<P> According to Guinness World Records, the Bible is the best - selling book of all time with over 5 billion copies sold and distributed . However, the Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse - tung, also known as the Little Red Book, has produced a wide array of sales and distribution figures--with some sources claiming over 6.5 billion printed volumes, others claiming the distribution ran into the "billions," and others citing "over a billion" official volumes between 1966 and 1969 alone as well as "untold numbers of unofficial local reprints and unofficial translations ." The Qur'an is also widely reported to be one of the most printed and distributed books worldwide, with billions of copies believed to be in existence . Exact print figures for these and other books may also be missing or unreliable since these kinds of books may be produced by many different and unrelated publishers, in some cases over many centuries . All books of a religious, ideological, philosophical or political nature have been excluded from this list of best - selling books for these reasons . </P> <P> Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is the best - selling book series in history . The first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the best - selling books of all time . As of June 2017, the series has been translated into 80 languages, placing Harry Potter among history's most translated literary works . The last four books in the series consecutively set records as the fastest - selling books of all time, where the final instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold roughly eleven million copies worldwide within twenty - four hours of its release . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Book </Th> <Th> Author (s) </Th> <Th> Original language </Th> <Th> First published </Th> <Th> Approximate sales </Th> <Th> Genre </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Don Quixote </Td> <Td> Miguel de Cervantes </Td> <Td> Spanish </Td> <Td> 1605 </Td> <Td> 500 million </Td> <Td> fiction (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Tale of Two Cities </Td> <Td> Charles Dickens </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1859 </Td> <Td> 200 million </Td> <Td> fiction: historical fiction (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> The Lord of the Rings </Td> <Td> J.R.R. Tolkien </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1954--1955 </Td> <Td> 150 million </Td> <Td> fiction: fantasy (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) </Td> <Td> Antoine de Saint - Exupéry </Td> <Td> French </Td> <Td> 1943 </Td> <Td> 140 million </Td> <Td> fiction (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone </Td> <Td> J.K. Rowling </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1997 </Td> <Td> 120 million </Td> <Td> fiction: fantasy (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> The Hobbit </Td> <Td> J.R.R. Tolkien </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1937 </Td> <Td> 100 million </Td> <Td> fiction: fantasy (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> And Then There Were None </Td> <Td> Agatha Christie </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1939 </Td> <Td> 100 million </Td> <Td> fiction: mystery (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 紅樓夢 / 红楼梦 (Dream of the Red Chamber) </Td> <Td> Cao Xueqin </Td> <Td> Chinese </Td> <Td> 1754--1791 </Td> <Td> 100 million </Td> <Td> fiction: family saga (novel) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Alice in Wonderland </Td> <Td> Lewis Carroll </Td> <Td> English </Td> <Td> 1865 </Td> <Td> 100 million </Td> <Td> fiction: fantasy (novel) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Book </Th> <Th> Author (s) </Th> <Th> Original language </Th> <Th> First published </Th> <Th> Approximate sales </Th> <Th> Genre </Th> </Tr>

Top 5 best selling novels of all time