The most popular books in English
from 19801 to 20000

What books are currently the most popular and which are the all time classics? Here we present you with a mixture of those two criteria. We update this list once a month.

19803. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins

Eric Kimmel

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins is a book written by Eric Kimmel and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

19806. When the Going Was Good

Evelyn Waugh

When The Going Was Good is an anthology of four travel books written by English author Evelyn Waugh. The book consists of fragments from the travel books Labels, Remote People, Ninety-Two Days, and Waugh In Abyssinia. The author writes that these pages are all that he wishes to …

19819. Fortress Besieged

Qian Zhongshu

Fortress Besieged was written by Qian Zhongshu, published in 1947, and is widely considered one of the masterpieces of twentieth century Chinese literature. The novel is a humorous tale about middle-class Chinese society in the late 1930s. It was made into a popular television …

19820. Jumping the Queue

Mary Wesley

Jumping the Queue is British novelist Mary Wesley´s first adult novel, published when the author was seventy years old. The story takes place mainly in Cornwall, England, and follows a middle aged widow's struggle with guilt and self-reproach after the death of her husband and …

19823. Sleeping Beauty: A Lew Archer Novel

Ross Macdonald

In Sleeping Beauty, Lew Archer finds himself the confidant of a wealthy, violent family with a load of trouble on their hands--including an oil spill, a missing girl, a lethal dose of Nembutal, a six-figure ransom, and a stranger afloat, face down, off a private beach. Here is …

19824. The Astronauts

Stanisław Lem

The Astronauts is the first science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published as a book, in 1951. To write the novel, Lem received advance payment from publishing house Czytelnik. The book became an instant success and was translated into several languages. This …

19825. Gilgamesh the King

Robert Silverberg

Gilgamesh the King is a 1984 historical novel by Robert Silverberg presenting the Epic of Gilgamesh as a novel. In afterword author say "at all times I have attempted to interpret the fanciful and fantastic events of these poems in a realistic way, that is, to tell the story of …

19826. Blackout

Gianluca Morozzi

“A spine-tingling novel that keeps you mesmerized from beginning to end.”—InfiniteStorie“Morozzi has a light touch. He has an uncanny ability to convey mood swings, excitement and plot twists with ever increasing velocity.”—Gazzetta di Parma“A chilling and claustrophobic …

19831. The Ides of March

Valerio Massimo Manfredi

From the pen of the international bestselling author of The Last Legion comes a new political thriller set during the tempestuous final days of Julius Caesar's Imperial Rome. It is March in the year 44 BC. The Roman Empire stretches from modern-day Syria in the east to the …

19832. The Sweet-Shop Owner

Graham Swift

The Sweet Shop Owner is the debut novel of the Booker Prize winning author Graham Swift. It was published in 1980 to largely favourable reviews.

19833. The Life of the Cosmos

Lee Smolin

Lee Smolin offers a new theory of the universe that is at once elegant comprehensive and radically different from anything proposed before Smolin posits that a process of self organization like that of biological evolution shapes the universe as it develops and eventually …

19837. Mr. Monk in Outer Space

Lee Goldberg

"Mr. Monk in Outer Space" is the fifth novel in the Monk mystery novel series by writer Lee Goldberg, published on October 30, 2007.

19839. Death at an Early Age

Jonathan Kozol

Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools is a book written by the American schoolteacher Jonathan Kozol and published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin in 1967. It won the U.S. National Book Award in the Science, …

19840. The Way of the World

Ron Suskind

The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism is a 2008 non-fiction book by Ron Suskind, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, describing various actions and policies of the George W. Bush administration. Most notably, it alleges that the Bush administration …

19841. When Corporations Rule the World

David Korten

When Corporations Rule the World is an anti-globalization book by David Korten. Korten examines the evolution of corporations in the United States and argues that "corporate libertarians" have 'twisted' the ideas of Adam Smith's view of the role of private companies. Korten …

19847. The Talisman

Walter Scott

The Talisman is a novel by Sir Walter Scott. It was published in 1825 as the second of his Tales of the Crusaders, the first being The Betrothed.

19851. Easy Travel to Other Planets

Ted Mooney

Easy Travel to Other Planets is a novel written by Ted Mooney.

19854. Lenin

Robert Service

Lenin: A Biography is a biography of the Marxist theorist and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin written by the English historian Robert Service, then a professor in Russian History at the University of Oxford. It was first published by Macmillan in 2000 and later republished in other …

19855. Of Nightingales That Weep

Katherine Paterson

Of Nightingales That Weep is a historical novel for children by Katherine Paterson, published by Crowell in 1974. Set in medieval Japan, the novel tells the story of Takiko, the 11-year-old daughter of a slain samurai warrior. Takiko’s mother remarries Goro, a gentle but …

19858. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

John Clute

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. In October 2011, the third edition was made available for free online.

19860. Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces

Angela Carter

Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces is an anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1974 by Quartet Books Ltd. and contains a collection of stories, several of which are based on Carter's own experiences of living in Japan from 1969 …

19861. Calico Bush

Rachel Field

Calico Bush is a children's historical novel by Newbery-award winning author Rachel Field. Considered by some to be her best novel, it was first published in 1931 and received a Newbery Honor award.

19863. The Doom Brigade

Margaret Weis

The Doom Brigade is the first book in the Kang's Regiment series/The Chaos War series of the Dragonlance novels, written by Margaret Weis and Don Perrin, and is published by Wizards of the Coast. The next book in the series is Draconian Measures.

19864. Dreamside

Graham Joyce

Dreamside is a fantasy novel by Graham Joyce first published in the United Kingdom by Pan Books in 1991. It was later reprinted in the United States by Tor Books in 2000. The novel's primary theme is the power of the subconscious and the futility of attempting to escape the past.

19865. Tarzan the Untamed

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan the Untamed is a book written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the seventh in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was originally published as two separate stories serialized in different pulp magazines; "Tarzan the Untamed" in Redbook from March to August, …

19866. Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts

Wisława Szymborska

Sounds, Feelings, Thoughts is a book of poems by Wisława Szymborska.

19875. Two Bad Ants

Chris Van Allsburg

Two Bad Ants is a 1988 children's book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg.

19877. Hornblower in the West Indies

C. S. Forester

Hornblower in the West Indies, or alternately Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies is one of the novels in the series CS Forester wrote about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower. All the other novels in the series take place during the wars with revolutionary and …

19881. The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire

Storm Constantine

The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire is a book published in 1989 that was written by Storm Constantine.

19882. The Years of Extermination

Saul Friedländer

The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 is the second volume of Saul Friedländer's history of Nazi Germany and the Jews. It describes the German extermination policies that resulted in the murder of six million European Jews. The book presents a detailed …

19885. The Optimists

Andrew Miller

The Optimists is the fourth novel by English author, Andrew Miller, released on 21 March 2005 through Sceptre.

19888. We All Fall Down

Eric Walters

We All Fall Down is a novel by Canadian author Eric Walters, published in 2006 by Random House of Canada. The story follows Will, a ninth grade student, spending a day with his father at the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. It was awarded the Red Maple Award in 2007 and …

19889. The Sixth Day and Other Tales

Primo Levi

The Sixth Day and Other Tales, written by Primo Levi, is a collection of short stories, originally published in Storie naturali and Vizio di forma. Unlike the author's earlier and better-known works, these stories may be considered science fiction.

19890. The Fran Lebowitz Reader

Fran Lebowitz

They say that age brings wisdom--or resignedness, at least--but every time you see Fran Leibowitz, she's just as hangdog as ever. Hey, Fran, how about writing a few more humor columns? That'll cheer you up! Or maybe not, but until she writes more columns, we'll have to make do …

19891. Religion and Nothingness

Keiji Nishitani

Religion and Nothingness is a 1961 book by the Japanese philosopher Keiji Nishitani.

19901. Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

Meg Meeker

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know is a 2007 parenting book by Meg Meeker, MD, which provides guidance to fathers on raising their daughters. Meeker argues that "fathers, more than anyone else, set the course for a daughter's life.". She states …

19902. Prince of Mercenaries

Jerry Pournelle

Prince of Mercenaries is a book published in 1989 that was written by Jerry Pournelle.

19903. Atlantis: The Antediluvian World

Ignatius L. Donnelly

Atlantis: The Antediluvian World is a pseudoscientific book published in 1882 by Minnesota populist politician Ignatius L. Donnelly, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1831. Donnelly considered Plato's account of Atlantis as largely factual and attempted to establish …

19905. From Eroica with Love, Volume 12 (From Eroica With …

Yasuko Aoike

Follows the adventures of a British aristocrat, who sidelines as an international art thief, and his partner, a straight-laced N.A.T.O. officer, as they travel around the world in the late 1970s.

19909. Freezer burn

Joe R. Lansdale

Freezer Burn is a 1999 crime novel by American writer Joe R. Lansdale.

19911. Star Surgeon

James White

Star Surgeon is a 1963 science-fiction book by author James White, and it is part of the Sector General series.

19912. Spell of the Witch World

Andre Norton

Spell of the Witch World is a collection of short fiction by science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton, forming part of her Witch World series. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in April 1972, and has been reprinted numerous times since. It has the …

19918. Medicine River

Thomas King

Medicine River is a novel written by author Thomas King. It was first published by Viking Canada in 1989. The book was later adapted into a television movie starring Graham Greene and Tom Jackson.

19922. A Tree Is Nice

Janice May Udry

A Tree is Nice is a children's picture book written by Janice May Udry and illustrated by Marc Simont. It was published by Harper and Brothers in 1956, and won the Caldecott Medal in 1957. The book tells Udry's poetic opinion on why trees are nice: "Trees are pretty. They fill …

19924. Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: …

Tyler Perry

View our feature on Tyler Perry's Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings.In 2005, Tyler Perry took Hollywood by storm. The movie he wrote, produced, and starred in, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, opened number one at the box office and went on to gross more than $50 …

19927. 20th Century Boys, Vol. 21

Naoki Urasawa

20th Century Boys, Vol. 21 is a book written by Naoki Urasawa.

19929. The Tokaido Road

Lucia St. Clair Robson

The Tokaido Road is a 1991 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. Set in 1702, it is a fictional account of the famous Japanese revenge story of the Forty-Seven Ronin. In feudal Japan, the Tōkaidō was the main road, which ran between the imperial capital of Kyoto, and the …

19940. An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology …

Glenn Reynolds

An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths is a non-fiction book by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee also known as the blogger 'Instapundit'. The book looks at modern …

19946. Radiant

James Alan Gardner

Radiant is a science fiction novel by the Canadian author James Alan Gardner. It was published in 2004 by HarperCollins Publishers under their Eos Books imprint. It is the seventh novel in Gardner's "League of Peoples" series. Like the six preceding novels, Radiant is set in the …

19956. Abduction!

Peg Kehret

Abduction! by Peg Kehret, is a novel about a 13-year-old girl named Bonnie who searches for her brother Matt and their dog Pookie who were both abducted. Her abductor, a mystery at first, ends up being someone much close to home.



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