Here are the Biggest Fiction Bestsellers of the Last 100 Years
(And What Everyone Read Instead)
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. John Grisham, The Brethren
2. Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim La Haye, The Mark
3. Tom Clancy, The Bear and the Dragon
4. Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim La Haye, The Indwelling
5. Patricia Cornwell, The Last Precinct
6. Danielle Steel, Journey
7. Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue
8. James Patterson, Roses Are Red
9. James Patterson, Cradle and All
10. Danielle Steel, The House on Hope Street
Also published that year:
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves
Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai
George Saunders, Pastoralia
Zadie Smith, White Teeth
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, Desecration
2. John Grisham, Skipping Christmas
3. John Grisham, A Painted House
4. Stephen King, Dreamcatcher
5. Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections
6. Stephen King and Peter Straub, Black House
7. Danielle Steel, The Kiss
8. Clive Cussler, Valhalla Rising
9. Terri McMillan, A Day Late and a Dollar Short
10. James Patterson, Violets Are Blue
Also published that year:
Percival Everett, Erasure
Neil Gaiman, American Gods
Gary Indiana, Do Everything in the Dark
Dennis Lehane, Mystic River
Yann Martel, The Life of Pi
Ian McEwan, Atonement
Ann Patchett, Bel Canto
Richard Russo, Empire Falls
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. John Grisham, The Summons
2. Tom Clancy, Red Rabbit
3. Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim La Haye, Remnant
4. Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones
5. Michael Crichton, Prey
6. John Grisham, Skipping Christmas
7. Jean M. Auel, The Shelters of Stone
8. James Patterson, Four Blind Mice
9. Stephen King, Everything’s Eventual
10. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, The Nanny Diaries
Also published that year:
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex
W. G. Sebald, Austerlitz (English translation)
Sarah Waters, Fingersmith
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
2. Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
3. John Grisham, The King of Torts
4. John Grisham, Bleachers
5. Tim La Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Armageddon
6. Tom Clancy, The Teeth of the Tiger
7. James Patterson, The Big Bad Wolf
8. Patricia Cornwell, Blow Fly
9. Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones
10. Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding
Also published that year:
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Edward P. Jones, The Known World
Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses
Tobias Wolff, Old School
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
2. Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
3. John Grisham, The Last Juror
4. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Glorious Appearing
5. Dan Brown, Angels & Demons
6. Michael Crichton, State of Fear
7. James Patterson, London Bridges
8. Patricia Cornwell, Trace
9. Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, The Rule of Four
10. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Collector’s Edition
Also published that year:
Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
Alice Munro, Runaway
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
Philip Roth, The Plot Against America
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. John Grisham, The Broker
2. Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code
3. James Patterson, Mary, Mary
4. Nicholas Sparks, At First Sight
5. Patricia Cornwell, Predator
6. Nicholas Sparks, True Believer
7. Jan Karon, Light from Heaven
8. Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian
9. Sue Monk, The Mermaid Chair
10. Janet Evanovich, Eleven on Top
Also published that year:
Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
Kelly Link, Magic for Beginners
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore (English translation)
Zadie Smith, On Beauty
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Mitch Albom, For One More Day
2. James Patterson, Cross
3. Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
4. Michael Crichton, Next
5. Thomas Harris, Hannibal Rising
6. Stephen King, Lisey’s Story
7. Janet Evanovich, Twelve Sharp
8. Stephen King, Cell
9. James Patterson and Peter de Jonge, Beach Road
10. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, The Fifth Horseman
Also published that year:
Deborah Eisenberg, Twilight of the Superheroes
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. John Grisham, Playing for Pizza
3. James Patterson, Double Cross
4. Nicholas Sparks, The Choice
5. Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen
6. Janet Evanovich, Plum Lovin’
7. Patricia Cornwell, Book of the Dead
8. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, The Quickie
9. James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, The 6th Target
10. Dean Koontz, The Darkest Evening of the Year
Also published that year:
André Aciman, Call Me By Your Name
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. Janet Evanovich, Fearless Fourteen
2. Brad Thor, The Last Patriot
3. James Patterson and Howard Roughan, Sail
4. Catherine Coulter, Tailspin
5. Stephenie Meyer, The Host
6. Danielle Steel, Rogue
7. David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
8. Robert Crais, Chasing Darkness
9. Linda Howard, Death Angel
10. Emily Giffin, Love the One You’re With
Also published that year:
Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger
Roberto Bolaño, 2666 (English translation)
Steven Millhauser, Dangerous Laughter
Joseph O’Neill, Netherland
The best-selling fiction of the year:
1. John Grisham, The Appeal
2. David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
3. Stephenie Meyer, The Host
4. James Patterson, Cross Country
5. Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One
6. Janet Evanovich, Fearless Fourteen
7. Glenn Beck, Christmas Sweater
8. Patricia Cornwell, Scarpetta
9. Dean Koontz, Your Heart Belongs to Me
10. Janet Evanovich, Plum Lucky
Also published that year:
Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin
Lorrie Moore, A Gate at the Stairs
Alice Munro, Too Much Happiness
