The curiosities of literature they are simply endless. And it is that to open the pages of a book is to enter a new universe, in which we will meet people, cities, worlds, conflicts… It is the creative display of the writer, which once achieved, is at the service and interpretation of the readers. There are thousands of literary works that have changed the world. Don Quijote of La Mancha, The Great GatsbyThe Count of Monte Cristo, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Madame Bovary… our list of memorable stories would never end. But this time we wanted to focus on those books that, for different reasons, have broken records in the history of literature, culture and history. Join us to know the best book records.
The 10 book records you should know
Surely you have heard of the Guinness Records, and how the tallest person, the oldest person or the one with the most peculiar abilities is distinguished in it. But this and other records also honor literature. Join us to discover those works that have gained in originality, for various reasons.
1. The biggest, the smallest and the fattest book
We begin with our tour of the best book records, telling you that a book on the life of the Prophet Muhammad has become the largest in the world, according to the Guinness Record. Its 5 meters wide by 8.6 meters high and 1,500 kilograms in weight, make it worthy of this title since 2012. A very heavy read, in the most literal sense of the word.
As a counterpoint, the smallest book on the planet has a size of 70 by 100 millimeters. Its titled Teeny Ted from Turnip town and, to etch the content onto its silicon pages, an ion beam from Canada’s Simon Fraser University was used. Of course, the price is much higher (about $15,000) and if you want to read this nanobook you will have to have an electronic microscope at home. This really is a pocket edition!
And which one is the fattest? No, it’s not Petete’s Fat Book. The correct answer is Verdens Storste Ordbog (The largest dictionary in the world), a book produced in 2013 in Denmark that includes 46 different dictionaries with a width of 4.62 meters.
2. The most prolific writer
Books and writers go hand in hand. Therefore, the next book record is for Ryoki Inoue, known as “the keyboard burner.” With this nickname, you will guess that he is the most prolific writer of all time. At 62, the Brazilian of Japanese origin has given birth to nearly 1,100 novels and is capable of publishing 6 books a month. He has come to write 3 novels in a single day.
3. The most expensive book
How much would you pay for a book? 10, 30, 100 euros? That is not even what each letter of Die Aufgabeby Tomas Alexander Hartmann, the most expensive work in the world, presented at Dubai in 2011. It only has 13 pages and less than 300 sentences, but its price has reached 153 million euros. Its value lies in the fact that the author claims to have deciphered in it the most relevant unknowns of the human being, such as where we are going or where we come from. And to give it more cachet, only the buyer knows the answers, since the content of the work has not been exposed. Marketing stuff.
Along with this enigmatic title, we have to talk about Bay Psalm Book (book of psalms), the most expensive sold at auction, with a final price of 14.2 million dollars, according to Guinness Record. Of course, in this case, its high cost has a more well-founded cause, since it is considered the first book printed in English in North America, in 1640, of which only 11 copies remain. One of them was awarded to David Rubenstein at auction.
4. Sales successes
We advance with the book records to tell you about the best sellers and most popular. The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world, with more than 1 billion copies in print, followed by the small Mao’s Red Book Y the quran. Now, if we talk about novels, the title of the best seller has a Spanish flavor. The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha holds the top spot as the best-selling novel of all time with 500 million copies.
5. The most translated book
When a book is translated, its power and value as an instrument of universal art is recognized. In this sense, the record for the book most translated into different languages is The Way to Happiness (The road to happiness), by Ron Hubbard. This work was versioned with editions in 70 different languages, including Hindi, Uzbek or Samoan.
6. The largest private collector
Book records have a lot to do with their writers, but also with their readers. For this reason, we want to talk to you about the figure of John Q. Benham of Avoca. He is the owner of the largest private collection in the world, with 1.5 million books. To store them, in addition to his home in Indiana, USA, he needs a six-car garage, a two-story building, and some canvas-covered fencing structures.
7. The most original libraries
Not only books have records. For example, Guess how high is the tallest library in the world? Specifically at 230.9 meters above the ground, about 1,435 steps. To meet her, yes, you will have to go to Shanghai, in China, and go up to the 60th floor of the JW Marriott hotel. Don’t worry, there is an elevator!
We hope that you have not been too tired with the visit, because we are going for a walk now to the largest bookstore in the world, located in New York. It’s called the Barnes & Noble Bookstore and it has an area of 154,250 square feet. and about 19 kilometers of shelves. How to look for a book! Quite the opposite of this other library that we talked about in another article, where there is not a single book.
8. The oldest novel
We advance in the most interesting book records by telling you about the oldest novel in the history of literature. We refer to Chariton Chaireas & Callirhoe, subtitled Love Story in Syracuse. This story narrates the adventures of a beautiful bride named Callirhoe. When was it written? In the first century AD!
9. The best seller on the web
The publishing industry has also changed as technology advances. Therefore, it is worth mentioning among the book records, who is the first author who managed to exceed a million electronic books sold. It’s about the American James Patterson, author of the novel series Alex Cross and Women’s Murder Club.
10. The best-selling novelist
And we close our literary journey for the best book records with the best-selling novelist of all time. With more than four million copies sold, the brilliant Ágatha Christie wins this award. It is considered the mother of the crime novel, and among its endearing characters are the popular fictional detectives Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.
And you, Did you know these book records? Which of them have you read? Which ones would you recommend to your friends? If you are passionate about reading, at Supercurioso we invite you to tell us which is your favorite book and why. We read you!