The Book Stacks

Do you enjoy reading bestsellers? Have you ever thought about what might have been a bestselling book before your time? Just for fun, today I offer you a bit of trivia about a few books you might recognize. (source: Cader Books. As near as I can tell, these lists relate to numbers in the USA.)

The Crisis by Winston Churchill was number 1 on the Fiction best seller list in 1901. His book The Crossing was number 1 on the 1904 Fiction Best Seller list. In 1906, his book Coniston was also number 1 on the list. Quite the bestselling author, eh?

The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle ranked number 7 on the 1902 Fiction best seller list.

The first three books on the 1902 list were: 1. The Virginian by Owen Wister, 2. Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan, and 3. Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall by Charles Major. The following year, The Virginian came in at number 5, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was number 6, and Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall didn’t make the list.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin placed 8th on the 1904 list.

At number 8 on the 1905 list was Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth. This same book placed 9th on the 1906 list.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was number 6 on the 1906 Fiction best seller list, which placed it above The House of Mirth, but below Winston Churchill’s latest blockbuster.

Oh, and just for fun, the wikipedia says (and I’m not sure how valid it is) that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone has sold more copies than Lord of the Rings. An interesting fact, if it’s true.

The Crisis, Winston Churchill, The Crossing, The Hound of the Baskervilles, A. Conan Doyle, The Virginian, Owen Wister, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, Alice Caldwell Hegan, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall, Charles Major, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth, The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Lord of the Rings

According to the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records the most overdue library book was 288 years overdue.

“In 1667-68, Colonel Robert Walpole (England) borrowed a book about the Archbishop of Bremen from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, UK. Prof. Sir John Plumb (UK) found the book 288 years later in the library of the then Marquess of Cholmondeley at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, UK. He returned it, but no fine was exacted.”

I should hope that no fine was exacted. 288 years would be a pretty hefty fine. Frankly, I’m impressed that the library still had the records.

Guinness Book of World Records

Did You Know?

According to the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records, the Most Severe Library Penalty was…jail time. Beverly Goldman of Clearwater, Florida (USA) was arrested in January 2000 for “seven counts of failing to return overdue library books.” The materials that she had kept out for 16 months were worth $127.86. Now, interestingly enough, this is not an isolated incident. This article (scroll to the bottom of the page) has been up on Silliness.org since 1999. So…return your materials on time, folks.

Did You Know?, Guinness Book

Did You Know?

According to the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records, J. K. Rowling is the wealthiest author in the world, with a personal net worth of $1 Billion. Apparently, from June 2003 to June 2004 she earned an estimated $147 million, which was the “highest annual earnings by a children’s author.”
(Wow!)

Guinness Book of World Records, J. K. Rowling

Did you know?:

Ursula K. LeGuin, author of A Wizard of Earthsea and many other fabulous novels, is the daughter of Alfred and Theodora Kroeber (Anthropologist and Author, respectively) who wrote the book Ishi, the Last of His Tribe.

Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea, Theodora Kroeber, Ishi, the Last of His Tribe