of the most popular works. Today it is the leading bookselling association in Russia. In the top books of "Chitai-Gorod", which are popular with our compatriots, are "Master and Margarita", "Shantaram", "1984", "Chicken broth for the soul." Other works of domestic and foreign authors are included in the rating of this network. The top books of Read-City are Tatiana Ustinova's Selfie with Destiny, Vyacheslav Praha's Coffee House, Y. Nesbe's The Snowman and other exciting and informative novels and stories.

Fantasy World

There is another top read books. Fantasy and its various directions are the main genre in it. There are some classics among them. It is recommended to start reading books from the top 100 best written in the fantasy genre with Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. This novel paved the way for writers from a variety of genres, from satire to alternative geography.

"Gulliver's Travels" is difficult to classify only as a fantasy genre. This book belongs to the phenomena of human culture.

"Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley is also in the top fantasy books. It is interesting and easy to read. Surprisingly, the book was written by an English lady and the wife of a famous poet "on a dare." Neither her husband Percy Shelley nor Byron, who was his friend, succeeded in creating such a work. And the 20-year-old girl was able to compose a "gothic" novel, which is one of the most famous today. At the same time, the story of the Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, who learned to animate no longer living tissue with electricity, became the world's first true science fiction work.

Is in the top of popular books and "War of the Worlds" by writer HG Wells. This is one of the best works of science fiction. The author was the first to discover a new direction in this genre, telling the story of the invasion of our planet by merciless aliens. But Wells did not limit himself to the theme of the "war of the worlds". He created impressive behavioral models of people who found themselves in an extreme situation with the threat of total annihilation looming over humanity.

The first science fiction book describing future events is Isaac Asimov's Future History. The author made an attempt to present the development of civilization in the form of a set of laws similar to mathematical formulas. The saviors of mankind in his work are not politicians or generals, but scientists who work in the direction of such a science as psychohistory. The action of the plot lasts for 20 thousand years.