Best-Selling Books Quiz
Which of these two books has sold more copies?
▲▼ Play Best-Selling Books Quiz
Book sales reward age more than almost any other category here. A title that has been in print for a century has had a century to accumulate readers, which is why several centuries-old works still outsell anything published in the last ten years.
Each round shows the estimated lifetime sales of one book and hides the other's. Estimates for older works vary between sources, so figures are approximate — but the relative order is what the game actually depends on.
Don Quixote sits at the very top with estimates around half a billion copies. Below that, the ordering is far less intuitive than most readers expect.
Things worth knowing
- Don Quixote is estimated at around 500 million copies
- Several centuries-old titles outsell modern bestsellers
- Figures are lifetime estimates across all editions
How it works
You are shown two items side by side. One reveals its number; the other hides it behind a question mark. Decide whether the hidden value is higher or lower, and every correct call extends your streak. One wrong guess ends the run. If the two values are equal the answer counts as correct either way, so a tie never costs you anything. The game is free, runs entirely in your browser, and needs no account.